The San Francisco Giants' payroll has been a hot topic ever since new president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi took over following the 2018 season. Since that time, the Giants' payroll steadily decreased until is eventually stabilized at around $162 million—until this year it shot up by $30 million. The theory that's been discussed on Locked On Giants numerous times is that this $30M increase is likely explained by MLB's sale of BAMTech to Disney for $900 million, which was evenly split among the 30 teams, for a total of $30M per team.
Zaidi, however, continues to claim that there's no "cap" on SF Giants spending from ownership, and that it's his job to make recommendations on players to sign and that, in theory, they'd give the green light if Zaidi makes a good enough argument. The pattern described above somewhat suggests otherwise. But there are exceptions. Bryce Harper, for example, was offered $310M by the Giants in Year 1 under Zaidi. Had they signed Harper, the payroll would've been significantly higher than it ended up being in 2019. So it does appear that, for the right player, the San Francisco Giants are likely to make an exception and spend beyond the break-even point, which has been the oft-stated financial goal by high ranking club representatives.
Other questions on today's mailbag edition of Locked On Giants include:
Do you think they offer Brandon Crawford a bench role next year? Does he play elsewhere? Do they offer him a front office position? Is HE the next manager?
Why does Zaidi keep saying the Giants are an attractive place for free agents when they continue to miss on the top guys? Do you fault ownership, the weather, or triples alley?
What do you think is the future of Blake Sabol vs Joey Bart as a backup to Patrick Bailey?
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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.
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