Major League Baseball held their annual Winter Meetings December 8-12 in San Diego. While a good percentage of the country experienced record low temperatures in 2019, it must be nice to be in San Diego in December. But anyway, that's not what we're here to talk about. The San Francisco Giants went into the Winter Meetings (and really the entire offseason) with a pretty clear list of needs. The biggest immediate need has to be starting pitching with the potential loss of Madison Bumgarner who has been a staple of the rotation since 2010. They also need help in the bullpen after closer Will Smith signed with the Atlanta Braves and with Reyes Moronta set to miss most if not all of 2020 after shoulder surgery. Finally, they should be looking for a power right-handed bat in the outfield as a possible starting outfield of Steven Duggar, Mike Yastrzemski, and Alex Dickerson are all left-handed.
Those are the immediate needs, but there are some secondary needs as well. They may be looking for a center field after non-tendering Kevin Pillar though Duggar has been projected as the center fielder of the future for a few years now, and Jaylin Davis who was acquired from the Minnesota Twins last year in the Sam Dyson trade can play center field. They're also looking for middle infield depth and preferably a left-handed bat who can spell Evan Longoria at 3rd base. They currently have Mauricio Dubon penciled in at 2nd base and Brandon Crawford is still at shortstop, and Donovan Solano is still there to back up both positions, but the Giants would like to add more depth. Lastly, there may be a need to bring in a veteran backup catcher after Stephen Vogt signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Giants seem to like Aramis Garcia who has played 37 games with the big club between 2018 and 2019, but the team would likely prefer a left-handed bat when Buster Posey needs a day off or is playing 1st base.
So that's the setup. But what went down at the Winter Meetings? Well, the Giants came away making two moves (we're not going to talk about the Rule 5 draft here). They signed right-handed starting pitcher Kevin Gausman who split last year between the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds, and made a trade with the Los Angeles Angels acquiring infielder Zack Cozart and 2019 first-round draft pick Will Wilson in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Neither of those moves really jumps off the page, but let's look at them and see how our team did.
First let's look at the Gausman signing. Gausman is not a superstar and this signing amounts to little more than depth in the starting rotation. Assuming that Bumgarner, who is reported to be asking for a 9-figure contract, is not going to be in a Giants uniform next year, the 2020 rotation begins with Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija and then you have a number of question marks. Tyler Beede started 22 games in San Francisco and showed some promise, but ultimately finished with a 5-10 record and an ERA over 5. Dereck Rodriguez was expected to be a major contributor in his second season after finishing 2018 with a 6-4 record and a 2.81 ERA in 19 starts. Instead he regressed to a 6-11 record and a 5.64 ERA and split time between the rotation and the bullpen. Shaun Anderson created some excitement when he joined the rotation last year, but finished 3-5 with a 5.44 ERA and ended up ending the year in the bullpen earning 2 saves which has led to some believing he could be the closer in the immediate future. Andrew Suarez looked to be a contributor to the rotation after finishing 2018 with a 7-13 record and a 4.49 ERA in 29 starts, but ended up pitching 2019 almost exclusively out the bullpen only starting 2 games in 21 appearances. Connor Menez also started 3 games for the club in 2019. Logan Webb may be the most promising of this group, making his Major League debut on August 17, 2019, he started 8 games in 2019 finishing 2-3 with a 5.22 ERA. So as you can see there are a lot of bodies here, but are there any answers? One other name to add to the list, the Giants signed Tyler Anderson who was claimed off waivers from the Colorado Rockies, non-tendered by the Giants on December 2, and then signed to a one-year Major League contract on December 3. Tyler Anderson missed most of 2019 after knee surgery but had a fairly impressive rookie season in Colorado in 2016 going 5-6 with a 3.54 ERA. The fact that Gausman is right-handed also has the potential to add some balance to the rotation as Suarez, Menez, and Tyler Anderson are all left-handed. Gausman did not have a good overall year in 2019, though he pitched much better in Cincinnati after being moved to the bullpen. But, before you think the Giants signed him as a bullpen piece, Farhan Zaidi has said that they signed Gausman to be a starter.
As for the other move, this comes at a slight cost, but the potential upside is significant. First, let's acknowledge that this was a salary dump by the Angels in order to free up money to sign Anthony Rendon, which they did on December 11 to a 7-year, $245-million contract after Rendon won the 2019 World Series as a member of the Washington Nationals. Cozart is in the final year of a 3-year, $38-million deal he signed with the Angels following a career-best year and All Star appearance in 2017. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, he has not lived up to his contract as he has only played a total of 96 games in 2 years for the Angels due to variety of injuries. His current shoulder injury means he may never appear in a Giants uniform, but if he does the Giants have a potential depth middle infielder who is only 3 seasons removed from hitting .297 with 24 home runs in Cincinnati. The Giants will take on the remaining $12.667-million on Cozart's contract. One thing I think you may see with both Cozart and Gausman is, if they are able to contribute you may see Farhan Zaidi flip them for more pieces in much the same way Drew Pomeranz was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers after less than one season with the Giants in exchange for Mauricio Dubon.
The big chip in the Angels trade, however, is going to be Will Wilson. Wilson was the #15 pick in the first round of the 2019 draft, only 5 picks after the Giants selected Hunter Bishop with the #10 pick. It's been stated that Wilson was 1 of 3 or 4 players the Giants were considering with their pick, so to get him in this deal is a pretty significant pickup. Wilson was the Angels' #4 prospect and it's reported that he is now the #10 prospect in the Giants organization, which says a lot about how the Giants have rebuilt their minor league system in just a couple of seasons. Wilson was drafted as a shortstop but has a knock against his arm strength which means his Major League position may end up being 2nd base. He was an elite defensive shortstop in college with decent range and soft hands, and has surprising power for his size hitting 37 home runs in 3 collegiate seasons. Wilson only stole 4 bases in his college career and needs to work on his plate discipline and patience. Wilson is only 21 and has only 1 year of professional baseball under his belt, but he could be a major piece of the next great Giants team. Our prospect list currently features names like Joey Bart (C), Heliot Ramos (OF), Marco Luciano (SS), Hunter Bishop (OF), and Logan Wyatt (1B), and now add Wilson to that list. None of these players have played above AA ball so it'll probably be a few years before we see any of these players in San Francisco, but the Giants are definitely building towards the future.
What now will the Giants do? Well, with these trades the Giants have potentially chipped away at 2 of their offseason needs (starting pitching, infield depth), but that still leaves a lot on their shopping list. We may have reason to be excited about the power outfield bat, however, as the Giants have been reported to be the top bidder for Nicholas Castellanos. Castellanos played his first 6 and a half seasons in Detroit, but put together a brilliant 2nd half after being traded to the Chicago Cubs hitting .321 with 16 home runs in only 51 games. He finished the year with 27 home runs overall which is his 3rd straight season with 20+. He also has ties to San Francisco now that Scott Harris is the General Manager. Harris was the Assistant GM with Chicago last year when they acquired Castellanos. There are some concerns about Castellanos' defense, but the Giants report that they think his defense improved last year after the trade.
So that's the news folks. What to look for in the future? I would guess that the Giants will add 1 more starting pitcher. I would also guess that they'll probably add some bullpen arms, but mostly on minor-league and non-guaranteed deals. I think the Giants were pretty comfortable with their bullpen makeup last season after Moronta went down but they definitely need to identify a closer to replace Smith. I'm not sure if we'll see a catcher signing soon. Remember Erik Kratz was acquired last year on March 24, just about a week before Opening Day. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on Castellanos as both the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs are reportedly in conversations with Castellanos' agent. What do you think? Are you excited for baseball? Spring Training opens in about 2 months. Lots to do folks, lots to do.
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