Offseason Review: The San Francisco Giants

Manager Bruce Bochy is building a hall of fame
worthy resume in San Francisco.

After a team wins the World Series for the second time in three seasons, you can pretty well assume that they have a roster that they are confident in. The San Francisco Giants responded to their World Series ring by being relatively quiet on the free agent front. In fact, the only additions to the San Francisco roster are veteran reliever Scott Proctor who pitched in Japan in 2012 and Andres Torres who has been a Giant from 2009-2011 before being traded to the Mets in December of 2011. Other than that the only offseason strategy was re-signing many of the free agents who made their championship series possible. NLCS MVP Marco Scutaro, Jeremy Affeldt and Angel Pagan were all awarded for their efforts with large contracts keeping them in San Francisco for the next few seasons.

Marco Scutaro, acquired from the Rockies,
quickly became a force for the Giants.

It might be easy to see what's happening with the NL West and Los Angeles' attempt to crush their division and say that the Giants need to follow suit and make more drastic moves, but that would be drastically underestimating the tremendous feat that is accomplishing two world championship's in three years.  Effective team chemistry and a management staff that's a proven recipe for victory shouldn't be altered drastically, no matter who finds themselves on the free agent market. The Dodgers are attempting to take the Giants crown by way of mass acquisition of major talent, whereas the key to the Giants consistent success has been subtlety and solidity. There are no blatant weak spots in the Giants front office (with the exception of 2011's incredibly short sighted trade of Zack Wheeler for Carlos Beltran) lineup, rotation or bullpen.

Rookie of the Year
MVP
Two World Series Rings
Very Kind Smile

It's not as if the Giants front office hasn't had some difficult decisions to make. All of the players re-signed with the Giants are of veteran status and largely without an all-star pedigree. This reality makes the prospect of injury or decline a very real possibility. The Giants also assessed Sergio Romo's fantastic season as leverage enough to part ways with (inexplicable) fan favorite Brian Wilson after his second Tommy John surgery. The Giants won the World Series with an MVP catcher, a top five pitcher, extremely modest offense, and an ace in serious decline after two time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum posted a 5.18 ERA with a 10-15 record. Despite adversity and quiet aspects of their play, the Giants seems to have found a recipe for consistent contention that they are careful not to tamper with. Expect them to contend in the fierce NL West again in 2013.

Catcher Notes: Pudge, Molina, Napoli, Varitek, Molina

Ivan Rodriguez has stated an interest in playing again this season. The former MVP has proven more than durable, carving out a major league spot behind the plate that has spanned more than two decades. Pudge can't hit like he used to, and he is coming off an injury riddled season, but he could prove relevant to a team who wants a decent bat off the bench, or just one looking for some veteran influence.

The Cardinals have extended Yadier Molina to a 5 year $75MM dollar contract. Extending catchers is always risky as it is an oft-injured position but talent like Yadier's is rare and the 3x All Star is still pretty young, and seemingly only getting better. Assuming he hits anywhere close to the way he has been for two or three of these contract seasons, maintains his glove and stays healthy, this contract will look like a bargain. Hopefully the front office told him to stop reinforcing Brandon Phillips' claims that the St. Louis Cardinals are all "little bitches" so he can refrain from flipping out and throwing punches or spitting all over the place every time he gets upset about something.

Mike Napoli was acquired for next to nothing from the Blue Jays (who incidentally acquired him only a few days before for VERNON WELLS. Still blown away by that one.) and flourished in his first year in Texas. In the latter half of the season he hit almost .400, and while that is a complete anomaly, it proves his bat is legit. He announced earlier this week that he wants to test free agency. My guess is that he plays his ass off and earns a four a five year extension with Texas that will see him in a DH role by the end of his contract.

Long time Red Sox Captain Jason Varitek and veteran backstop Bengie Molina announced their retirements earlier this week. I'm just writing this in to say congrats to the two of them on two long lasting careers. I'd be shocked if Varitek didn't stay in Boston and get some sort of front office/managerial position at some point.