Giants: After 98-loss season, Bochy’s team adds old hands in hopes of big turnaround
As team slogans go, “We have nowhere to go but up” is not exactly inspirational, but it’s largely true. The Giants are tired of hearing about 98 losses in 2017. As they open spring training in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Tuesday, they understand what they need to do to bleach that awful number from everyone’s minds.
Other teams in the same boat might be thrilled to improve by 17 wins and finish at .500, but not the Giants. They want to reach the postseason for the fifth consecutive even year.
Can they?
1. Can an older team win? The Giants are still looking for center-field help to complement newly signed Austin Jackson, but if Jackson is their Opening Day center fielder, their projected lineup will have seven position players who will be in their 30s in 2018.
Ten teams in the wild-card era have had at least seven over-30 players who registered 400 or more plate appearances. Five reached the postseason, and one, the 2001 Diamondbacks, won the World Series with nine over-30s getting to the plate that many times. So it can be done.
To be fair, the Giants are not decrepit. Most position players will be 30-32, including newcomers Jackson, Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen. Hunter Pence will be 34 but is expected to platoon. Still, older players have a harder time staying healthy, which means the Giants would be well-served to get a fair share of plate appearances from their farm system, particularly outfielders Steven Duggar and Austin Slater.
2. What can the Giants expect from Longoria and McCutchen?
Both unquestionably make the team better, but they come to San Francisco in some decline, Longoria offensively and McCutchen defensively — or so the numbers say.
On a team full of players with multiple World Series rings, the Giants do not need them to play like MVPs (which McCutchen was in 2013), but instead blend with Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt, Buster Posey, Joe Panik and the other outfielders.
However, the Giants gave away a lot to get McCutchen and Longoria, hoping the two could hoist the worst offense in the majors from 2017 and get much better defensively in the outfield. Longoria and McCutchen do not need to be All-Star-caliber, but given the team’s lofty ambitions for 2018, that sure would help. 3. Is the rotation strong enough? Again, the Giants still have time to dip into the depressed free-agent market, but they go to camp with just three established starters in Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija, and say they will let Chris Stratton, Ty Blach, Andrew Suarez and Tyler Beede vie for the final two spots.
When was the last time the club left so much to chance with its most critical unit?
General manager Bobby Evans said, “At some point, you have to trust your system,” but that system has no experienced rotation depth. That the Giants will acquire another starter before Opening Day is not a ridiculous wager.
4. How much can they narrow the home run gap?
The Giants last year totaled a majors worst 128 of the record 6,105 home runs hit. Though they allowed the third fewest at 182, their minus-54 margin made it tougher to win.
The Giants expect to hit a lot more homers with Longoria and McCutchen in the lineup and (they hope) Belt healthy for a full season, but more important is keeping more opponents’ balls in the yard and minimizing the damage when they do surrender homers. They allowed 108 more runs than they scored on homers, a staggering number.
The Giants are who they are, a team with a move-the-line offense that will not slug its way to the playoffs, but they will have a much better shot of getting there if they can narrow the long-ball gap.
5. Can Mark Melancon be a shut-down closer?
June’s trade for former Texas closer Sam Dyson was one of Evans’ shrewdest moves. Dyson clearly can close, but the Giants already have said Mark Melancon will get the ninth inning in his return from forearm surgery.
The questions within this question are whether the Giants erred in not joining the free-agent feeding frenzy for good setup men early in the offseason, and whether the bullpen has enough middle-inning firepower in returnees such as Hunter Strickland, Derek Law, Cory Gearrin, Reyes Moronta and Will Smith (coming off Tommy John surgery).
If Melancon and Dyson can shut down the opposition in the eighth and ninth innings, regardless of who actually closes, new pitching coach Curt Young and bullpen coach Matt Herges will have many more options in cobbling the rest of the bullpen.