Complete Offseason Guide, Predictions for the San Francisco Giants
Thanks to Madison Bumgarner's left arm, some timely hitting and superb defense, the San Francisco Giants have become baseball's newest dynasty, besting the Kansas City Royals in seven games to win the team's third World Series Championship in five years.
But for general manager Brian Sabean, the celebration will be short-lived as he turns his attention to the upcoming offseason. While Bumgarner's status with the club isn't an issue, a number of key players could potentially find themselves wearing a different uniform in 2015.
What's on tap for the Giants this winter? Let's take a look.
Payroll Breakdown
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San Francisco heads into the offseason with more than $127 million committed to 12 players for 2015, figures that, if the club plans on staying around the $149 million Opening Day payroll that it had in 2014, leaves Brian Sabean roughly $22 million with which to fill 13 roster spots.
That's not a heck of a lot of money, especially when you consider that the club faces the potential of losing its starting third baseman and two-fifths of its starting rotation as free agents.
Arbitration-Eligible Players
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San Francisco doesn't have a ton of players heading to arbitration, especially when you compare them to some of the other teams in baseball, but there are enough due raises to make a dent in the team's upcoming payroll.
| Brandon Belt | 1B | $2,900,000 | $3,750,000 | Eric Hosmer |
| Gregor Blanco | OF | $2,525,000 | $4,000,000 | Drew Stubbs |
| Brandon Crawford | SS | $560,000 | $2,500,000 | Everth Cabrera |
| J.C. Gutierrez | RP | $850,000 | $1,450,000 | Kevin Jepsen |
| Travis Ishikawa | 1B/OF | $1,000,000* | $1,750,000 | Mike Carp |
| Yusmeiro Petit | SP/RP | $845,000 | $2,000,000 | No Comparison |
| Guillermo Quiroz | C | Unknown* | Non-Tender Candidate | N/A |
| Hector Sanchez | C | $512,500 | Non-Tender Candidate | N/A |
| Totals | $9,192,500 | $15,450,000 |
Brandon Crawford doesn't offer much at the plate (though he does have a knack for coming through in big spots, as he did against Pittsburgh in the wild-card game), but he's one of the game's premier defensive shortstops and will still be a relative bargain at under $3 million in 2015.
Brandon Belt has shown flashes of being the long-term answer at first base, but he missed 97 games due to injury (the bulk for a concussion and long-lasting symptoms), which, along with Buster Posey's eventual move out from behind the plate, will keep the team from trying to work out a long-term deal with him.
Yusmeiro Petit is a fascinating case, which makes pegging his salary in 2015 nearly impossible.
Since 1901, Petit is the only pitcher in baseball to average fewer than two walks and more than 10 strikeouts per nine innings of work in a season during which he made at least 10 starts while appearing in relief at least 60 percent of the time.
As for the pair of backup catchers, Guillermo Quiroz and Hector Sanchez, Andrew Susac has pretty much removed them from the equation.
*Baseball Prospectus and Cot's Contracts did not list a 2014 salary for Ishikawa or Quiroz. Ishikawa salary courtesy of ESPN.
Players with Options and Pittsburgh's Free Agents
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When it comes to San Francisco's own free agents, there's Pablo Sandoval—and there's everyone else.
For as frustrating as Sandoval can be with his weight and inconsistent power, the Giants don't have an internal option to replace him should he depart as a free agent. Re-signing him has to be the team's top priority.
| Mike Morse | 1B/OF | $6,000,000 | |
| Jake Peavy | SP | $14,500,000 | |
| Sergio Romo | RP | $6,300,000 | |
| Pablo Sandoval | 3B | $8,250,000 | |
| Ryan Vogelsong | SP | $5,000,000 |
Both Fox Sports' Jon Paul Morosi and the San Francisco Chronicle's Henry Schulman believe that Sandoval will ultimately re-sign with the Giants, even if, as Morosi opines, Sandoval asks for a Hunter Pence-like deal (five years, $90 million).
But what if that projection is on the low side? What if, despite posting the second-lowest OPS of his career during the regular season (.739), Team Sandoval starts the bidding for his services at $100 million?
With a pair of big-market clubs—the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees—both in need of a long-term answer at the hot corner, it's not hard to imagine the two AL East rivals engaging in a bidding war for the Panda.
If the bidding for Sandoval goes significantly higher than $100 million, the Giants figure to turn their attention elsewhere.
As for the rest of the team's free agents, both Mike Morse and Ryan Vogelsong will be playing elsewhere in 2015. The same is probably true of Jake Peavy, but it wouldn't at all be surprising to see the Giants make a strong push to re-sign him before he hits the open market.
Sergio Romo, coming off his worst season since 2009, is simply going to be too expensive for the Giants to justify bringing back.
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Potential Free-Agent and Trade Targets
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It's safe to assume that the Giants will be looking for at least one starting pitcher, some reinforcements in the outfield and, potentially, a new starting third baseman.
The good news for San Francisco is that there are a number of players available, whether it be through free agency or via trade, that could fill those roles.
- Yoenis Cespedes, LF: Boston is expected to shop Cespedes this winter, partly because as one Red Sox insider tells Bill Madden of the New York Daily News, "He (Cespedes) marches to his own drum and all the coaches hate him." Would give the Giants a pair of dynamic corner outfielders along with Hunter Pence.
- Chase Headley, 3B: Should Pablo Sandoval leave via free agency, Headley seems like a logical replacement. While he's nowhere near the offensive talent that Sandoval is, Headley remains among the best defensive third basemen around.
- Mike Leake, SP: Cincinnati is expected to be shopping some of its starting pitching, including Leake, who had the 12th-highest ground-ball rate (53.4 percent) among qualified pitchers in 2014. With a terrific infield defense behind him, Leake could thrive in San Francisco.
- Francisco Liriano, SP: While he's a bit erratic, Liriano has proven he can perform like a front-of-the-rotation arm and does a tremendous job of both keeping the ball on the ground and in the park.
Unless otherwise noted/linked, all statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs; all payroll and salary information courtesy of Cot's Contracts. All player comparisons link to Baseball Prospectus.
Want to talk Giants' offseason plans or anything baseball related? Hit me up on Twitter: @RickWeinerBR
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.jpg?w=600 "Most Likely Post-June 1 Trade Candidates 👋")
