February 11: pitchers and catchers report (Tue)
February 12: first workout (Wed)
February 16: position players report (Sun)
February 17: first full-squad workout (Mon)
February 22: first spring game (Sat)
March 21: last spring game (Sat)
March 22: at River Cats (Sun)
March 23-24: Bay Bridge Series (Mon-Tue)
March 26: Opening Day in LA (Thu)
April 3: Home Opener vs. Dodgers (Fri)
These are from Maria Guardado's article on the website.
Here's the link to the printable regular-season schedules.
--M.C.
update: Giants sign IF Wilmer Flores
15 comments:
Infielder Wilmer Flores signed a "multi-year deal" according to MLBTR. They will have to boot someone from the 40-man.
He's only 28 but has 670 games in the bigs (Mets and DBacks) with time spent at 1B, 2B, SS, and 3B, although lately mostly 2B and 1B. League average bat but with better numbers against lefties.
Maybe the talk of Mauricio Dubon moving to CF isn't so far-fetched. Seems like they have a logjam at 2B. Also there are lots of guys who can play 1B. Flores can play SS or 3B in a pinch and that gives the team some lineup flexibility. He was worth about 1-WAR in a half-time role in AZ last season.
FZ loves multi-position players.
Kean Wong gets the boot, I suppose. He'll probably go to AAA.
2 yrs, $6M for Flores.
Dodgers supposedly get Mookie Betts. David Price comes along, too. Betts is a free agent next year. Price is owed $30M/yr through 2022. They had to give up Kenta Maeda (to the Twins, who sent a pitcher to Boston) as well as Alex Verdugo (to the Sox).
Doesn't seem like a very high price for Betts. Maeda is a 2+ WAR pitcher and Verdugo a 2+ WAR OF (who will only be 24 this year). Betts is the most valuable position player in baseball not named Mike Trout.
Word is 3-WAR Joc Pederson is going to the Angels for a 23-year old switch-hitting 2B/SS named Luis Rengifo.
Yankees get the best pitcher and Dodgers get the best player. Gee, that wasn't predictable.
Still no official word on the Giants website about Flores.
Interestingly, the Dodgers-Sox blockbuster with Mookie Betts is delayed. The pitcher the Twins sent to Boston did not impress the medicos. We'll see if they resolve that.
Signing Wilmer Flores has been the most positive thing the Giants have done this offseason, and that is only because it gives me a chance to use my best Mr. Ed voice when I say his name.
Mr Ed gets a hit off Koufax.
Gregor Blanco and Nick Hundley are both getting jobs with MLB. Senior Directors of Baseball Operations. The link has more details about what they'll do. Both guys always struck me as intelligent and approachable and both have a reputation for being good teammates. If they bring those personal qualities to their new gig I suspect they'll be successful.
Blanco rates at 9 fWAR for his career, with 4 straight ~2-WAR seasons from 2012 to 2015. He was the right guy at the right time. His glovework, versatility, and on-base skills made him a valuable guy. He played over a 1000 games in his career.
Hundley's best seasons were 2011 with San Diego and 2015 with Colorado. He played 12 years in the bigs. He'll be 37 in Sept but wanted to keep playing. Catchers are a different breed, man.
It was Wilber not Wilmer in Mr. Ed Zo. But you can still use the voice of course - for the horse of course.
Maria Guardado tweets that Pence is back with the Giants on a major-league deal.
That ought to make for some competition in the OF. There are a few lefties (Dick, Yaz, Duggar) so a righty bat is going to be useful. Still would like to see Jaylin Davis. I hope he has a good spring.
Clearly you have to have ML-proven players. You can't turn the whole thing over to prospects and hope it all breaks the right way. At this point all of the vets will be looking at platoon partners. What I hope is that the youngster(s) in the partnership will get some good matchups to help their development and that the oldster can be at his best and not get ground down over the long haul.
It is also clear that ownership is not going to spend any serious money. They exceeded the cap (CBT) all three years (2015-2017) and peaked at ~$200M in 2018. That was 3rd highest in MLB. They were only $2M under the luxury tax, last year were under $190M (9th highest) and almost $20M under the cap. This year they will be around $150M and $50+M under the cap. They'll be over $100M under the cap in 2021.
That's where they want to be. Talent pool re-stocked, cheap players under team control, and free of big long-term deals. Then you have the flexibility and resources to throw at Gerritt Cole or Mookie Betts when and if you need a player like that. The Dodgers are getting a year of Betts for two players. Both are good, but they have the depth to replace them.
Giants sign speedster Billy Hamilton to a minors deal.
Hamilton probably still has a good glove and is still fleet of foot but he has never been a good hitter (lifetime .623 OPS) at the ML level despite 3000+ PA. Late inning defensive replacement, pinch runner, bench bat, maybe an occasional game at leadoff against a pitcher who is poor with runners on base. Last year he had 350+ PA--I can't see him doing that this year. He did finish the season with Atlanta and got to play in the post-season, all in a limited role (26 G, 9 starts, 48 PA).
Competition is a good thing. Remember Cameron Maybin? He really fell flat in his "audition" with the Giants last spring but then kicked ass late in the season for the Yankees. You never know with these "old" guys (Hamilton is 29). Plus the team will have a lot of youngsters out there and they'll need to have real major-leaguers around to see what they are up against.
Pence is official--one year deal for $3M. Luis Madero was outrighted off the 40-man. So much roster-churning I didn't know Luis Madero (RHP) was on the 40-man!
Pence should be an ideal platoon player, esp. against lefties. Assuming of course that the 2019 Pence is the guy we are getting and not the 2017-2018 Pence!
Kapler is Pence without the charm. Pence's relentless positivity makes him quirky and lovable, Kapler's version is more in-your-face and can be hard to take. But Kapler is the manager and that's OK. The manager has to be more business-like. But Kapler sees a kindred spirit in Pence and that's part of the reason he's back. Kapler needs veteran players who will buy into his new schemes and guys like Pence (and possibly Panda) are perfect. They aren't set in their ways as they are at that point in their careers where the contracts are short-term!
Looks like the Twins are pulling out of the Mookie Betts deal. If the Dodgers want him they'll have to try another combination. Maybe the Sox will hold out for more this time.
Aramis Garcia hurt in winter ball and needs labrum surgery. He's out for 6-8 months. Looks like Tyler Heineman has the inside track.
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