Which of Giants’ elder statesmen might return?
That picture from 1992 is priceless. The 5yearold Brandon Crawford standing at the railing in the front row at Candlestick Park next to a sign pleading for the Giants to stay in San Francisco and not move to Florida.
A Giants fan as a kid. A Giant as an adult. A twotime World Series champion, no less. There aren’t many better stories of a Bay Area kid living his dream.
Now … can you imagine Brandon Crawford playing for any team other than the Giants?
For that matter, can you imagine the common denominator to all three championships, the man who was behind the plate in every playoff game, Buster Posey, playing elsewhere?
Or even Brandon Belt?
As the 2021 season approaches, so do the final years of the contracts for the only three holdovers of the championship era. Once the season ends, their careers as Giants could end, too.
It’s not exactly a farewell tour for Posey and the Brandons because none has expressed a desire to retire or leave the team, but it figures to be an emotional ride nonetheless. Because it’s
what they do, expect the Giants to celebrate the threesome throughout the summer.
“The plan going into this year is, yeah, I’m definitely capable of and would like to play at least a couple of more years,” Crawford said. “But you never know what could happen.”
Crawford is 34. So is Posey. Belt turns 33 next month. As it happened, when they signed their contracts many moons ago, starting with Posey in March 2013, this is the year for all to expire.
On a team that’s rebuilding, signing players in their mid30s isn’t standard operating procedure. Whether one is brought back (or even two) will be based on how they fare this year and the club’s need at their position.
The Giants are deep at catcher with prospects Joey Bart and Patrick Bailey down the line after Posey, and first base is a spot generally easily filled by someone with power potential but not necessarily equipped with Belt’s elite defensive profile.
As for shortstop, where Crawford has won three Gold Gloves, it’s questionable whether the Giants have anyone in their system who could assume the position. Top prospect Marco Luciano, 19, showed in spring training that he needs a lot more seasoning.
So on the surface, it would seem Crawford, the hometown guy (Mountain View native, FoothillPleasanton graduate), has the best shot at getting resigned. In fact, the current backup shortstop is the starting center fielder, Mauricio Dubon, and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi expressed an urgency to acquire another shortstop for depth purposes.
Of course, Crawford would be part of the strongest freeagent class of shortstops in history — Francisco Lindor, Javier Baez, Corey Seager, Trevor Story, Carlos Correa and Marcus Semien — and the Giants clearly have the resources to sign any of them to a huge contract.
If they don’t land another established shortstop, the need for Crawford longer term might be greatest among the three decorated Giants, but how could they not bring back Posey, who has made no secret he wants to retire a Giant, based on what he has meant to the organization the past decade?
Or Belt, who has emerged as the poster child of the coaching staff for his plate awareness, penchant for drawing walks and pop.
In fact, while Posey opted out in 2020, Belt and Crawford posted career highs in onbase percentage plus slugging percentage, 1.015 for Belt and .792 for Crawford, the shortened 60game schedule notwithstanding.
Posey has a $22 million club option for 2022 that’ll undoubtedly be bought out for $3 million, so all three would experience free agency for the first time because all signed their deals before becoming eligible for the open market.
No matter what happens, Posey, Crawford and Belt will share a bond unlike any other, the final three players from the championship era who combined to win seven rings, Posey’s 2010 team starting the historic run and the 2012 and 2014 teams greatly benefiting from Crawford and Belt.
Asked whether they’ve discussed playing possibly their final year together, Crawford said, “Maybe not all together, but individually at times we’ve talked about it being the last year of our contracts or what we want to do afterwards or stuff we want to accomplish. It’s not just one big conversation we had, but here and there. Maybe we will.”
In 2021, the Giants absolutely need this threesome to succeed. When Crawford and Belt weren’t in games early last season, the defense suffered miserably, and their daily presence brought order to the diamond.
Without Posey, the catching depth was zilch, and the fillins were responsible for a slew of mishaps that cost the Giants dearly. Posey’s defense remains solid, including his relationship with pitchers, arm strength and pitch framing.
Offensively, all bought into the coaching staff ’s new methods and theories on hitting. Belt and Crawford showed immediate results, and Posey has been open to the new teachings as well but will need to prove, a year further out from hip surgery, he can still be a force at the plate.
In Monday’s final Cactus League exhibition, possibly indicative of Thursday’s Opening Night lineup, Belt batted sixth, Posey seventh and Crawford eighth, a left, right, left combination. Nothing new for the Brandons, but Posey has just 15 career starts in the seven hole.
Posey, Crawford and Belt started their Giants careers as elite prospects who emerged into AllStars and champions, and all these years later, they have celebrated resumes and adoring fans — not to mention their own families — and matured into team leaders who have earned respect around the league.
So what’s next? First, the 2021 season. Then uncertainty. The collective bargaining agreement, which expires in December, could complicate the freeagent season.
Crawford noted that the time at home last summer when the pandemic shut down baseball was a refreshing change, a unique situation for a baseball player, but none of the three has expressed any desire to step away anytime soon.
For Giants fans who don’t want to let go of the championship era, that’s good news. Meantime, Posey, Crawford and Belt will begin their possible swan songs Thursday in Seattle, and Crawford will start an opener for the 10th straight year.
“That dream as a little kid of playing shortstop for the Giants, I never thought about how long I was going to be able to do it or if it was even going to be a possibility,” Crawford said. “It’s a huge honor. Getting any Opening Day start is a big honor, but 10 in a row is pretty special.”