Out of playoff chase, Giants look to future
SAN FRANCISCO >> In the middle of each baseball season, most franchises confront a significant decision that shapes their short- and long-term futures.
The age-old dilemma looks something like this: Push in the chips and commit to contending, or fold the cards and focus on building toward a brighter future?
At the season’s halfway point, the Giants hold a 3546 record and sit behind nine teams in the race for the National League’s second wild-card spot.
In other words, President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi is not facing a challenging decision. A disappointing first half left the Giants with no choice but to turn their attention to 2020 and beyond. In the next month, the Giants will likely trade top starter Madison Bumgarner, closer Will Smith and consider parting with a few other veteran assets.
The loss of key personnel will leave an overmatched Giants roster depleted, but it won’t change Bruce Bochy’s mission. In his final season as the team’s manager, Bochy is determined to win as many games as possible and facilitate the development of the club’s youngest players.
“I enjoy watching the growth of these young pitchers,” Bochy said Saturday. “We’re all looking forward to watching them play.”
The Giants spent the last month auditioning rookie pitchers Shaun Anderson and Tyler Beede in the starting rotation and have given every indication that their roster spots are secure. The franchise is motivated to see if Anderson, Beede and a handful of other less experienced players have the talent and ability to contribute to future Giants rosters.
After the Giants defeated the Diamondbacks 6-3
on Friday, catcher Buster Posey singled out Anderson and Beede as two pitchers who can make the second half more successful than the first.
“I think the game always starts with good pitching and defense, and with those guys throwing the ball better and better, hopefully we can get on a groove swinging the bats and see what happens,” Posey said.
If Bumgarner is dealt in July, the Giants can use the second half to give Triple-a left-hander Conner Menez a look in the starting rotation. Reliever Dereck Rodríguez will likely have a chance to rejoin the starting staff while struggling Triple-a starter Andrew Suárez may find that pitching in the major leagues is more conducive to success than starting in the outrageously hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
The Giants’ desire to develop their younger assets in the majors likely spells trouble for veterans like Drew Pomeranz, but most of the team’s longest-tenured veterans still have job security.
The franchise expects 2018 first-round draft choice Joey Bart to eventually replace Posey behind the plate, but the passing of the torch won’t take place under Bochy’s watch. First baseman Brandon Belt and shortstop Brandon Crawford aren’t in jeopardy of losing playing time to up-and-coming prospects, and Bochy believes both will perform better in the second half than they did in the first.
“I like the way some guys have picked it up with the bats as far as our veterans,” Bochy said. “They’re going to play a big part in how this second half goes. Craw has picked it up, Belt is swinging better, you saw Buster have a nice game Friday.”
At third base, Evan Longoria has lost some recent playing time to Pablo Sandoval, but the hot corner is another position where the Giants don’t have any highly touted prospects forcing their hand. Zaidi may be curious to see what Triple-a corner infielder Zach Green can offer the Giants, but he can create a roster spot by moving Sandoval ahead of the trade deadline.
Trading Sandoval would likely frustrate a Giants fan base and manager that adore the popular slugger, but there are plenty of other ways Zaidi can maximize the last three months of the season.
The Giants plan to give newcomer Alex Dickerson extended playing time in left field while Tyler Austin and Mike Yastrzemski could start on a more frequent basis. San Francisco can clear a path for more playing time for Steven Duggar in center field if it opts to trade Kevin Pillar, or the Giants can keep Pillar and move forward with a platoon in the middle of the outfield.
Former first-round draft choice Chris Shaw could also merit a promotion if he continues hitting for power at Triple-a. There are a handful of ways to clear space for Shaw if the Giants believe he needs to play on an everyday basis.
A larger-scale shakeup may not come until the offseason, but Zaidi could change the status quo if the prospects he acquires in trades this summer warrant evaluations at the big league level right away.
The Giants’ .432 winning percentage at the midpoint of the season is the team’s third-worst since 2000, so regardless of how playing time is divided and who receives the most chances, the sentiment within the clubhouse is clear.
If it requires young players seizing their chance or veterans playing up to their career norms, there’s one thing everyone in the organization is craving in the second half.
“More wins,” Crawford said. “That actually is as simple as that. No matter how we do it, whether it’s score more runs or hold the other team to less runs. The goal is to score more runs than the other team. However we can get those wins, we’ll take them.”