Carlos Rodón was an underrated addition, and he and Logan Webb could be legitimate co-aces on one of the best starting staffs in baseball. But their main position player addition was ... Joc Pederson? When stars like Seiya Suzuki, Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Carlos Correa, Freddie Freeman, and others were available to sign? And the Giants had so much money coming off the books?
Yes, the Giants had a strange offseason. On the one hand, they brought back several key players such as Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford (mid-season extension), Anthony DeSclafani, and Alex Wood. They brought in Alex Cobb, who could be a big upgrade at the back of the rotation. They stockpiled pitching depth in the form of Matthew Boyd, Jakob Junis, and Carlos Martinez.
But it's hard not to be underwhelmed by simply adding Pederson to a team that lost the likes of Buster Posey, Kris Bryant, and Donovan Solano. They'll probably be fine, but it's understandable that some fans are frustrated. The Giants' payroll looks to be about flat with last year's final payroll of $162 million. They rank 13th in MLB, but they figure to be a good team that has future flexibility (much better than being stuck with bloated contracts and a bad team, which is what Farhan Zaidi took over in 2018) to make additions if they so desire. They're in a good place as 2022 is set to begin on Friday.
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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.
Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick
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