Despite all of the loud talk about the San Francisco Giants needing superstar talent, there's something they arguably needed even more as Spring Training looms. The Giants needed another catcher, and they reportedly signed one over the weekend. Roberto Pérez is not exactly a big name, but he is as solid as they come defensively. Known for arm, framing, pop times, and leadership, Pérez is a low-key big addition for the SF Giants. With all due respect to Joey Bart, Blake Sabol, and Austin Wynns, that's a group with a lot of uncertainty. Bart should still get every opportunity to prove himself, but it'll be nice to have a backup with the defensive prowess of Roberto Pérez. It's not clear whether this is a major-league or minor-league signing.
In other news, Kyle Harrison and Marco Luciano continue to rank very highly on prospect ranking publications. MLB Pipeline had both in the top 20 or so, and The Athletic's Keith Law actually had Harrison at No. 12, and considers him the second-best pitching prospect in baseball. What's most exciting is that Harrison is close to MLB-ready, and Luciano should finally reach that point by the end of the 2023 season, assuming he can stay healthy.
Finally, the Giants' outfield defense is discussed. Defense was the San Francisco Giants' biggest issue in 2022, and if you look closely, it was the outfield defense that hurt them the most. Enter Michael Conforto and Mitch Haniger, who have both been above-average defensively in the outfield corners in their careers. Their presence removes Joc Pederson and LaMonte Wade Jr. from the outfield conversation, which is addition by subtraction. And Mike Yastrzemski has been a solid center fielder. So suddenly, the Giants may have improved from league-worst outfield defense to something that's more league average to above-average. In practice, that could mean an additional 40-50 runs prevented, which is a huge number.
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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.
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