With a 52-77 record entering the final week of August, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the San Francisco Giants have scored the third fewest runs in baseball.
Though a Giants pitching staff that ranks 17th in the Major Leagues in earned run average hasn’t aided the franchise’s cause this year, San Francisco’s lineup was unable to keep the club afloat during the first half of the season.
Thirty-two games separate the Giants from the offseason, and general manager Bobby Evans is in the midst of evaluating the franchise’s highest priorities. While it’s unlikely the Giants take on a completely different shape next season –especially given the surplus of players owed at least $10 million in 2018 alone– Evans knows it’s imperative that management gives Bruce Bochy a more complete roster heading into next spring.
Even though the Giants’ most recent run of success was built on pitching and defense, there’s little doubt San Francisco needs more power in the heart of the order. Yet when Evans was asked about the prospect of acquiring a center fielder with power, or a center fielder known for his glove this offseason, the Giants’ general manager didn’t hesitate to make his priority clear.
Evans previewed the Giants’ offseason priorities earlier this week on KNBR, and discussed a handful of players whose status with the club may change based on their 2017 performances.
“We’ve got to improve our defense in every way so I think you’ll probably have to look first and foremost with the defense,” Evans said.
While the Giants have Denard Span under contract through the end of the 2018 season, and have a team option for 2019, it’s increasingly apparent that the Giants will ask Span to move to left field next season. Span isn’t the same caliber center fielder he was earlier career, and his arm is among the weakest in the Major Leagues. Though he’s been an asset at the top of the order, especially during the second half of the season, he’s not a part of San Francisco’s long-term future in his current role.
With San Francisco eliminated from playoff contention, the Giants could have begun transitioning Span to left field already, but Evans said the club wants Span to have a fresh start at learning on the job come Spring Training.
“Our feeling was it was best to wait and do that in the spring rather than do it midseason,” Evans said. “With as much as it might be easier than you might think, we felt like it was in the best interest of him and us to let it go through during the spring and start it just as we did with Pagan. We started it day one of Spring Training a year ago and that’s really our plan going into next year.”
Evans’ comments highlight the team’s belief about starting over with fresh blood in center field, even if the Giants don’t pursue a center fielder of the future in free agency. The Giants’ massive payroll may preclude San Francisco from biting on a marquee free agent at the position, so San Francisco could look to acquire a speedy defensive stalwart who can hold down the job for one-to-two seasons before prospects Steven Duggar or Brian Reynolds are prepared to play at the Major League level.
Regardless, though, it appears Span will rank among the players contending for a job in left field, while Evans and Co. attempt to give the Giants’ pitching staff a more viable defensive option in center field in 2018.
Pitching Staff
San Francisco is assuming right-hander Johnny Cueto will pass on the opportunity to exercise the opt-out clause in his contract this offseason, and both Evans and Bochy have acknowledged that they’re counting on Cueto to serve as the franchise’s No. 2 starter next year.
If Cueto does opt out, it will be a gross miscalculation on the part of Giants management, and require the franchise to completely re-evaluate its pitching staff moving forward. But if all goes to plan, the next greatest priority for San Francisco is determining how to handle left-hander Matt Moore.
Evans said the Giants acquired Moore from Tampa Bay with the goal of Moore assuming the No. 3 job on the team’s staff, but at this point in the year, it’s unclear whether Moore would make a suitable No. 5 starter in 2018. The 28-year-old southpaw has spent the better part of 2017 with the highest ERA among National League starters, and only recently has Moore begun to pitch like the player the Giants expected him to be.
“We’d like to have him (Moore) back to form,” Evans said. “We’ve seen two good starts in a row. We’ve seen signs from Matt Moore, we’ve seen signs that he’s lost his stuff at times so for us, we built an expectation that he’d come in and be our No. 3 guy but we’re a long way from next year but we’d like to think that he could bounce back and be more to form.”
Because the club has a $9 million team option it can exercise on Moore, if he continues his current stretch, it’s difficult to imagine San Francisco would cut ties. But even if the franchise does pick up Moore’s option this season, he may have to battle for a starting job in Spring Training.
The other pitcher whose status is of primary concern for San Francisco is under contract for three more seasons. But just because the Giants have closer Mark Melancon inked through the end of the 2020 campaign doesn’t mean he hasn’t created concerns for the club.
Melancon has suffered through two stints on the disabled list this year, and though he hasn’t allowed a run in his last nine outings, the 32-year-old righty is pitching with a pronator strain in his arm. Melancon has a strong urge to pitch, and Evans and Bochy have both indicated that San Francisco wouldn’t allow him to take the mound if there were longer-term concerns about his health.
“We’re consulting with doctors and really getting the best counsel and so is he,” Evans said. “From our standpoint, he wouldn’t be out there if there was a risk.”
While Melancon has appeared increasingly effective since returning from the disabled list, he may undergo offseason surgery to rectify any concerns about his health. If that happens, the Giants do have interim closer Sam Dyson on staff and under club control, but ultimately, San Francisco is determined to ensure Melancon enters the final three seasons of his contract at the top of his game.
There’s no shortage of issues for Evans and the rest of the Giants front office to straighten out before the 2018 season begins, but finding a more capable defensive player in center field and determining the makeup of a pitching staff that underwhelmed this season are at the top of the their list.