SAN FRANCISCO–The Mets shipped out top prospects for All-Star closer Edwin Diaz and veteran hitter Robinson Cano. The Nationals shelled out $140 million for free agent starter Patrick Corbin. The St. Louis Cardinals completed a massive trade, acquiring Paul Goldschmidt in exchange for three prospects from the Diamondbacks.
So what are the Giants waiting for?
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That’s a loaded question that can’t be answered succinctly, but one that most of the team’s fans are asking as baseball’s hot stove begins to burn.
While many clubs in the National League feel as if a handful of transactions could spark playoff runs, the Giants and new president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi understand their roster cannot be overhauled overnight.
After a fifth-place finish in 2017 and a fourth-place showing last year, the Giants still have a bloated payroll weighed down by several large contracts that haven’t exactly paid dividends. Due to an abundance of players with no-trade clauses and a weak farm system, Zaidi has inherited a particularly challenging situation with no obvious or easy solutions.
Though it’s difficult to peg which high-profile free agents Zaidi may aggressively pursue, it’s not hard to see that he would like to move some of the Giants’ larger salaries. There are other clubs in similar positions, meaning mutual salary dumps and changes of scenery could be on the horizon.
“It’s certainly a possibility and it just boils down to baseball fit,” Zaidi said in an interview on KNBR Wednesday. “If there’s a pitching for position player trade and you have a couple of teams that can fill need for need, with guys that either have been hurt or haven’t produced for their current team, sometimes players just need that change of scenery too.”
Third baseman Evan Longoria and reliever Mark Melancon could be on the trade market, but finding suitors will be tricky. The Giants would either have to attach prospects or Madison Bumgarner to a deal, or they would have to take a large contract back. Trades like that don’t materialize quickly and could take until the middle or end of the offseason to complete as teams wait until they’re out of better options.
Trading in market
The San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s haven’t executed a player-for-player trade since 1990, but Zaidi’s background as a former assistant general manager on the other side of the bay could bring that drought to an end.
The A’s have several young prospects –particularly in the outfield– who could fit with the Giants while San Francisco has a surplus of quality relievers who could slide into Oakland’s bullpen. Though trading within the same market isn’t commonplace, Zaidi is open to the possibility.
“It’s nice to be in a situation where I do think if there’s a deal that’s mutually beneficial for the Giants and the A’s, we’ll be able to figure it out,” Zaidi said on KNBR. “Obviously I have a great relationship with those guys and not every baseball trade has to be one team pulling the wool over the other’s team’s eyes. There’s a lot of mutually beneficial potential deals out there.”
After rising through the ranks in Oakland, Zaidi served as the Dodgers general manager for the last four seasons. Some of Zaidi’s closest connections are in Los Angeles, but he doesn’t expect to make many phone calls to his new rival.
“I actually think the toughest moves are within-the-division deals.”
Kikuchi sweepstakes
The Giants aren’t expected to pursue infielder Manny Machado and they haven’t publicly revealed a desire to sign outfielder Bryce Harper, but the franchise may not be out of the running for all of the most desired free agents.
Star Japanese left-hander Yusei Kikuchi was officially posted December 4 by the Seibu Lions and is already one of the most intriguing arms on the market. Any team that signs Kikuchi will have to pay the Lions a posting fee based on the final dollar amount of his contract, but he’s a 27-year-old with upside who the Giants have closely monitored.
“He’s an accomplished guy from over there,” Zaidi told KNBR. “We have scouted him pretty extensively as other teams have. A lot of the players from over there have a preference for being on the west coast, just for proximity, so that puts us in a pretty good situation.”
Kikuchi posted a 3.08 ERA in 24 starts for the Seibu Lions last year and doesn’t project as a major league star, but he could slot into the middle or back of a Giants rotation that needs more depth. Zaidi indicated the Giants will pitch several free agents on the upside of calling AT&T Park home during upcoming discussions.
“One of the things that I think we need to use is our ability to recruit pitchers as free agents because they know that this is a terrific park to call your home park if you’re a pitcher and even pitching in the NL West I think is generally advantageous,” Zaidi said.
A plan for Posey
Zaidi said he spoke with Giants catcher Buster Posey earlier this offseason and Posey remains on track to be ready for Opening Day in 2019.
After Posey underwent season-ending hip surgery in August, Zaidi said he still believes the Giants’ franchise player is capable of playing regularly as the starting catcher. However, Zaidi acknowledged that determining Posey’s backup won’t be a simple process because he wants reserves to fill multiple roles on a roster.
“I do think the way the game is going, people don’t just want one bench spot used up on a backup catcher who’s going to start 20 games a season,” Zaidi said. “You want a little bit more versatility in your catching situation. I still view Buster as the primary catcher, he’s going to do most of the catching.”
The Giants were impressed by rookie Aramis Garcia’s play through the month of September and remain open to bringing Nick Hundley back as a reserve for a third season with the club. However, Zaidi also said the Giants are considering finding a complementary piece with more positional versatility or a player who can hit from the left side.
“So that second roster spot that you allocate to that position, is it going to be somebody that catches when Buster potentially moves and plays first base some of the time?” Zaidi said. “Do we want a right-handed bat or a left-handed bat there? We’re working through those questions.”
