Tuesday, January 16, 2018

First Longo, Now 'Cutch -- Giants stay Busy in Quiet Offseason

In what's been a slow developing market for the league's top available free-agents this offseason in Major League Baseball which has had very little excitement compared to years passed, baseball fans have been kept waiting for the next big splash. And though the San Francisco Giants have yet to dip their toes into the waters of free-agency, they've been one of the more active teams this winter in acquiring new talent. Providing us with the most excitement out of anybody up to this point with the lone exception of the blockbuster deal that sent National League MVP and Home Run Champion Giancarlo Stanton from Miami to the Bronx, whom the Giants had also pursued, the G-Men have successfully landed a pair of players via trade that they hope can help them regain their winning ways in preparation for another dose of some even year magic.

Following the acquisition of All-Star third baseman Evan Longoria on December 20 which gave Giants fans an early gift to unwrap in time for Christmas, the front-office went out and added another big bat in the lineup in the form of outfielder Andrew McCutchen. Sending a pair of prospects to Pittsburgh in exchange for the 5-time All-Star, the Pirates who appear to be in full on rebuild mode after trading away their two most well known players, received right-handed pitcher Kyle Crick and outfielder Bryan Reynolds from San Francisco. The decision to deal McCutchen who's in the last year of his contract, comes just two days after the ball club agreed to move ace Gerrit Cole to the defending champion Houston Astros. Both players helped put Pittsburgh back on the baseball map and into the postseason, snapping a 21 year playoff drought. Unfortunately, the Pirates would fail to make it past the division round, but gave baseball fans in Pittsburgh a reminder of what postseason baseball tastes like in the Steel City by clinching playoff spots in three straight seasons from 2013-2015.
After being named to five NL All-Star teams in nine seasons with the Pirates and putting up MVP numbers from 2012-2014 including a 2013 campaign which saw him take home MVP honors, the one nicknamed "Cutch" took a step back in 2016 and experienced a dip in production before seeing a resurgence in 2017, especially towards the end of the season. From May 24 on, McCutchen registered a .400 OBP and slugged .540 to finish with a .363 OBP and .486 SLG, both improvements over the previous season. Hitting .279 on the year, McCutchen tallied 28 home runs and 88 RBI's, both of which would've led a Giants offense that has long lacked a power threat in the lineup. Happy to now have him on their team, Giants brass and fans alike are hoping McCutchen can add a spark similar to the one another Pirates outfielder and former MVP had supplied after being acquired by San Francisco in the past who goes by the name of Barry Bonds. Of course the sting of Bonds' departure from Pittsburgh was one the team and its fan base had to deal with for many years until McCutchen debuted in 2009 and eventually took the team on a ride they hadn't been on since Bonds wore No. 24 and was still in a Pirates uniform. Like Pittsburgh who looked upon McCutchen to be their saving grace, the Giants are hoping their newest acquisitions have plenty left in the tank as the club looks to bounce back from a last-place finish in the NL West and a dreadful 98-loss season which ranked as the franchise's third worst season since the club moved out west from the streets of Manhattan, New York.

As for Longoria who has two years remaining on his contract and is coming off his third career Gold Glove Award, the new Giants third baseman should fit in quite well in an infield that has stout defenders all across the board in fellow Gold Glovers Brandon Crawford, Joe Panik and Buster Posey. Spending the first 10 seasons of his big league career with the Tampa Bay Rays where he left as the franchise leader in home runs (261), RBI's (892) and runs scored (780), the 3-time All-Star left behind a similar legacy than the one his new teammate left in Pittsburgh. Like McCutchen, Longoria helped end a funk in Tampa Bay by leading the Rays to their first glimpse of postseason baseball with playoff berths in 2010, 2011 and 2013 as well as the team's one and only World Series appearance in 2008, a season in which Longo was named AL Rookie of the Year. With 2017 being a down year offensively for Longo who hit .261, drove in 86 runs and smacked 20 homers, he still managed to top every Giants hitter in both categories as San Francisco was the only team in the league who failed to produce a single player with 20 HR's. With that in mind, the Giants dealt outfielder Denard Span, their No. 1 prospect Christian Arroyo and two additional prospects to Tampa in exchange for the longest-tenured player in Rays history.
Sure Giants fans would've much rather have seen the brain trust of Brian Sabean and Bobby Evans make the move for the duo much earlier in their careers with both players now in their 30's, McCutchen 31-years old and Longoria 32, but the two bring with them a plethora of experience as well as some well decorated resumes and are tremendous upgrades at their respective positions over what Giants manager Bruce Bochy had to work with the season prior. And for an outfield that had hit 40-some home runs combined a season ago, they're adding a guy who hit 28 dingers on his own in 2017 as McCutchen leaves one pitcher-friendly ballpark for another. Ranking dead last in the league in home runs hit by team, the Giants who hit 128 homers, hit 23 fewer long balls than the next closest team (Pittsburgh). Those additions in the lineup as well as a full season from ace Madison Bumgarner who was lost for nearly three full months after sustaining injuries stemming from a dirt biking accident, figure to help the Giants make a rebound in 2018. And with the division-rival Dodgers, D-Backs and Rockies all making the postseason in 2017 and poised to duplicate the feat, San Francisco will need all the help they can get. And they may not be done making moves.

With Giants skipper Bruce Bochy expected to have McCutchen man right field and shift Hunter Pence from right to left, a center fielder could very well be next on the list as such free-agent names as Carlos Gonzales, Cameron Maybin, Jon Jay, Jarrod Dyson and Lorenzo Cain have all been rumored as well as a possible trade for Billy Hamilton of the Reds. However, the possibility of signing Cain who at one point seemed like a lock to land in San Francisco, now appears like a long shot given how close to the luxury tax threshold the Giants now are after acquiring McCutchen who will make just over $14 Million in 2018, with Pittsburgh dishing out $2.5 Million. So until the first pitch of the regular season is thrown, don't rule anything out just yet as the G-Men could very well be in the news again with yet another move being made.


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