Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Giants Take the Fifth

In the 2010 June draft the first player taken was Bryce Harper. The third pick was Manny Machado. The Giants don't figure to be in on either of those marquee free agents so they went with the next best thing: the fifth pick in that same draft. That fellow is lefty Drew Pomeranz. In both 2016 and 2017 Pomeranz was a 3-WAR pitcher (with the Padres and the Red Sox). His 2018 season was a forgettable one as he battled injuries and was ultimately let go. The 30-year old is guaranteed only $1.5M but incentives can make the deal worth up to $5M. This is a low-risk move that can potentially add another intriguing rotation piece and/or mid-season trade chip. MLBTR has the details.

--M.C.

8 comments:

M.C. O'Connor said...

I forgot to note it is a one-year deal for Pomeranz.

FZ says (see sidebar tweets) the new southpaw will be in the rotation. I suppose he bumps Suarez on the depth chart? I'm assuming Samardzija can pitch--I have not heard otherwise, but I've not heard anything at all for that matter--and with Holland and Bumgarner that leaves two spots. So if the FNG is one, that means D-Rod is the other, I suppose? He only threw 116 innings last season in 21 games (19 starts). They may want to ease him along. Stratton is still in the picture but is out of options.

Over the last few years the Dodgers had about eight guys who could start and they somehow kept them all around and pulled one out whenever one went down.

Three lefty starters? Can you do that?

Ron said...

My counter to 'I'm assuming that Samardzija can pitch' would be 'Could he ever?' I'm not counting on him for jack.

LA had 4 lefty starters recently, & so can we, I suppose. I think that we're going to be going w/ whoever the top 5 performers look like in Spring Training, no matter from which side they pitch. (Or, we could convert Venditte into a Starter. Or, there's always the Pablo Sandoval pitching option.)

M.C. O'Connor said...

In the absence of news about Samardzija I'm assuming he's healthy. I hope so--he gave the Giants 400 IP in 2016 and 2017.

With the payroll/roster constraints I expect more moves like this one. FZ spent a lot of time in Oakland with a small-market mindset and budget. The Giants need to add value and flexibility and improve the team one small step at a time--this is supposed to be his strength as an executive. They could surprise us and go after a big name and blow past the CBT but I'm skeptical. I think this incremental approach is what we have to look forward to in the short term.

M.C. O'Connor said...

Hunter Strickland winds up in Seattle on a one-year deal. Thinking back to that 2014 season and his memorable-for-the-wrong-reasons post-season, he had only faced 25 big-league hitters (9 G, 7 IP) before that! Not many guys who are that green get a shot at a playoff roster. I checked on Francisco Rodriguez, the infamous F-Rod from the 2002 Angels World Series team. He was even greener: 21 BF over 5 G and 5-2/3 IP! Of course F-Rod pitched for 15 more years and was a dominant closer at his peak. Strickland is a good pitcher, or was, last year he was killed by bases-on-balls, it will be interesting to see if he can still be effective now that he's hit that magic 30-years-old mark. He was signed right out of HS by the Red Sox, an 18th-round pick, only three other guys in that round made the majors, and all of them have fewer than 1-WAR, Strick sits at about 4-WAR. Dan Otero was the Giants 21st round selection that year, he's listed at about 5-WAR. MadBum was number ten overall that year (David Price was #1). Other than those first handful of picks the draft is a real crapshoot!

Ron said...

Our good buddy, JP, used to like to say 'Life mocks me' about the Giants & other topics. This Hunter Strickland news is a miniature version of this phenomenon:

- To my relief, my favorite MLB Team (& the one that I watch & listen to the most) turned loose my least favorite Player.

- Then, much to my dismay, a few weeks later, he was picked up by my favorite AL Team (& the one that I watch & listen to the second most).

Why couldn't he go to the Rays, or someone like that? That would have accomplished several objectives:

- I'd hardly have to see his sorry false-macho bullshit act.

- We certainly wouldn't have to worry about him popping up in the Post-Season.

Zo said...

On the plus side, the Giants don't face the Mariners in the next two years, so those of us who don't dote on the Mariners can be free of that asshat for at least the next year.

M.C. O'Connor said...

I'm fascinated by where talent comes from. Sergio Romo was a 28th-round pick in 2005, a forgettable draft year for the Giants (no picks in rds 1-2-3). His 10-WAR is the most out of the 50 picks by the team. Andrew McCutchen was the 11th overall pick in that draft.

I won't miss Strickland, but I hope he figures it out. I don't mind a little over-the-top action now and again. You gotta have a few bad actors, just for entertainment value. If they were all Buster Posey it would get dull, don't you think?

M.C. O'Connor said...

Joey Bart is coming to camp along with 18 other non-roster invitees. Ryan Vogelsong, Juan Uribe, Andres Torres, Santiago Casilla, Yusmeiro Petit, and Gregor Blanco were all NRIs before winning their rings with the Giants, so you never know.