78
IT’S NOT QUITE the end of an era, not with
so many champions still in Giants uniforms,
but the departure of Madison Bumgarner to
Arizona seems like a sea change by the Bay.
Over 11 years he delivered San Francisco
fans three titles, four All-Star seasons and
one heroic five-inning relief appearance.
Bumgarner’s exit also futher weakens a
rotation that ranked 18th in FIP and 23rd
in strikeout rate.
Team president Farhan Zaidi was brought
in to steer the Giants into a rebuild. After a
year on the job, though, he’s made just a few
minor trades. The departures of free agents
Bumgarner and closer Will Smith will yield
draft picks this summer, while righthander
Jeff Samardzija, first baseman Brandon Beltand third baseman Evan Longoria remain.
The Giants are too good to tank, not good
enough to win and very expensive to boot.
They’ve had a top-10 payroll every year since
2011, spending close to $600 million the last
three years to finish below .500 three times.
A transition is inevitable, but it will take
time. Zaidi hired manager Gabe Kapler
after the Phillies fired him to replace the
retired Bruce Bochy. Buster Posey’s likely
successor at catcher, Joey Bart, the No. 2
pick in ’18 out of Georgia Tech, could arrive
as early as late summer. The farm system,
one of the worst in the game just threeyears ago, has improved sharply and will
give the team a fighting chance against the
Dodgers someday.
For now, though, the goals are short-term:
First, hope Samardzija, righty Johnny Cueto,
Belt and the rest of the vets can play well
enough to generate trade interest. Then
give second baseman Mauricio Dubon and
corner infielder Chris Shaw opportunities
to prove themselves like Mike Yastrzemski
did a year ago. The Giants are in line for
another losing season; it’s up to them to
ensure it’s not a lost one.MOVING UP
MIKE
YASTRZEMSKI
123 OPS+ | 2.8 WAR
The grandson
of Hall of
Famer Carl,
Yaz posted an
.852 OPS as a
28-year-old
rookie. He’ll
get enough
playing time
in ’20 to prove
he’s no fluke.MOVING DOWN
BUSTER
POSEY
84 OPS+ | 0.9 WAR
The 11-year
veteran had
career lows in
average (.257)
and slugging
(.368) in 2019.
His value at
this point
comes solely
from his
catcher’s mitt.2030 PREDICTION
| MADISON BUMGARNER | RP| If you wrote a spec script about
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(but still red-assed) Bumgarner turns 40. No more than a No. 3
starter at those other locales, he triumphantly returns to
JXe=iXeZ`jZf`eXifc\]Xej]fe[cpi\d\dY\i_`dgcXp`e^Xk
JAMIE SCHWABEROW k_\\e[f]k_\)'(+Nfic[J\i`\j`eBXejXj:`kp1Zcfj\i%San Francisco remains in a
confounding spot: too good to
tank, not good enough to win and
very expensive to boot.