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San Francisco Giants: Three New Years Resolutions for 2018

By Daniel Sperry
SAN FRANCISCO - OCTOBER 5: Willie Mays statue is shown before Game Two of the 2000 NLDS between the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets at Pacific Bell Park on October 5, 2000 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Tom Hauck/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO - OCTOBER 5: Willie Mays statue is shown before Game Two of the 2000 NLDS between the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets at Pacific Bell Park on October 5, 2000 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Tom Hauck/Getty Images) /
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – SEPTEMBER 19: Hunter Pence #8 of the San Francisco Giants hits a sacrifice fly to score Orlando Calixte #46 in the bottom of the ninth inning for a walk-off victory over the Colorado Rockies at AT&T Park on September 19, 2017 in San Francisco, California. The Giants won the game 4-3. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – SEPTEMBER 19: Hunter Pence #8 of the San Francisco Giants hits a sacrifice fly to score Orlando Calixte #46 in the bottom of the ninth inning for a walk-off victory over the Colorado Rockies at AT&T Park on September 19, 2017 in San Francisco, California. The Giants won the game 4-3. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Front Office Resolution: Stop giving long contracts to guys in their 30’s

The San Francisco Giants have given 3 contracts of at least five years for a total of $310 million to players over 30 since 2013, starting with Hunter Pence‘s contract. That’s rough. The jury has been out as players usually breakdown between their 32-34 year old seasons. If they don’t re-invent themselves, they are usually done. The Giants have already experienced this with Hunter Pence, and Denard Span, and may do so sooner or later with guys like Cueto and Samardzija.

Along with the resolution before this one, the Giants need to find a way to get younger, and have their team average age more around the player’s prime age which is between 26-29. The Giants were extremely close to 30 last year and with all that money spent on aging vets, it’s looking a little rough in the future.

I’m ok with the Giants giving massive contracts to players under the age of 30. It keeps them here through their prime years and is a great way to control younger players who make their way up to the big leagues quickly. But they can’t keep giving 6 year $100 million type deals to 31 year olds. Most likely, they’ll only be good through three to four of those years unless they are “all-time greats” type players. Not every player is effective until their 36 or 37. Only the greats.

The Giants gotta stop living with aging vets, and instead look to find young pieces in their prime. That’s who they need to chase, not the guys with big names at the end of their primes. Hopefully this offseason ends those types of moves, as the free agent classes coming up are on the younger end. But this season, only a few of the big free agents are under 30, and that makes it hard to commit to big contracts. The Giants need to stop doing it.

So hopefully, starting this season, the Giants start shying away from six year deals for 30 year olds. If they can do that, they should be able to stay competitive for longer stretches of time.

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