The San Francisco Giants’ 2018 season was a disappointment on many levels. From their 73-89 record, losing Johnny Cueto to Tommy John surgery and Buster Posey to hip surgery, and so many other hurdles that the team could not ultimately overcome.
2018 also saw the Giants take one last shot at another even year championship, and early season expectations made the end result that much more difficult of a pill to swallow.
2019 will have a much different feel around AT&T Park. Longtime fan favorite and right fielder Hunter Pence will be moving on after a disappointing season and there have been rumors swirling that the team will try to trade longtime ace and world series hero Madison Bumgarner.
Another major change this year comes in the Giants front office with the addition of a new Head of Baseball Operations, Farhan Zaidi. One of the most coveted minds in baseball, this is a huge win for Giants. Not only in terms of his analytical background and his Ph.D. but the negative impact it will have on the division rival Los Angeles Dodgers.
Zaidi, a former assistant GM of the Oakland Athletics (2014), and GM of the Dodgers (2014-2018), will be the head of baseball operations in San Francisco, and for the first time in his baseball career, have total control of the baseball operations, and only has to report to ownership.
How will Zaidi go about rebuilding the Giants to their championship form?
Reports have come out saying the team will entertain offers for Madison Bumgarner, but I’m not sure that is necessary or even in the teams best interest. Bumgarner won’t be 30 until August 2019, so he is in the prime of his career, and while he could bring a return of top prospects in a trade, now is not the time.
For a team who won three world series by building around the rotation, Bumgarner is not someone who should be traded at this point, he should be the focal point of the teams rebuilding process.
I am not as smart as Farhan Zaidi, or maybe I would have been the guy on the Giants short list for a front office position, but if this was my rebuild I would be keeping Bumgarner and making a big splash going in a completely different direction.
I would go after Giancarlo Stanton, rumors say the Yankees have been willing to move on from the Young slugger. At 29 years old and $285 million remaining on his contract, it could be a franchise-defining or ruining trade.
This move would fix a lot of holes in the Giants lineup because it would give them a true middle-of-the-lineup presence that they haven’t had since Barry Bonds in 2007. It would also allow everyone else to slide into a deeper lineup, which can take a ton of pressure off guys like Buster Posey, Evan Longoria, and Brandon Crawford.
What Would it Take?
To make this deal a reality the Giants would need to send a large contract back to the Yankees in the form of Jeff Samardzija who has two years and $36 million remaining on his five-year deal.
But to really entice the Yankees, I believe the Giants would need to include Brandon Belt. Belt, a left-handed first baseman, would flourish in New York with that lineup around him and the short porch in right field of Yankee Stadium. For the Giants, trading Belt would allow for 32-year-old Buster Posey to transition from Catcher to playing first base.
I believe that adding Stanton to the Giants core of players would make the Giants a competitive team in 2019 and allow for more of a ‘rebuild while contending’ style that Zadi is used to from his time in Oakland and Los Angeles.
I can only speculate as to the direction the Giants will take things this offseason, but fans should feel confident wherever Zaidi takes us
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