The future should be now at first base and catcher

The Giants' most pivotal offseason in over a decade is in full force and with the departure of closer Will Smith, who inked a 4-year pact in Atlanta, marking the first big loss for the ballclub.

The second departure from the '19 roster took place Tuesday after backup catcher, and a guy who really took well to this clubhouse and this fan base, Stephen Vogt, decided to take his talents to Arizona. In AZ, he'll be asked to backup and help mentor impressive young backstop Carson Kelly. Now don't get me wrong, the Vogt departure isn't anywhere near as impacting as losing ace closer Will Smith, but as painful and strange as this is to say, Vogt was the teams best catcher in 2019 so he too isn't someone Farhan and Scott Harris can easily replace. I mean, on a roster with a former MVP backstop and someone still relatively in their prime, Vogt was the more productive of the two, and by a good amount. The 32 year-old Vogt slashed a solid .263/.314/.490 over 255 at-bats. Posey. on the other hand struggled as he was trying to get his surgically repaired hip back into form, only able to muster a career-low .257/.320/.368 line in over 400 at-bats. Posey left the yard just 7 times and drove in 38 runs while taking most of his at-bats right in the middle of the lineup. Vogt left earth 10 times with 40 driven in with almost 200 less at-bats than Posey.

That doesn't tell the whole store though, as Posey has had an ongoing struggle with his hip the last couple of seasons and had surgery to repair it last winter. I obviously effected his play in 2019 but the Giants are hoping now a full, health offseason where he can divulge focus on refining his game rather than just trying to get himself healthy.

Thus, the catching position will be very interesting to keep an eye on moving forward. The plan is for Posey to revert back to full health and in-turn, hopefully his numbers climb back up as a result. However, Buster will be 33 heading into next offseason and while I'm definitely expecting a much more respectable offensive showing, counting on someone who's caught a lot of ballgames over the last decade to all of the sudden revert back to his 27 year-old form would be foolish. He, in my opinion is probably the most pivotal and impactful player in that lineup this year. If he can get back to his pre-2018 drop-off, that that would provide such an amazing boost for this offense. Not saying they need him to be a 20 HR/year guy again, but it's not like he forgot how to hit, Buster at .285/.335/.450 are numbers well within his reach if he's physically able to play up to his capabilities.

This, like for may other players on the team, will be a crucial year for Buster. If he struggles with injury and ineffectiveness yet again, it should signal the end of his days as the Giants primary backstop. And seeing how he's making north of $20M/year for another couple of seasons too would be all sorts of bad. Best case scenario, at least in my opinion, is if he can bounce back offensively and maybe start his transfer over the first base this year. Not only would that open up a spot for the team's top prospect Joey Bart, who I expect to see this year and hopefully plenty of him, but it may in turn improve his offense all together as his legs won't be taking the same beating which could work wonders on his foundation at the pate.

On top of all of that, I feel like Brandon Belt is one of the more trade-able pieces the Giants have on their roster now is the time to find a taker for the 31 year-old power/on-base style hitter. The Giants may need to eat a portion of Belts large contract in order to open up first base, but I think it could end up being a win-win for whoever he potentially would get moved to along with the Giants. It's no secret that Oracle Park has been about as hard on Belt as any other Giants lefty since he arrived. Still very much in his prime as a first-basemen, I could easily see Belt landing in a more hitter friendly confine and finally reaching his 25+ home run potential. He plays solid defense and gets on base at a high clip so the Giants shouldn't have too much trouble finding a taker for him. The Brewers are a team that immediately comes to mind who could use a first basemen like Belt and that's exactly the type of yard that could elevate Belt's offense big time. Another team I think could use Belt are the reigning World Champion Nationals. They lost Ryan Zimmerman to retirement and Belt would be a huge upgrade defensively or Zimmerman while, again, most likely providing offensive numbers north of his career average.

I just feel like it's time for a change at first base, and I think putting Buster there would help his offense out a lot while opening a spot for Joey Bart, who may come in like Posey did in 2010 and immediately become the team's best hitter. Those are the type of aggressive moves that push the envelope and maybe remove some guys who've been staples here over the last 8-10 years and I'm pretty confident they have the guy in Farhan Zaidi who won't be afraid to make those tough decisions.

Taking a glance at the free agent options out there, there aren't a whole lot of options that really excite anyone. Farhan has always preferred to house a backup catcher who can play multiple positions but with Posey likely slated for less and less time there in 2020, it would make sense to just try and get the best available. My top two choices would be Wellington Castillo and Martin Maldonado. Those two could start in a pinch and tide things over until Bart arrives, maybe sometime in June. Castillo is particularly intriguing as he can really hit when he's right and had a WAR over 2 in two of his last four seasons. Even if they do plan on having Buster back there more games than not, having a solid backup like one of these two would still serve them well.

Now, regardless of whether or not the Giants do take my advice and ship Belt off to open first for Posey, Vogt's departure leaves an open catchers spot on the 25 man roster and that spot will not go to Bart unless he'll be playing more often than not.