The Giants Should Follow the Mariners’ Example and Begin a Full Rebuild
Since the second half of the 2016 season, the San Francisco Giants own a 167-229 record. That’s a to a 0.422 winning percentage. Injuries, large investments in veterans past their prime and an increasingly improving division are all factors to the franchise’s decline.
The Los Angeles Dodgers seem to have the division in a chokehold. The Colorado Rockies are brimming with young talent on the major league roster, and boast stars Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story. The Arizona Diamondbacks faltered in the second half of 2018, but still have a solid lineup and rotation despite Patrick Corbin’s free agency. The San Diego Padres arguably possess a stronger lineup and bullpen than the Giants, and even if they don’t now, they will soon with their talented farm system.
The biggest problem the Giants face is their 25 man roster can’t outplay any other NL West team, and they don’t have a deep enough farm system to offer in trades to fill their gaps, nor enough talent to provide immediate support to their aging, World Series-winning core (i.e. Madison Bumgarner, Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford).
So, now that Farhan Zaidi has taken the reigns in San Francisco, the Giants should take a page out of Jerry Dipoto and the Mariners’ book and sell off big pieces now in order to potentially quicken their rebuild. We recently highlighted what kind of return trading Madison Bumgarner could provide for the Giants, but if they trade their longtime ace (and they should), San Francisco shouldn’t stop there. The Giants still have a handful of players with plenty of value.
Many teams who miss out on Manny Machado would surely have interest in shortstop Brandon Crawford, who still owns one of the most reliable gloves in the league and a solid bat. He’s also owed an affordable $15.2 million through 2021, making him a great fit for teams like the Brewers and the Tigers. And what team could pass up on that incredible hair?
The Giants should also consider trading another Brandon: first baseman Brandon Belt. Much like his shortstop counterpart, Belt is a slick fielding defender at his position with pop from the left side. Belt’s RngR- defined by Frangraphs as “the number of runs above or below average a fielder is, determined by how the fielder is able to get to balls hit in his vicinity”- ranked third in the majors, only behind Oakland’s Matt Olson and the Braves’ Freddie Freeman. Belt could fit on a number of teams as well, from the Mets, Twins, Cardinals and aforementioned Tigers.
Both Belt and Crawford saw their offensive numbers decline in 2018, but the pair are still productive players who would instantly improve any team. Crawford’s first half numbers earned him a trip to the All Star game, but he hit an abysmal .193/.261/.282 in the second half. Belt’s .756 OPS in 2018 is a far cry from his .868 OPS during his All Star campaign in 2016, and he has been plagued with injuries the past two years. The Giants won’t get blockbuster hauls for Belt and Crawford, but they could still start to rebuild their farm system by trading both, while beginning to clear up some salary space, considering they probably won’t be able to move Evan Longoria or Johnny Cueto‘s contracts.
If the Giants rebuild and do decide to move Bumgarner, a franchise icon, it would create a perplexing situation for Buster Posey. On one hand, moving Bumgarner would send the message that the unit that brought three World Series to San Francisco is now moving on. Moving Posey now, before he inevitably transitions to first base full time, would allow the Giants to receive a maximum return for the 32 year old.
However, trading Bumgarner might force Zaidi to hold onto Posey as the last remnant of the Giants’ glory years, and keep the fan base happy by retaining the face of the franchise, who is still under club control through 2022. Additionally, moving Belt would open up first base for Posey, who could lengthen the productive portion of his career by permanently shifting positions.
Posey could continue to serve as the undisputed leader of the Giants, theoretically playing in the same uniform his entire career. It would surely be something if Posey could stick through the Giants rebuild and still be on the team when they return to their winning ways. Everyone else, though, should be fair game to trade.
