Forbes came out with their annual rankings of MLB clubs. The Yankees are #1 with an estimated value of $6B. The Dodgers are #2 at just over $4B with the Red Sox and Cubs third and fourth at just under $4B. The San Francisco Giants come in at #5 with a valuation of $3.5B. That's three-and-a-half BILLION dollars!
Did you ever think the Giants would be one of the elite, big-name franchises? When you were shivering in Candlestick watching another hapless squad with a few thousand other lunatics, did you imagine this day would come?
Anyway, the Giants are projected to spend about $170M in 2022, well under the $230M cap. I suspect some fans would like to see the team leverage their wealth and prestige and attract some big-name stars (especially some RH power!). But FZ and ownership seem committed to the boring, sensible route which is finding lower-cost ways to get (almost) the same thing.
If those savings are going into the farm system, scouting, analytics, facilities, player development, etc. then I'm all for it. The Dodgers and Yankees both have continuous talent pipelines. They can fill most needs from within and trade the surplus for more prospects or for veteran players. And they can spend the monster bucks to get Mookie Betts or Gerrit Cole. I think the Giants aren't quite there. It feels like they are creating a stronger talent base, and learning how to coach players to get their best efforts, but it is still a work in progress. They don't--yet--have the surpluses of The Big Two. It's the talent surplus that allows LA and NY to take risks with big contracts. Even if the signings are a bust they will still have talented ballplayers to fill the holes.
107 wins last year showed that the Giants can build a winner. Now they get to keep it going.
Eight more Spring games before the season starts on April 8th.
--M.C.
8 comments:
Longoria needs surgery on his finger.
LaMonte Wade, Jr. will start the year on the IL.
I read that Kris Bryant, Rockie, is to be used, primarily, as a left fielder. I find that weird. They just extended Ryan McMahon, and project him for third. I understood that the Giants were not going to pursue Kris Bryant because of his lack of defensive versatility, and yet the Rockies project him for left field in an even larger park than the Giants'. Maybe there were other reasons, like the term of the contract (McMahon is getting 6 years).
Looks like the Giants games against the blue goo are heavily weighted towards the end of the season. I count 5 before the AS Break, 14 afterwards. 3 April, 2 June, 4 July, 4 August, 6 September.
Bryant would have been a great fit in SF but he (apparently) wanted a long-term deal and the Giants have been averse to those.
They supposedly offered Bryce Harper 10 years but Harper is one of those generational talents, someone you could take a 10-year risk on. Bryant is an excellent ballplayer but the Giants have not had too much luck recently with long contracts. I don't think Bryant projects all that well going forward. Coors will probably be a great place for him to hit.
I was hoping that the giants would sign Bryant, but the contract he received seems a bit out of line for what his value to the giants. Was 5 years 110 million reasonable? I would not have gone longer or higher than that, as it is what I perceive his value on a good day. Just not sure what the Rockies are doing. They jettisoned two of their best talents and then over-payed for new signings. The Rockies are always dangerous because of their venue. I look at the hidden signings of Pederson and Dickerson as a defacto trade. Pederson cost a lot more money but is a significantly better outfielder. He also seems to not be hurt as much as Dickerson. With the DH, Dickerson could have a good year if he once again finds his swing. I think the giants have the odds in their favor, except that Pederson cost about 6 times as much as Dickerson. I was hoping that the giants would sign a well established right handed hitter but they did not go that route. We lost Posey, Bryant and Solano. Three important right hand bats. Lets see if the giants can replace their production.
I think the Rockies have always been sort of a Step 1: Sign Big; Step 2: Pare Costs by Panic Trades; Step 3: Panic and repeat Step 1 sort of team. Remember Denny Neagle (5 yr signing, retired after 3 with a 19 - 23 record) or Mike Hampton (8 years, was a Brave on year 3)? There has been a lot of fan dissent and bad press about Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story. Arenado was quite vocal about his desire to leave. I think there was a good bit of willingness to overpay to look good (Bryant was, I think, the biggest name available)
From today's Denver Post: "Kiszla: Is the Rockies’ $182 million bet on Kris Bryant enough to win back trust of lovesick Colorado baseball fans?"
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