Giants' search for offseason upgrades continues after quiet MLB Winter Meetings originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
ORLANDO — When it comes to the front office hierarchy for the MLB Winter Meetings, it doesn’t matter how you fared on the field last year, or how big your payroll is, or whether your lead executive is headed for the Hall of Fame.
Suites are handed out based on the seniority of your baseball operations leadership, which means the Giants, despite having Buster Posey atop their depth chart, are down near the bottom of the list. Their meeting space at the Waldorf Astoria was a bit cramped at times, but team officials also spent less time than expected in the suite.
On night one, Jeff Kent was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and the entire front office — including Posey and Bruce Bochy — attended his press conference the next afternoon. The following days brought awards for their VP of media relations, clubhouse managers and executive assistant, and those ceremonies were also well attended.
When it came to celebrating their own, nobody had a better week in Orlando than the San Francisco Giants, and on Tuesday, they got a cherry on top when they moved up 11 spots in the draft lottery, thrilling an amateur scouting staff that now will pick fourth overall.
It was a good week for the organization. It was also a very quiet one for the actual roster.
Daniel Susac, a Rule 5 pick, was the only player acquired over four days in Orlando. As the holidays approach, the Giants have committed just $1.4 million (reliever Sam Hentges) to free agents this offseason. It’s a far cry from Posey’s first offseason, when he gave Willy Adames $182 million before the Winter Meetings even started.
“It’s quiet as far as news. It’s certainly not quiet in the suite,” Posey said on Thursday’s “Giants Talk” podcast. “There are a lot of different ideas being thrown around amongst ourselves and with other teams. I learned last year you think you might have something and you don’t, and maybe you think you have something again and you don’t, and a lot of times you don’t. That’s kind of the way things are.”
The high point of the week from a baseball perspective was the draft lottery, and that surprising development might cause the Giants to double down on some internal thinking. After giving up two second-round picks, a third and a fifth in back-to-back years by signing Matt Chapman, Blake Snell and Adames, their preference would be a player who doesn’t have the qualifying offer attached.
Signing a QO player would cost them a second-round pick and international bonus pool money, which is no small thing at a time when they are poised to sign Venezuelan shortstop Luis Hernandez, the best international prospect available during the period that opens January 15. Hernandez’s bonus will easily surpass the $3 million the Giants gave Josuar Gonzalez a year ago, and that pursuit required a late trade with the Miami Marlins to stockpile more bonus money.
When it comes to the traditional MLB Draft next July, the Giants estimate they added as much as $4 million to their pool by moving up 11 spots in the lottery, and that gives them plenty of options in what is considered a very deep class with multiple position players who would go No. 1 most years. By keeping all of their picks, the Giants could take a huge swing at No. 4 and still have the capital to go way over slot with their second-round pick and potentially add another first-round talent.
Posey declined to indicate a preference one way or the other on qualifying-offer players when asked early in the week, but it’s a big group that includes pitchers Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez, Zac Gallen and Michael King.
Valdez and Suarez, along with Japanese star Tatsuya Imai, are the remaining starters most likely to get nine-figure contracts, which chairman Greg Johnson has somewhat come out against publicly. Giants officials say there is no blanket policy, though, and while there’s a general payroll number that they have been given, Posey is always allowed to go to his partners in ownership and make the case for specific players.
“Greg and the rest of the ownership group, from my experience, has always been very willing to listen,” Posey told NBC Sports Bay Area. “So, if we find a player that we think is going to help us win games and compete for a World Series, they’ll listen on it. At the same time, they’re pragmatic people as well. That’s part of my job and Zack’s job is being able to say we believe in this player and then there’s a conversation to be had with them.
“I go back to the (Rafael) Devers trade last year. We took on a lot of money. The willingness is there, it just needs to make sense for us.”
That last part might be crucial. Per sources, the Giants are simply not that enamored with a lot of this winter’s class, especially at their current prices. Posey jumped the line on Adames and Devers, but there has been no player to force that kind of urgency over the past month.
The front office knows, though, that plenty of help is needed. Internally, there is significant concern about the current state of the rotation, and the hope is that multiple arms can be added. If free agency doesn’t solve all those problems, a trade will be needed, and there should be good options.
Freddy Peralta — who overlapped with Minasian in Milwaukee and is close friends with Adames — is an obvious target. While San Anselmo native Joe Ryan is seemingly off the market, Cupertino’s Kris Bubic could still be an option. The Kansas City Royals are said to be looking for outfield help, and the Giants at least have a large and diverse group on their 40-man roster.
Even with nine outfielders, they’re still somewhat involved in that market. A lot of their conversations this week were about potential depth pieces for a group that doesn’t have an obvious Opening Day starter in right field. Agent Scott Boras also indicated that he has discussed Cody Bellinger with the Giants front office.
While the Giants haven’t spent much this offseason, they have done a nice job of filling some cracks. The additions of Justin Dean and Joey Wiemer give them better defense in the outfield; lefties Reiver Sanmartin and Hentges will compete for bullpen jobs; Susac, added in a trade right after the Rule 5 Draft, could be the backup catcher.
None of those moves were costly, but they reshaped some corners of the 40-man roster, potentially leaving more to throw at the starting pitcher and closer searches, although on that latter front, they have not been eager to spend big money. The Giants also need a top setup man, and while they have talked with old friend Tyler Rogers, it seems likely at the moment that he’ll find a bigger deal elsewhere.
The front office is still looking for upgrades to the lineup and bench, with St. Louis’ Brandon Donovan near the top of that list. The Cardinals are looking for young pitching, and that’s another area where the Giants have pieces to trade. They discussed Nico Hoerner with the Chicago Cubs at the 2024 deadline and he remains a possibility.
But relying on the trade market can be difficult, because you’re dependent on another team. The Giants were frustrated with the pace of some talks this week, but both Posey and Minasian said they still feel they can get to the right destination.
“I don’t know if there was much more that we could do as far as conversations, meetings — we feel like some things are heading in the right direction,” Minasian said. “It’s tough to handicap when a deal is going to get done, but we try to put our best foot forward and I think we’ve shown we’re willing to be aggressive.
“Some things we’re still working on, some things we feel like maybe there’s a path. We’ll see where it goes. Right now, it’s still kind of anyone’s guess.”
Despite the uncertainty and the questions about their financial restraints, some rival officials said this week that they have seen nothing but aggression from Posey. He shocked the industry with the Devers trade and that impacted his flexibility this winter, but Posey still believes he can put a playoff-caliber roster around Logan Webb, Devers, Adames, Matt Chapman and the rest of the core.
As he prepared to fly back to San Francisco on Wednesday, Posey said he’s willing to remain patient.
“I think everybody would tell you that you wish you could sign and trade for every player that you want, but the reality is that’s just not going to happen,” he told NBC Sports Bay Area. “I had to be patient as a player when I was 0-for-15 and wanted to try to find a way to get some sleep at night. It’s part of it and we’ll keep going and see what we can do to try to improve the team that we feel is in a really good spot.
“We really feel like we’re right there. We’re right there to getting back to where we all want to go and know that the Giants belong.”
