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San Francisco Giants
2022 Record: 81-81 (3rd place, NL West)
Team ERA: 3.85 (13th)
Team OPS: .705 (13th)
What Went Right
The Giants managed to absorb the loss of franchise icon Buster Posey, who retired shortly after last year’s franchise-record 107-win regular season and subsequent loss to the division-rival Dodgers in the NLCS, in addition to losing front-of-the- rotation starter Kevin Gausman and mid-season trade acquisition Kris Bryant to free agency. San Francisco’s unexpected late-season surge enabled them to remain in playoff contention until the final day of the regular season. The club’s decision to sign injury-prone southpaw Carlos Rodón to a two-year, $44 million contract last offseason paid off as he managed to stay healthy for a career-high 31 starts to bolster their starting rotation and kept them in the mix for a playoff spot. Bay area native Joc Pederson, who signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the Giants last offseason following the lockout, launched 23 home runs and finished with a robust .874 OPS, his highest single-season total since 2019. Hard-throwing right-hander Camilo Doval converted 27 saves this season to emerge as one of the premier young closers in baseball. He looked downright unhittable after adding a sinker to his extensive repertoire right around the All-Star break. Meanwhile, burgeoning ace Logan Webb authored a strong follow-up campaign and should stabilize the front of San Francisco’s starting rotation for the next few years.
What Went Wrong
The Giants’ veteran offensive core, which served as the main catalyst during their remarkable 2021 campaign, struggled to stay healthy this season as Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford, Evan Longoria and Tommy La Stella missed significant time due to injuries. Several ancillary components of the team’s offensive core, most notably LaMonte Wade Jr, Wilmer Flores and Mike Yastrzemski, also took a step back this season from a production standpoint. Rookie outfielder Luis González showed flashes of immense potential in the early stages of the year, but wound up fizzling out in the second half. The Giants rolled the dice on several reclamation projects from other organizations hoping to catch lightning in a bottle, but Yermín Mercedes, Willie Calhoun and Lewis Brinson didn’t end up making a significant impact. The Giants’ starting rotation was a bit underwhelming, with the notable exception of Rodón and Logan Webb. Alex Cobb, Alex Wood, Jakob Junis and Anthony DeSclafani all wound up missing time due to injury and also struggled from a run-prevention standpoint this season. The Giants aren’t far off from contending again, but they have major question marks from an offensive and pitching standpoint that need to be addressed this offseason.
Fantasy Slants
** The central question for the Giants this offseason is whether they can afford to re-sign left-hander Carlos Rodón, who is expected to opt out of the final year of his two-year deal to test the free agent waters again this offseason . The 29-year-old southpaw stayed healthy and delivered a Cy Young Award-caliber performance in his San Francisco debut this season, finishing with a stellar 2.88 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 237/52 K/BB ratio across 178 innings (31 starts) . He’s poised for a significant raise on the open market after betting on himself. From a fantasy standpoint, Rodón appears poised to continue pitching at an elite level for years to come, as long as he can hold up physically. There are zero question marks from a performance standpoint, but fantasy managers shouldn’t bank on him making 30 starts every single season. When healthy, Rodón is a certifiable fantasy ace, no matter where he winds up this offseason.
** It’s entirely possible that Joc Pederson elects to remain in the Bay Area after a strong first season in San Francisco. A reunion feels almost inevitable, but the 30-year-old righty-masher could wind up leaving in free agency this offseason. He’s proven that he can hit enough against left-handed pitchers to play virtually everyday and figures to eclipse the 20-homer threshold moving forward. He’s a streaky, yet solid, source of over-the-fence power for fantasy managers and isn’t a batting average liability either. He’s the perfect complementary offensive piece for a contending roster.
** While he wasn’t able to replicate last year’s remarkable breakthrough campaign, Logan Webb delivered a strong follow-up season in San Francisco, finishing with a sparkling 2.90 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 163/49 K/BB ratio across 192 1/3 innings (32 starts). The 25-year-old lacks an elite strikeout rate, but his ability to consistently generate ground balls and pitcher-friendly home ballpark will make him an upper-echelon fantasy contributor for years to come. If he’s able to generate a few more swings-and-misses, he has a chance to take a step forward into upper-echelon fantasy starter territory. He’s close.
** Among the most exciting young relievers in baseball, Camilo Doval emerged as one of the premier closers in the fantasy landscape this season, recording a sparkling .2.53 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 80/30 K/BB ratio across 67 2/3 innings (68 appearances). He added a sinker to his impressive arsenal right around the All-Star break and looked like arguably the best closer in baseball over the final few months of the regular season. He should be considered a top five relief pitcher in fantasy drafts this spring.
** The Giants older offensive foundation cracked this past season, but Thairo Estrada stepped up to fill the void, proving that he’s worthy of an everyday opportunity moving forward. The versatile 26-year-old infielder hit .260/.322/.402 with 14 home runs and a career-high 21 stolen bases across 541 plate appearances this past season. With stolen bases in short supply across the fantasy landscape, Estrada has a chance to eclipse the 20-steal threshold next season in an everyday role for San Francisco. He’s an excellent late-round speed source for fantasy managers next spring.
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Key Free Agents: Carlos Rodón, Joc Pederson, Brandon Belt, Evan Longoria
Team Needs: The Giants will prioritize re-signing both Rodón and Pederson, who seemed to fit perfectly in the Bay Area, but they’ll also be in the market for an impact middle-of-the-order slugger on the free agent market this offseason. They’ll certainly miss Belt and Longoria from a veteran leadership standpoint, but their persistent injury issues ostensibly force the club to move to younger alternatives. The presence of Webb and Doval as rotation and bullpen stabilizers give them the ability to take some chances on cheaper reclamation projects and injury-prone pitchers this offseason, allowing them to focus primarily on rebuilding an offensive core that simply isn’t talented enough to contend in a loaded NL West division moving forward.