Giants see positive value from plucky season
Though the team finished under .500, it is a free-agent destination
The Giants finished under .500 for the fourth consecutive season in 2020, but president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi believes the organization has plenty of reasons to believe free agents will view San Francisco as a desirable destination this winter.
After Giants coaches helped Kevin Gausman and Drew Smyly re- establish their value and parlay their experience with the franchise into more lucrative contracts this offseason, Zaidi thinks others in similar positions see the value of working with a forwardthinking staff.
“I think we try to look for guys with ability, but guys that have the aptitude and motivation to make adjustments,” Zaidi said on a video conference on Wednesday. “That’s what everybody is looking for, and we’ve been fortunate to find guys that have been able to execute at a level that’s put them in a much better position from a market standpoint.”
The Giants made Gausman a top priority in free agency last winter when they gave him a one-year, $9 million deal based on the potential he demonstrated pitching out of the bullpen for the Cincinnati Reds in 2020. Gausman had been cut by the Braves earlier in the season, but the Giants saw value in his fastballsplitter combination and the veteran right-hander emerged as the team’s most consistent starter in 2020.
Keeping Gausman required an $18.9 million commitment from the Giants this winter, but Zaidi is excited to welcome him back to a rotation that’s now in need of a replacement for Smyly. After the left-hander racked up 42 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings during a 2020 season in which he dealt with a left index finger strain, Smyly signed a one-year, $11 million contract with the Atlanta Braves, which is nearly three times the salary he earned in San Francisco this summer.
With several free agent starting pitchers coming off injuries or disappointing seasons, Zaidi thinks the Giants will be able to sell their recent success stories in recruiting pitches and land some of their more desirable targets. The Giants’ top baseball executive hasn’t outlined specific pitchers the team is interested in, but the team has been connected to former Minnesota Twins All- Star Jake Odorizzi and could be a good fit for others with recent injury histories such as left-handers James Paxton and Cole Hamels.
Luring starting pitchers to San Francisco to fix a rotation that was a relative weakness in 2020 is the Giants’ top offseason priority, but Zaidi said he’s noticed a change of tone in the conversations he’s had with agents regarding the willingness of free agent position players to play at
Oracle Park. After bringing the outfield fences in and changing the dimensions of their home stadium for the first time since it opened in 2000, the Giants responded with their best offensive season in recent memory while creating intrigue among hitters who might be more inclined to sign in San Francisco.
The Giants aren’t likely to make a significant financial commitment to any position players because Zaidi is confident in the group that became one of the 10 best offenses in the majors this year, but more offensive success in 2021 would go a long way toward convincing hitters that they won’t be dramatically hurt
by playing home games at Oracle Park.
“It’s sort of reason for optimism as we look at that market. We’re pretty happy with our position player group, they did a terrific job and there’s maybe a role here or there that we may look to fill, but overall, we think we have the makings of a really strong offense,” Zaidi said.
INJURY NOTES >> More than a month after first baseman Brandon Belt underwent offseason heel surgery, the Giants still aren’t certain when he’ll be able to take the field again. Zaidi said it’s too soon to know whether Belt will be ready for spring training, but said the organization is hope
ful he’ll be able to play by Opening Day.
Belt is coming off the best offensive season of his career and was a catalyst for the Giants’ surge at the plate.
Zaidi added that one of the team’s top outfield prospects, Alexander Canario, won’t be ready for Opening Day of the minor league season after undergoing shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum last week.
Zaidi did have good news regarding outfield prospect Heliot Ramos and major league outfielder Austin Slater, who both dealt with injury issues this year. Ramos missed time during instructional league play in October and November due to an oblique injury while
Slater was limited mostly to designated hitter duties during the second half of the 2020 season because of an elbow issue. Both are expected to be fully recovered by the start of spring training.
ASSISTANT NAKKEN FINDS
A PLACE IN HALL OF FAME >> It took longer than expected, but the No. 92 jersey San Francisco Giants assistant coach Alyssa Nakken wore during her first major league game has finally reached Cooperstown.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum announced this week that the gray road jersey Nakken wore in the Giants’ July 23 season- opener at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles is now on display.
The first woman to hold a full-time coaching position in the majors told the Bay Area News Group in March that the Hall of Fame had reached out to the Giants during spring training to ask her to donate her first jersey from a regular season game and Nakken agreed.
Nakken coached baserunning and outfield defense during her first season as a Giants assistant and made more history when she relieved Giants first base coach Antoan Richardson in two exhibition games in July against the Oakland A’s. Nakken became the first woman to coach in an on-field capacity during a major league game, which came after Richardson made the suggestion to Giants manager Gabe Kapler.
Nakken is expected to return to the Giants as an assistant in 2021 and could expand her duties.