After the Giants added Joc Peterson last week, Farhan Zaidi announced that they were content on entering the 2022 season as is, but still would still keep the door "cracked" for possible upgrades.
However, immediately after issuing that statement, it was rumored that the Giants were still in on Trevor Story and were one of four finalists to land the star shortstop. Despite that being floated out there, it just didn't seem like a realistic possibility even if Story was willing to take a short-term deal and hop over to second for a season or two. Apparently the position change idea did not detour him after all, as Story picked Boston and signed a 6 year-deal worth $140 million.
The possibility of adding a player like story was certainly exciting though and it got Giants' twitter going for a few days. No, his home/road splits have not been very good when outside the friendly confines of Coors Field, but you could say the same thing about Nolan Arenado and he ended up being a huge addition for the Cardinals last season. If Story were willing to take a deal like Correa did, a shorter term contract with a couple of opt-outs, I think it would have made sense for the Giants to pursue it, but at the end of the day they were not going to go anywhere near a 6-year deal for anyone this winter.
So, here we sit, a little over 2 weeks away from opening day, and the Giants appear to be all wrapped up with their offseason work.
If I were to grade this offseason, I really like what they've done with the rotation. I think it has a chance to be deeper with more quality than it was in 2021. Granted, they're going to need some guys to stay healthy, most notably Carlos Rodon, but from 1-5, I think they're more talented than they were a year ago. Rodon should do close to what Gausman was doing last year and Cobb should be a big improvement over what they got from Johnny Cueto. Add that with the year of experience and growth Logan Webb had and the improvements both DeSclafini and Alex Wood made last year, and the Giants are set up to do some big things on the mound this year. Health permitting of course.
The bullpen is identical to last years and that one was pretty good. I think the lack of experience caught up with them a little in October, but now those guys have that experience and they should be better off moving forward because of it.
The offense, however, is a bit more tricky. Essentially, they've lost Buster Posey, Kris Bryant and Donovan Solano from last years bunch, and have replaced them with Joc Peterson. Yes, Joey Bart will be joining the team on a full-time basis this year, but he's a rookie and despite the potential, you can't really count on him to impact games the way Posey did.
I do expect some improvement from Mike Yastrzemski and hopefully they get better health from Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria, which would help. They still have good depth and are built well for the 162-game grind, but what we saw last year in the playoffs is that they were lacking elite, game changing hitters when they needed them the most. Now you take away the two guys that arguably carried the offense that series and you can see where the concern lays.
That being said, I think the Joc Peterson addition was really an under-the-radar move that will wind up being bigger than it seems. I mean just a few seasons ago, this guy put up 36 home runs and an .876 OPS and he's still just 29 years of age. He more than has the potential to pop off with another season like that. He's got about as good a chance as anyone on the roster to lead the team in home runs. Plus, he made some strides vs. lefties last year and actually hit them better than righties, average wise. If he gets hot, that power could keep him in the lineup on a daily basis regardless of who's on the mound.
Ultimately, the reasoning for Farhan being less aggressive in his attempt to upgrade the lineup this winter/spring is because he truly wants to see what the Giants have with guys like Steven Duggar and Thairo Estrada. I think they also want to get Heliot Ramos up into the mix at some point early in the season as well, especially if they're carrying 28 players to start the year. He may feel like these guys could provide close to the production a guy like Story could have, and if you look at Story's career stats in San Francisco, he may be right.
But I understand why a lot of people are questioning Farhan. I would have liked to see another proven hitter brought in for insurance. I also understand the idea of letting some guys get shots, especially early on, who look like they may be legit big league players. If things don't work out, and the Giants offense is scoring 3 runs a game through April and May and their pitching is lights out, I could easily see them entering the trade market for more offense. One thing I'm pretty confident in is that Farhan does have a plan and we just have to be patient and see this out.
This is the product the Giants are entering the 2022 season with, but it doesn't necessarily mean there won't be more additions along the way. For now, all we can do is sit back and watch.
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