Giants: Core Four — particularly Yastrzemski — provided upgrade
After giving up on Kevin Pillar, whose inspirational presence made him the 2019 Willie Mac Award winner, the Giants provided opportunities to other outfielders who excelled in 2020.
Pillar was the first Giant in four years to hit 20 home runs, and his defense often wowed fans, but management didn’t see him worth the salary he would have earned through arbitration and let him go.
Without Pillar, the Giants used 12 outfielders but settled with a
core of four, all of whom are under the Giants’ control for 2021.
It was a promising transition for a rebuilding team, but it doesn’t mean outfield positions are set in 2021 — except, that is, for Mike Yastrzemski.
2020 review: The Giants sported an allFarhan Zaidi outfield by the end of the season, which was no surprise considering the outfielders inherited by the president of baseball operations weren’t exactly getting it done.
Yastrzemski in right, Mauricio Dubón in center and an Alex Dickerson/ Darin Ruf platoon in left.
It might not be the outfield of the future, but it certainly was an upgrade — jumping from a 28thinthemajors ranking two years ago to sixth this year, according to FanGraphs’ Wins Above Replacement, which measures players’ allaround games.
Zaidi landed Yastrzemski, who evolved into the Giants’ best player and forced his way into the MVP conversation, in a trade that got little attention. Dickerson was acquired for a minorleaguer. Ruf signed after playing in Korea. And Dubón was a prospect in the deal involving freeagencybound lefthander Drew Pomeranz.
The point is, Zaidi built an outfield from scratch and on the cheap without parting with top prospects. And when he needed someone late in the season, he called up Luis Basabe, who provided a spark.
Austin Slater, one of the few outfielders in the organization still around from the preZaidi days, spent little time in the outfield because of an elbow injury but learned how to become an offensive threat.
Steven Duggar still is a far better defender than hitter, and Jaylin Davis didn’t convince management he could make enough contact to stick in the majors.
The most expensive outfielder was Hunter Pence, who signed for $ 3 million and was released in August.
Rising prospects: The Giants have a lousy track record of drafting and developing outfielders, but here comes Heliot Ramos, who seems to be the real deal with good pop, a good arm and the talent to play anywhere in the outfield.
In a normal year, Ramos — the Giants’ top pick in 2017 who turned 21 last month — might have played in DoubleA and TripleA and become a candidate to make his bigleague debut in the final weeks, but he spent the season at the club’s alternative site in Sacramento, which slowed his progress.
Ramos now is shelved with an oblique injury, keeping him from Arizona instructional league games, but the good news is he’s expected to be at full strength for spring training and compete for a bigleague job.
Hunter Bishop, the Giants’ first pick in 2019, is 22 but behind Ramos on the depth chart after getting selected out of college, playing 32 games after the draft and contracting the coronavirus in June. He wasn’t cleared to report to Sacramento until August, but he showed enough athleticism in spring training that he quickly could jump on the fast track.
Alexander Canario, signed four years ago at 16, displayed good power at the lower levels and could zoom through the system once the minor leagues return.
Key question for 2021: Who plays center field?
The plan for Dubón was to be a super utilityman and play shortstop, second base and center field, but when Brandon Crawford reclaimed his everyday job at short and Donovan Solano became a regular at second, Dubón played just center.
It turned into a nice fit on both offense and defense, though Dubón was a work in progress and made his share of rookie mistakes. We’ll see whether he stays in center or fills the role initially targeted for him, opening the position for someone acquired through free agency or a trade.
Perhaps a Billy Hamilton type. Hamilton was signed in February to play some center but didn’t appear in a game for the Giants. He played for both the Mets and Cubs this season.
Or maybe the Giants fill the position from within. Heliot Ramos, anyone?
Potential free agents:
George Springer would fit nicely in center but cost a ton of money for a team trying to build from the ground up. Springer played for a tainted team, the Astros, which might play a factor on the open market. Left fielder Marcell Ozuna will be expensive, too.
Jackie Bradley Jr. is a defensive whiz and posted a careerhigh .364 OBP, which is intriguing. Like Bradley, Michael Brantley ( Springer’s teammate) swings lefthanded, which is a plus — Zaidi’s in the market for a lefty bat.
The A’s switchhitting Robbie Grossman has impressive OBP numbers, but perhaps the most intriguing option is Palo Alto High alum Joc Pederson ( Dodgers), who bullies righthanders.