Can Giants prove skeptics wrong?
Team needs key veterans to have rebound seasons
SAN FRANCISCO >> After three consecutive losing seasons, Giants fans are left to wonder how long it will take before they can realistically expect the team to contend for a playoff berth.
Based on the moves Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and general manager Scott Harris made over the winter, it doesn’t appear as if there’s much hope for the 2020 season.
The front office has the liberty of focusing on longterm goals, but the manager, coaching staff and players refuse to throw in the towel before they work up a sweat.
“We expect that we’re going to compete to win every single night,” new manager Gabe Kapler said.
Without substantial upgrades to the roster, it’s difficult to see how the Giants can turn a 77-win team that won 38-one run games into a club that has a chance to play into October.
Kapler believes a 13-person coaching staff that will emphasize player development from both rookies and veterans alike will lead to incremental improvements across the board. Yes, that means the Giants are counting holdovers such as Buster Posey, Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford to take steps forward after showing signs of decline in previous seasons.
Concerned with the plan? Posey understands why.
“I think the fan base has
a right to be skeptical about it,” Posey said. “I can’t speak for those other guys, but I do feel like I have more left in the tank to be more productive. I’m sure those guys feel the same way.”
After undergoing seasonending hip surgery in August, 2018, Posey returned last year and posted career-lows in batting average (.259) and on-base percentage (.320) while posting a .688 OPS, which is 138 points below his career average.
He’s optimistic about a bounce-back season because he’s in much better health entering spring training this year. While running was painful for Posey last February, he’s sprinting four days a week and says there’s a “night and day” difference in his hip.
With some tweaks at the plate, Posey thinks he’s in for a more normal season.
“We’re all going to have to be willing to make some changes,” Posey said. “You can’t keep doing the same thing you’re doing and expect to get different results. We’re going to have to make some changes.”
Like Posey, Belt and Crawford have also battled injury issues that have hampered their performances since the 2018 AllStar break. Both infielders have dealt with knee problems they now believe are behind them and with the outfield fences coming in at Oracle Park, there’s reason to believe the lefthanded hitters could see an uptick in their offensive numbers.
“There’s been some injuries that have crept in and kept us from playing at our full potential,” Belt said. “Having a full offseason now of being able to rehab, get better and strengthen our whole bodies, I think that you’re going to see an older side to the veterans and by older I mean how we played a few years ago.”
A Bay Area native, Crawford spends his winters in Arizona and has devoted time over the last several weeks to working with new Giants hitting coaches at the team’s minor league complex in Scottsdale. As he enters his ninth full season as a starter, Crawford believes he can still provide value despite coming off a year in which his numbers as low as they’ve been since he was a rookie.
“I’ve been working on some changes that I think are pretty minor, but I think will help me out,” Crawford said. “So to answer your question, yes, I think there definitely is a place for us veterans.”
For the first time in their careers, Posey, Crawford and Belt will play for a manager other than Bruce Bochy. The transition toward a new era began last season when Zaidi replaced Bobby Evans, a 25-year veteran of the front office, but the changes this season will be far more noticeable.
With a front office and coaching staff that’s eager to make use of platoons and dole out playing time based more on merit and less on reputation, any struggles at the plate will cut into the opportunities veterans receive.
The Giants have publicly insisted the team’s incumbent starters are more than capable of improving their numbers, which has created relatively high internal expectations. What Zaidi, Harris and Kapler haven’t stated out loud is if the veterans fail to generate more production at the plate, playing time will be slashed and and other options will be explored.
Based on the numbers Giants regulars have put up over the last few seasons, fans have every right to be skeptical of the team’s optimism entering the season. With report dates approaching, Posey, Crawford, Belt and others know they’re running out of chances to prove people wrong.