Zaidi expects to add outfielder or 2 fairly soon
The Giants entered the offseason with their biggest holes in the outfield, where only Mike Yastrzemski seemed to be guaranteed a starting job.
Spring training opens in two weeks, and the Giants still haven’t necessarily upgraded their outfield or power game, a concerning thought for fans in the wake of three straight losing seasons.
Nicholas Castellanos signed a fouryear, $64 million contract with the Reds on Tuesday, the last premier outfielder on the freeagent market. Unless, that is, Yasiel Puig is still considered premier.
The rosterbuilding is far from complete, said president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, who told The Chronicle on Wednesday that he’s in talks with outfielders on both the freeagent and trade fronts.
“I would still expect us to add one or two players to the outfield mix before we get to camp,” Zaidi said. “Whether by trade or free agency, whether it’s the NRI (nonroster invitee) route or the majorleague roster, there are still guys out there we think will be good additions for us. That would still be our expectation.
“One thing you’re continuing to assess is adding more guys to the mix versus creating opportunities for some of the younger guys we already have in house. Even with that consideration, I would expect us to have an addition or two before camp opens.”
Asked in particular about Puig, who played for the Dodgers when Zaidi was their general manager, and Kevin Pillar, the Giants’ reigning Willie Mac Award winner who hasn’t found a 2020 home, Zaidi said, “I don’t want to comment on specific free agents, but we’re evaluating every available guy.”
The Giants can hope for Yastrzemski to repeat his splendid rookie season, Alex Dickerson to enjoy a clean bill of health through the summer and Steven Duggar to have more offensive consistency and fewer injuries than his first two years in the majors. If — and it’s a big if — the Giants go 3for3, their outfield problems might be solved.
If not, they’ll need to rely on whomever is added to the mix along with who’s on the depth chart, including Jaylin Davis and Austin Slater, righthanded hitters who had big years in TripleA.
“Those are the kind of guys who really accomplished all they can accomplish at the TripleA level,” Zaidi said, “and now the question is, Could they become consistent producers for us at the majorleague level? The only way for those guys to demonstrate it is to get opportunities. We’ll be looking for those guys as well in spring training and over the course of the season to get an opportunity to establish themselves.”
A day after it became known the Giants were bringing back Pablo Sandoval on a minorleague contract, it was reported by MLB Network that the Giants are among teams showing interest in exGiants outfielder Hunter Pence.
In the old days — circa 1993 through the playoff years — pretty much every starting position was known entering spring training. Fast forward to 2020, and two spots are up for grabs in the outfield. One on the infield, second base. As many as three in the rotation. And you pick ’em in the bullpen.
Yes, this spring training could be more newsworthy than most.
Though Zaidi said after the 2019 season that the priority was acquiring more power and adding hitters who’d profile well at Oracle Park, the only new hitter on the 40man roster is infielder Kean Wong, who played seven games in the American League last season. The nonroster list includes outfielders Jamie Westbrook, Joey Rickard, Drew Robinson and Darin Ruf, 33, who hit 86 homers the past three years in Korea.
One wild card is Mauricio Dubon, who was impressive as a middle infielder after he was acquired from Milwaukee at the July 31 trade deadline. Dubon could be used as a super utilityman and play both the infield and outfield, but he’ll also be part of the threeman competition at second base.
The Giants are close to finalizing a deal with Yolmer Sanchez (pending a physical), who won a Gold Glove last season as the White Sox’s second baseman but isn’t the type of hitter to bolster a lineup. Donovan Solano’s also in the mix at second. Like Dubon, the others have the flexibility to play multiple positions.
“Dubon could obviously play second or short,” Zaidi said. “I would anticipate having more conversations about him potentially fitting in the outfield picture depending on the configuration of the rest of the team.”
This rebuilding process, naturally, is a work in progress, and all we need to do is recall last year’s Opening Day outfield, which included Connor Joe and Michael Reed, who played in all of 12 games ( Joe eight, Reed four). The roster remained fluid all summer with players coming and going and getting tryouts at the bigleague level, and that easily could be the case in 2020.
For the second straight offseason, Zaidi hasn’t given out any multiyear contracts. The outfield market wasn’t as top heavy as it was last year when Bryce Harper and J.D. Martinez were available, but some intriguing players were available nonetheless.
Aside from Castellanos, Marcell Ozuna got a oneyear, $18 million contract, Avisail Garcia two years and $20 million, Corey Dickerson two years and $17.5 million, Kole Calhoun two years and $16 million and Brett Gardner one year and $12.5 million.
“We made a number of multiyear offers over the course of this offseason, more than we did last offseason,” Zaidi said. “Those deals didn’t materialize. Again, whether it’s free agency or acquiring players with multiple years on their contracts, we’re certainly in a better position to do that now than a year ago.”
Until further notice, the power surge needs to come from across the board, not just from the established core players (Buster Posey, Evan Longoria, Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford) but the young ones, too. Zaidi noted no one anticipated Yastrzemski hitting 21 homers, and others could follow suit.
“Keeping a guy like Dickerson healthy is going to help in that regard,” Zaidi said. “We’re looking for the power boost to come from guys stepping up with the opportunities they’ll get.”
As for whether any of the core players will need to compete for a job, the plan is for each to assume the same role as in 2019 with one caveat.
“That’s where the positional versatility becomes an asset,” Zaidi said. “With some of the guys we’re adding, their ability to play different positions gives you some different options with that core group of veterans as well. It’s going to give (manager) Gabe (Kapler) more options in terms of making sure those guys are well rested for the marathon of a 162game season.
“We’ll have more options to mix and match and make sure we keep those guys fresh.”
The new dimensions should play a role in the quest for more power. Oracle Park is smaller for hitters now that the bullpens have been moved beyond the outfield walls.
“From a physical standpoint, having shorter dimensions is going to help,” Zaidi said. “From a psychological standpoint, it’s going to benefit hitters as well to not get discouraged hitting a 418foot ball that turns into an out. I think there’s a tangible and logical benefit we’ll see for our position players.”