Are the San Francisco Giants going to be aggressive this offseason? That’s what SF Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi implied in a podcast this week with The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami. Zaidi said, “I think it’s important for us to establish two or three or four or five guys who are everyday guys, who are going to be in the lineup every day.” In regard to platooning, Zaidi said “that kind of roster management philosophy works best when you have a foundation of guys that are in there everyday.” He’s absolutely right, and a big problem for the Giants this season has been their lack of productive everyday players. They’d hoped to get repeat strong performances from the likes of Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford, but it just hasn’t happened. Age and regression, often both, has been a key factor.
Carlos Rodón continued his excellent season with a dominant outing over the Tigers in the Giants' win on Tuesday. He notched his eighth 10+ strikeout performance of the season, with 23 swings and misses, and continues to look like one of the best pitchers in baseball. Rodón was a savvy Giants signing, but he could very well be on another team in 2023. The Giants have a pretty full rotation coming back next year, but should probably bring back Rodón or sign another top-tier arm. Logan Webb was supposed to be a co-ace, but lately he's looked a little shaky. He was cruising along on Wednesday before the Tigers put together a six-run inning against the Giants. Brandon Crawford let a hard ground ball bounce off his body and into the outfield. It was generously ruled a hit, and the six-two out runs that followed were all charged to Webb.
The 2023 schedule was released, and it's enormously different thanks to the new collective bargaining agreement. Every team will play every team every year, so the Giants face the entire American League in 2023. They open their season in New York to play the Yankees, then they head to Chicago to face the White Sox. It's a long overdue and welcome change of pace for the sport. In order to add all of these interleague games, there will (finally) be fewer intradivision games. The Giants will only play their NL West foes 14 times a year, down from 19.
Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:
? Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U
? Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN
? Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr
? Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg
? Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD
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
#SFGiants #FirstListen
Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
Built Bar
Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.
BetOnline
BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!
LinkedIn
LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Did you know every week, nearly 40 million job seekers visit LinkedIn? Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONMLB.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices