San Francisco Giants: 5 Players Who Need to Step Up in the Second Half

Longoria shouldn’t be of any surprise on this list. Another one of the Giants former all-stars that they acquired this offseason has underperformed what is expected of him. He is 32 and outside of the prime of his career. However, the Giants are frustratingly stuck with his contract for the next five years.

Longoria has struck out more and walked less in 2018 than he did in 2017, and 2017 was a down year for him anyways. His wRC+ is under 100, which is not good at all, and that .246 average does not look pleasant. With how often he’s striking out, and how little he gets on base outside of getting a hit, Longo has become a really frustrating member of the Giants.

Cover your eyes when you look at his defensive stats as well. His -4 DRS is well below his pace which led to a gold glove in 2017. He’s also committed 11 errors in just 60 games. His career high is 14.

All around, Longoria has been pretty disappointing in 2018. If he can begin to step up in the second half, and we can even catch a glimpse of the All-Star/MVP candidate version of Longoria, it will help the Giants immensley. If he doesn’t, I think the Giants would have little problem turning the position over to Pablo Sandoval, who has played increasingly well with his increased playing time thanks to Longoria’s injury. Longoria will for sure be given the chance when he comes back. But if he doesn’t do it, Giants fans will begin to bemoan that trade.