The Giants were supposed to be in no man’s land for the 2020 season. Their young core — the one the organization expects to propel them back into contention this decade — isn’t yet ready to compete, while the team’s over-the-hill veteran players still have time and a whole lot of cash remaining on their contracts.
Before the world was turned on its axis, the Giants were expected to lose roughly 95 games, according to the fine folks who take and make money on such propositions in the Nevada desert.
But through an unholy alliance of a worldwide pandemic and next-level greed from both the Major League Baseball owners and players, the Giants now have a shot at making the playoffs this season.
Baseball is a big-picture sport. As my friend, KNBR Giants pregame host Martie Lurie, loves to say, it’s a mosaic. Teams play 162 games and more often than not, the best rise to the top amid that large sample size.
But this season, the MLB campaign will only be 60 games.
Anything can happen in a season that short, including the Giants being competitive. Per BetOnline, the Giants are expected to win 25 of those 60 games this season, but the margin of error on such predictions is massive. Even last year, San Francisco went on a midsummer stretch where they won 37 of 60 contests.
All this to say that the 2020 baseball season is going to be chaos and the process-driven Giants should embrace it by bringing in a perfect agent: Yasiel Puig.
Yes, Puig’s combination of a brash attitude and flashy play made him Madison Bumgarner’s least-favorite adversary, and, by proxy, a villain to Giants fans, but if we’ve learned anything over the last few months, it’s that everything is subject to change. Bumgarner is an Arizona Diamondback/rodeo rider and he didn’t exactly leave San Francisco on the best terms — no one with the Giants should feel beholden to him and his feelings on the matter.
They should, however, feel beholden to the fans.
The Giants have posted three straight losing seasons, dropping 272 games since the start of the 2017 campaign. This season, though, they’ve been extended an unprecedented opportunity to make a legitimate playoff run without jeopardizing their long-term plan. They need to take full advantage, and grabbing the best free-agent bat remaining on the market would be a clear sign that they are, in fact, doing just that.
Now’s no time for old grudges that never made much sense anyway. The Giants might have the pitching to contend in this demolition derby of a campaign, but from my perspective, the talent at the plate is lacking. Puig can help with that, and you can play in him at either DH (oh, that was fun to type), or any of the three outfield spots. Puig also isn’t a player that needs to be platooned to be effective (though the Giants might do that anyway — that’s how they do things). Plus, he rakes at Oracle Park, posting a .299 batting average, .361 on-base percentage, and .477 slugging percent in 45 career games there.
Is there a better option on the Giants roster to DH and play some outfield? I don’t see one.
Farhan Zaidi suggested last week that the team would stay “in-house” for the DH spot, and I’d understand if the Giants wanted to give those at-bats to a young player. This is still a development year.
But right now, it appears as if the Giants will have a three-man DH platoon of Pablo Sandoval (33 years old), Darin Ruf (33), and Hunter Pence (37).
If the Giants are going a veteran route, why not add a fourth vet to the mix and see who is best for the job? It’s not like you’re stifling a young player’s growth — not one of the four are long-term options in San Francisco.
Plus, when has a team ever had too much talent? The Giants could absolutely use a streaky hitter who, when he gets hot, puts the Diablo Valley in August to shame.
I imagine that there will be other teams interested in signing Puig before the start of “Spring” Training No. 2, but the Giants bringing in the outfielder would send a clear message to the fans: we’re signing the best player we can, baggage be damned, because we’re in it to win in 2020.
That’d be a welcome change from recent years, when the team made it clear to anyone that was paying attention that they weren’t trying to win games. (A decision, given the circumstances, I supported.)
But what’s the worst that can happen if the Giants sign Puig? He stinks? Fine, cut him. The Giants can afford it. The fans don’t like him? The team will already have zero in attendance this season. Plus, fans always come around on guys who help a team win. It took five minutes for the Bay Area to embrace Richard Sherman.
Everything about 2020 has been bizarre. This upcoming baseball season will be no different.
The Giants — presented with a golden opportunity to make a lost season worthwhile — would be fools not to lean into that peculiarity. They should sign the last guy anyone expected would be wearing orange and black.
