Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2024
While the San Francisco Giants haven’t played a regular season game yet, they are already a game behind their arch-rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Giants want to rebound from a disappointing 2023 season to have their first playoff berth for the first time since 2021.
When the Giants fired Gabe Kapler, their manager, before the last weekend of the 2023 season, baseball-knowledgeable people wondered if the Giants wanted to change their philosophy. Under Kapler, the Giants were a very modern analytical team, even pulling their starters after three or four innings.
Early in the offseason, the Giants hired an experienced major league manager, Bob Melvin. Melvin has managed the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Oakland Athletics, and the San Diego Padres, and he earned three Manager of the Year awards. Melvin mixes modern baseball analytical theory with old-fashioned baseball gut instincts. If he can control the clubhouse as he didn’t do with the Padres, he will be successful.
The Giants needed power. Since 2021, they didn’t have a real power threat. Their stadium doesn’t encourage home runs, but the Giants couldn’t score enough to be competitive without a true power hitter. Their general manager, Farhan Zaidi, signed Jorge Soler. While with the Miami Marlins in 2023, Soler hit 36 home runs, and the Giants hope Soler will hit more than 30 home runs.
The Giants traded for Robbie Ray, who will return from Tommy John surgery after the All-Star break, from the Seattle Mariners. This week they signed the two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell. While Snell won’t be ready for Opening Day, he will take the Giants’ starting rotation to the next level. He and Logan Webb will be a good 1-to-2 punch.
The Giants tried to improve their infield defense when they signed third baseman Matt Carpenter and Nick Ahmed from the Arizona Diamondbacks to a minor league contract.
The Giants should compete with the Diamondbacks for a National League Wild Card, but they can’t compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers unless they have many injuries for the National League Western Division title.
