This article started as a checklist of the Giants’ offseason needs. They need one more hitter who can play in the outfield. They need one more starting pitcher, preferably an impressive one. Then they can futz around with the fringes and perimeter as they see fit. It’s rare to have a roster that seems so unsettled, while actually being very, very much settled. You could make a 26-man roster for the Giants right now that makes at least a little sense, no other moves required.
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But then I started looking at the projected roster like one of those Magic Eye posters, and there were shapes behind the shapes. It started popping out in three dimensions. There are other things the Giants can do.
The way to see this same Magic Eye poster is to separate the current Giants into two categories: Players who you couldn’t imagine in another, lesser role and players you can.
Brandon Crawford isn’t going to play another, lesser role. He’s the shortstop. He’s going to field grounders and make throws that cause your bowtie to spin like a propeller. He’s hopefully going to hit just as well as he has over the last 18 months. He’s a huge part of why the Giants hope to be successful in 2022.
There are other players you can do this for. Brandon Belt at first, for sure. Darin Ruf and LaMonte Wade, Jr. as an eerily perfect complementary pair at first and in both corner outfield spots. Tyler Rogers doing what he does. Alex Cobb giving the Giants five or six solid innings almost every time out. Anthony DeSclafani pitching into the seventh if his pitch count is low enough. Jarlin García pitching literally any inning from the second to the 24th. The Giants’ roster is built around these players and the expectations for them.
Then there are the flex players. There aren’t a lot of them, and they don’t know they’re flex players, and maybe they’ll never have to be. As of right now, they’re handsomely compensated to get a lot of action with the Giants. But if something absolutely fell into the lap of the front office — a trade, a premium free agent or a wacky idea that we can’t even guess at — maybe those tough conversations would be worth having.
Start with the one that’s not controversial.
Tommy La Stella was given the first three-year contract of the Farhan Zaidi era because the front office believed in him, and they almost certainly still do. He hit .250/.308/.405 with temperamental defense and spent a lot of time on the IL in 2021, but he was so, so much better for the Angels and A’s over the previous two seasons. He’s not a Gold Glover, but he can acceptably fill in at a lot of positions. Even that slash line from this past season isn’t so bad, and with some better health, he could be a net positive for the Giants. FanGraphs’ Roster Resource lists him as the leadoff hitter and opening-day second baseman, which he very well might be. And it’s perfectly reasonable if he is.
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But there isn’t a single move the Giants should consider this offseason and think, “Yes, this might work, but where do we put La Stella?”
La Stella was given that three-year contract because the front office liked him, but he was also given it because he’s flexible. He can start at second. He can platoon at third. He can fill in at first. He can be a bench bat. And if, say, Carlos Correa or Trevor Story are willing to play second base, there shouldn’t be a single second in which the Giants should worry about La Stella.
That sounds harsh, but it was also probably behind the thinking of the original contract. The Giants would have been tickled to have La Stella be an unquestioned starter at second for three seasons, but he was flexible enough to add future value in different scenarios.
The free agent doesn’t have to be Correa or Story, either. If the Giants were convinced that Adam Frazier was a better fit at second before the Mariners signed him, they should have gone for it. That’s an extreme example, but it also highlights why the Giants were willing to give La Stella a three-year deal. He can play wherever, whenever, for as much or as little as you want and do a pretty OK job of it.
Move to the one that’s more controversial. Not just in an article like this, but with Giants fans in general. With the clubhouse, certainly. And possibly with the front office.
Let me set up a scenario for you: It’s February. The owners and players have just agreed on a new CBA, and spring training starts in a few days. Correa has an offer to play shortstop from the Angels, Phillies and Yankees, but they’re all lukewarm offers. They’re all pretending to be half-interested, while actually being about nine-tenths interested.
Correa’s agent wants more action, so he suggests that his client is willing to play third base. Correa has already done it during the World Baseball Classic, sliding over to make room for Francisco Lindor on Team Puerto Rico. And considering that he wasn’t just the AL Gold Glove winner at shortstop, but the Platinum Glove winner, honoring the best fielder at any position, it’s possible that he could be a transcendental third baseman. Brooks Robinson-quality, even. The best modern comp is Manny Machado, but Correa probably has him licked on overall defensive value.
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The Giants already have a strong defender at third, and he can hit a little, too. But if you’re telling me that there’s a chance to add Correa to this lineup — or Matt Chapman, or José Ramírez, or … — the Giants absolutely cannot think, “Yes, this might work, but where do we put Evan Longoria?”
The Giants have been exceptional at putting highly respected personalities together, and Longoria is a popular clubhouse presence by almost every account. His 124 OPS+ last season isn’t the only reason the Giants won 107 games, but it’s one of them. He was a valuable player, and there are reasons to think he will continue to be.
However, Longoria is 36 and coming off a nasty, unusual injury. There are arguments that push back on that sentence, but they aren’t as compelling as they could be. There’s a chance that Longoria will thrive in 2022, but there’s almost no chance that he’s helping the Giants in 2023 or 2024. If there’s a chance they can get a third baseman who does just that, they have to listen.
And if they whiff on those kinds of transactions and end up with La Stella and Longoria in the opening-day lineup, that’s fine. Both are quality hitters. Both have a role on a contending team. Nothing to see here.
But neither one should prevent a team from making a forward-thinking, franchise-altering transaction. The Giants can acquire a second or third baseman (or both?) and figure out what to do with the incumbents and the bench later. A La Stella/Longoria platoon at second sounds goofy, but only because it’s unfamiliar. Max Muncy playing second sounded goofy at first, too.
Anything should be on the table to help a lineup that’s lost Buster Posey and Kris Bryant. It’s possible that we’ll be back here in June, laughing at this article because La Stella and Longoria are All-Stars again.
For the rest of the offseason, though, the Giants should pretend that La Stella and Longoria don’t exist, with a fallback plan of being happy that they actually do. The floor is low with those two players. The ceiling could be much, much higher. A team looking to beat the Dodgers for the NL West again should worry about the ceiling. The current 26-man roster should contend, but the Giants should want a 26-man roster that makes them favorites to win 107 games every year, even if that’s absurd.
They can start by looking to upgrade however and wherever they can. Second and third base are the most obvious places to look, even if those positions look filled from here.
(Photo: Daniel Shirey / Getty Images)
