Nine non-tendered players who could improve Giants' roster
Non-tender day was supposed to be the most interesting one of an extremely quiet offseason, a day when MLB perhaps found itself trending for a few hours.Naturally, a sport that doesn't much care for a buzzworthy offseason couldn't even pull that off.In the middle of the slow trickle of news, the league found itself wiped off the timeline by the stunning Russell Westbrook-John Wall trade. Some teams, including the Giants, waited until it was about three hours past the deadline to announce moves.The needle was not moved, but front offices don't really care about that. This was an important day for roster-building, and especially for teams with plenty of work left before pitchers and catchers report. The Giants are one of them, and after opening up five roster spots with their flurry of moves, they figure to be extremely busy.The rotation has holes, the outfield could use another bat, the bench could use a reliable left-handed hitter and the bullpen is short on right-handed options.Luckily, Farhan Zaidi and Scott Harris now have nearly 60 additional players to consider. Here's a rundown of some who could make sense for the Giants:
The Twins tried to trade Rosario and then put him through waivers, again without getting a bite. Finally, he was non-tendered, adding a pretty big bat to the market.
Rosario, 29, hit 13 homers in the shortened season with a .792 OPS, and he had 32 the year before. By OPS+, Rosario has been above-average at the plate in each of the last four seasons, often comfortably. He's a good player, but much closer to league-average than the homers would indicate, with 2.6 WAR over the last two seasons combined. Rosario's overall value has been brought down by low on-base percentages and defense that rates poorly.
In theory, he's a great fit for the Giants, who were searching for one more left-handed bat down the stretch. But the defensive limitations here would be an issue, with Rosario and Alex Dickerson both best suited for left field.
The Giants could try and get away with Mike Yastrzemski in center, Dickerson in right and Rosario in left against right-handed pitching, but it would be an expensive gamble. Rosario was projected to earn more than $9 million in arbitration.
Goodwin has bounced around, playing for the Washington Nationals, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels and Cincinnati Reds in a five-year career. He has been just about league-average as a hitter, but he was pretty good in 2019, posting a .262/.326/.470 slash line with 17 homers and 29 doubles. Goodwin has played plenty of center in his career, which would potentially make the left-handed hitter a nice fit alongside Mauricio Dubon, but the defensive metrics don't really love his work out there.
Goodwin's left-handed bat would fill a need in the outfield, particularly as a platoon partner for Dubon, but that's not necessarily a role the Giants want to pay up for. They could find that the trade market is juicier than free agency.
The Giants are extremely familiar with the hard-throwing right-hander, who spent his entire career with the Arizona Diamondbacks before being traded to the Reds, who non-tendered him.
Bradley was a durable option for the Diamondbacks who occasionally closed, leaning heavily on his mid-90s fastball. He figures to be a popular option now that he's a free agent, although he won't cost as much as the true closers on the market.
In San Francisco, he would be a pretty obvious choice for the ninth inning while also providing the flexibility that Gabe Kapler wants.
Mazara is an outlier in this group, in that while it seems like he's also been around a long time, he's just 25 years old. The former top 20 prospect with the Texas Rangers came up as a 20-year-old and already is through his fifth big league season, although this last one was by far his roughest. Mazara was traded to the Chicago White Sox and hit just .228 with one homer in 42 appearances.
There's a lot on his résumé to like, though. Mazara hit exactly 20 homers in each of his first three seasons and then had 19 in 2019.
Even last year, when the power disappeared, he was in the 90th percentile in the league in hard-hit percentage and 82nd percentile in exit velocity. He doesn't rate well defensively and strikes out a ton, but the tools are there, and perhaps a good coaching staff can unlock his potential.
The Giants have just that, although it should be noted that they shied away from Chris Shaw, a similar player. There are plenty of these types on the market, from Rosario to Kyle Schwarber, but Mazara is far younger than most of them.
He was primarily a pinch-hitter for the loaded San Diego Padres and has never been an everyday player in his seven big league seasons, but that kinda makes him a good fit for one of the most obvious roster holes.
The Giants need a left-handed hitter who can play third and also occasionally second, and that's precisely what Garcia is. They signed Jason Vosler, also a former Padre, but Zaidi said afterwards that he might still add a more experienced option. Garcia doesn't provide much pop, but he had a .370 on-base percentage against right-handed pitchers in 2019.
One of the head-scratchers of non-tender day, the 26-year-old is just a year removed from an All-Star appearance and has a .828 OPS in four big league seasons.
The Rockies continue to make strange decisions. Dahl has had serious issues staying on the field, but he's a former top prospect who should find plenty of teams ready to give him a fresh start. Dahl does have an advantage over Rosario, Mazara, Schwarber and other left-handed-hitting outfielders who were non-tendered. He has experience in all three outfield spots, including the massive center field in Denver.
Honestly, you could have put about eight different relievers here.
While there weren't really any intriguing starting pitchers added to the market, nearly two dozen relievers got cut loose, many with recent histories of success. We're talking about guys like Hansel Robles, Chasen Shreve, Keynan Middleton and A.J. Cole.
Tepera gets the photo here because he's the only one of the group who got a 10th place NL MVP vote when a writer accidentally chose him instead of Trea Turner on the drop-down menu.
The Giants want to add a couple of right-handers to their bullpen, and now it's up to them to figure out which ones have the pitch characteristics that indicate a potential next level is there. You can bet Andrew Bailey, J.P. Martinez and Brian Bannister are digging into the numbers today.
He was technically let go before the non-tender deadline, as the Tampa Bay Rays parted ways to clear space ahead of the Rule 5 roster deadline before Thanksgiving.
But Renfroe is a newish addition to the market, and an intriguing one. He's coming off a rough year and has a history of low on-base percentages, but he also had seasons of 26, 26 and 33 homers with the Padres before being shipped east in the Tommy Pham deal.
Unlike many of the newly available options, Renfroe has a long history in right field, with a strong arm that would play well at Oracle Park. With Darin Ruf back, the Giants don't have an obvious spot for a non-versatile right-handed thumper, but given Evan Longoria's age, the uncertainty about what Buster Posey will provide, and Austin Slater's injury history, kicking the tires on right-handed bats wouldn't be a bad idea.
It wasn't a shock when the Giants let go of Tyler Anderson and Daniel Robertson, but it was slightly surprising to see them also dump Tromp, Melvin Adon (who appeared to get injured in winter ball recently) and Rico Garcia.
They could sign all three back to minor league deals, saving a 40-man roster spot, as they often do. Tromp seems like a good bet to return. He's unlikely to get a better opportunity elsewhere, and the Giants still need someone who can back up Posey until Joey Bart is deemed 100 percent ready.
Ideally that person would be a left-handed hitter, but Stephen Vogts don't grow on trees. Tromp was well-liked, had strong defensive metrics, and a history that indicates there's perhaps more in the bat. Plus, he knows the staff already and was Johnny Cueto's personal catcher.
