It's been quite a stretch of five days for the San Francisco Giants.
On Monday, Carlos Correa appeared to be wrapping up his deal with his new club to become the centerpiece of the Giants over the next decade-plus. He even started house shopping in the Bay Area and apparently was very excited to be here.
We all know what happened next, however. Well, we know what Scott Boras has told us at least.
This story has been so talked about over the last 72 hours that I don't really want to delve into it too much. It seems to me that the Giants inexperience with going through these types of mega-deals bit them a little in the end. I do think they were scared off by something in the medicals and it wasn't just them changing their mind over the week after agreeing to the deal.
Again, we may never know the full details of this. You can understand why a team would not want to go forward with a contract of this capacity if they did have legit concerns about the players health. The blunder, however, came with the way they handled it. Agreeing to the deal, waiting a week to announce a press conference only to back out at the 11th hour. It screamed of incompetence and inexperience.
It's been well bantered about on the airwaves and twitter though, so I'm sure if your reading this you already have your opinion, so I'll leave it at that.
Back to business.
The Giants did make some "pivot" moves that were announced Friday morning, although as we know now, nothing is confirmed and final until we get that notification from the Giants.
It looks like Michael Conforto and Taylor Rogers are coming to town at the moment though. Two moves that would have been the extreme cherry on top had the Giants gone through with the Correa deal, but good moves nonetheless.
I always have liked Conforto and he was one of the top free agents of last years class prior to injuring himself in January and having to miss the 2022 season. He's an all-star type of talent though who is entering his age-30 season.
If he's healthy, we know he's motivated, and we know he's talented. That could be a recipe for a big year. It could also be that his 2021 down-year was the beginning of his decline.
From 2017-19, Conforto averaged 29 home runs per year with a .864 OPS and 134 OPS+. Then in the truncated 2020 season, he was perhaps at his best, albeit at a prorated scale. He went .322/412/515 with 9 home runs and 31 RBI. You extrapolate that over a 162 game span and your looking at legit MVP-type numbers.
That potential though, for a 30 year-old on a short-term sort of prove-it contract, there's a lot to like. And taking into account what was left on the market and the fact the Giants needed a bat who could hit towards the middle of the lineup as well as play a competent outfield, this makes a lot of sense.
With Rogers, the Giants pretty much know what they're getting. And that is a left-handed reliever with very good stuff who's had success closing and should help shoulder some of the closing duties in San Francisco.
I talked last week about how Rogers reuniting with his twin brother in San Francisco and coming to pitch in this ballpark would seem like an attractive option for him. The Giants got him on a three-year/$33M deal which is pretty reasonable for a guy with Rogers' experience and ability. Especially after seeing what some of the other lesser relievers have gotten this offseason.
I like these two moves. They do make the team better, and depending on how Conforto rebounds, they may have just landed an all-star outfielder and the last top-end talent on the free agent market. These two moves do not take the sour taste out of Giants' fans mouths pertaining to the Correa situation, however.
If there were questions about the direction of this team for the 2023 season after their situation early this week this at least gives us an idea, It does show that they are still intent on at least trying to put a serviceable, competitive product on the field for the 2023 season. Are they a playoff team after the additions? I still think they're a little short but they're at least better than they were prior to the moves.
I would still like to see them add another everyday starter in one of the middle infield spots. I mentioned Willy Adames' name on twitter last night as a potential pivot at short. A 27 year-old thumper who has a big arm and good glove who was rumored to be available earlier in the offseason. He would seem like a nice fit.
We'll see where they go from here. They still have some things they can do. I don't think these are the final moves of the offseason but I think the heavy lifting is probably done at this point. No, it's not Carlos Correa, but eventually we're going to have to move on. This is at least a start in that direction.
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