We've officially entered 2023 and the countdown to pitchers and catchers reporting to Scottsdale can now begin.
With it being the start of a new year, and with most of the Giants heavy lifting this offseason likely finished, I wanted to give my thoughts on the offseason as a whole.
The Giants are set to arrive in Scottsdale in mid-February, so we still have a little over 6 weeks off offseason left. They could still be active in the trade market searching for middle infield help and it also wouldn't surprise me to see them add another veteran reliever or two to at least invite into camp.
It was indeed a busy offseason for the Giants. Unfortunately, it hasn't transpired quite the way they or their fans were hoping back in early November.
The front office made it known that they were in the market for a star this winter and their first attempt came up short with the Aaron Judge pursuit. I never really envisioned Judge leaving New York though, and the Giants had to know the chances of them bringing him home were slim.
Their path to their plan B appeared a lot more clear though, and they actually landed Carlos Correa. For about a week. We all know how the rest went, no need to rehash. The point is, the Giants promised their fans that they were going to go big this winter and would stop at nothing in order to land one of the big ticket guys, and that mistake is ultimately what taints this offseason.
They probably would have been better off keeping their plans private in order to temper expectations. Even if they have the most money to spend, you still have to get players to agree to join your ball club and a team never has full control over that decision.
As the Giants have learned over the last half-decade in their pursuit of a big star, it takes two to tango, and this will be seen as another offseason where they just couldn't get the job done. Whether that's a fair assessment or not, it's simply the case.
Despite not being able to land Judge or finalize their agreement with Correa, it's been one of the more active offseasons that this team has had in years. Most people have graded what they've done somwhere in the D+ to C+ range and I think that's pretty accurate. They did upgrade their team, albeit marginally, so I would give them a C.
I'm most excited to see what Mich Hanigar and a healthy Michael Conforto bring to the everyday lineup. The batting order just had too many easy outs in it last year, and these two should definitely help improve that.
Conforto, especially, is a wild card. He's shown in the past that he has the ability to really be the catalyst in a lineup. He probably has more upside than any other Giants' hitter they'll trot out this year and he's the one I'm most curious to see play come March.
As far as the pitching additions, I didn't necessarily love the Manaea signing mostly because he was terrible during his first tour in the National League West with the Padres last year. That being said, I understand the logic in this move and if the Giants see something they can fix and get him back to his pre-San Diego days, this should end up being another solid starting pitching add by them.
Stripling isn't a flashy addition by any stretch either but the dude knows how to pitch. If we're going off of last years performances alone, this guy could wind up being the number two here behind Logan Webb.
If Manaea rebounds and Stripling keeps throwing the way he was in '22, the Giants will have both quality and quantity in their rotation. That could get an even bigger boost when Kyle Harrison arrives as well.
A deep rotation plays very well over the course of a 162-game schedule and that's what they're building for. They may not have a clear-cut number two behind Logan Webb like Rodon was, but they have five or six guys lined up behind him that are quality big league starting pitchers and would probably land somewhere in the middle in most other starting rotations.
Taylor Rogers' signing gives the back end of the bullpen a little depth now as he'll provide a left-handed closing option to help Camilo Doval out on occasion. Like Manaea, he too isn't coming off his best performance in 2022, but his track record suggests that it was just an outlier. If he's back to his typical form then the Giants are going to be pretty tough when they get into the 8th inning with a lead..
Before you get to those two, however, things are still a little up in the air.
Aside from Doval and Rogers, the only guys assured spots are Tyler Rogers and John Brebbia. That leaves three or four slots up for grabs and if no other additions are made, they'll all be filled with guys are are not yet dependable. I don't mind rolling out a bullpen with a wild card or two at the bottom, but if half your depth chart are unproven arms, that could get dicey.
Approaching the end of this crazy offseason, the Giants do appear slightly better on paper, with more offensive upside than they had coming into 2022. The outfield defense should be better, but the infield still has some roles to be defined. The rotation is deeper but not quite as electric at the top, and the bullpen should be more stable later in games.
Only time will tell how it comes together, but the best way for the organization to move past the misses from this winter is if this team gets off to a good start and goes on to win 90+ games. There's no big star in the center of it like everyone wanted, but if nothing else, the roster they're putting together has the chance to be competitive. You don't necessarily need a huge superstar to win, it just makes things a little easier and a lot more exciting.
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