Giants manager Gabe Kapler himself admitted it was a bitter end to the 2020 season.
Despite being third in the NL West and owning a 29-31 record, the Giants had a clear shot at making the playoffs heading into the final series of the season. However, they lost three straight games to the San Diego Padres and were eliminated on the last day of the season.
Outfielder Alex Dickerson shared similar sentiments about the tough ending, but detailed what he thinks the team needs to do in order to improve even more in 2021.
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“We just got a lot to build on,” Dickerson said Thursday on Balk Talk. “Our offense is pretty intact and we had a great year, we honestly thought there was room to grow. A lot of us slumped in that first part of that 60-game season and it felt like we were going to start taking our stride.”
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The abbreviated 60-game season and expanded playoffs was the perfect opportunity for a team of the Giants to take advantage of, but they came up just short.
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Regardless, Dickerson likes the thought of continuing that momentum the Giants were able to find.
“I’m just really excited to build off that and whatever we add on the pitching side,” Dickerson added. “I think we got a lot of talent there.”
The Giants brought back Kevin Gausman, who accepted his $18.9 million qualifying offer. He’s a great candidate to be the Opening Day starter, as president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi mentioned in a recent interview on MLB Network.
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Gausman had a 3.62 ERA and 3.09 FIP and turned out to be the most reliable pitcher in the rotation. Bringing him back was essential. Building off of that is imperative, especially since Drew Smyly signed with the Atlanta Braves. Dickerson knows that.
“We really do think we’re going to compete in the NL West,” Dickerson added.