Coming off a 98-loss season, Bobby Evans had every reason to tear down and rebuild the Giants’ roster. Instead, the general manager kept pressing forward, making significant moves with an all-in mentality that received the praises of Mike Krukow on Murph & Mac Tuesday morning.
“I was really anxious to see how Bobby Evans was going to figure this out,” Krukow said. “Bring in guys who would give this team a belief, give them a credibility, but not sell off all of your prospects and basically that’s what he’s been able to do. He deserves some applause here, especially considering the heat he’s taken the past couple of weeks.”
Evans began the offseason by shipping away Matt Moore in a three-player trade with the Texas Rangers last December. Despite the 28-year-old’s severe struggles in San Francisco, Evans persuaded the Rangers to absorb Moore’s $9 million guaranteed salary next season, and give up two minor-league pitching prospects in return.
That move made room in the club’s payroll to acquire Evan Longoria in a five-player trade with the Tampa Bay Rays later the same month. By including Denard Span in that deal; who will receive $11 million next season, $2 million of which will be paid by the Giants, Evans simultaneously kept the team under the luxury-tax threshold and checked third base off his offseason agenda.
Most recently, Evans orchestrated a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates for Andrew McCutchen without giving up any of their top-three prospects while keeping the Giants just under the luxury-tax threshold.
“I think with the addition of [Evan] Longoria and McCutchen gives you a much better chance to do some damage against [Clayton] Kershaw, [Rich] Hill, Robbie Ray and Patrick Corbin,” Krukow said. “They really set out to do something this offseason and they’ve done it.”
To listen to the full interview check out the podcast below, and start from the beginning for Krukow on Evans.