San Francisco Giants Non-Tender Gorkys and Strickland

The San Francisco Giants made their first moves of the offseason and of the Farhan Zaidi era, non tendering closer Hunter Strickland and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez, and keeping three others.

Second baseman Joe Panik, and relief pitchers Sam Dyson and Will Smith were tendered contracts, and Panik and Dyson have already agreed to terms with the San Francisco Giants, according to multiple reports.

Panik will reportedly earn $3.85 million next season, while Dyson will earn $5 million.

Strickland, who was the team’s opening day closer at the beginning of 2018, is gone after four plus tumultuous seasons.

The flamethrower struggled to find other pitches besides his fastball while also having a difficult time with his temper when things didn’t go his way.

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Ultimately, Zaidi decided the baggage wasn’t worth the $2.5 million contract he was likely to be owed this season. That is a small price to pay for the talent he possesses, but shows what Zaidi feels about everything else that comes with the right hander.

The Giants clearly felt Smith and Dyson were more valuable to hold onto among their bullpen options and didn’t see Strickland being able to overcome his issues.

Hernandez was a utility outfielder who was asked to play all three outfield positions over the last two seasons. His inconsistent bat was ultimately his undoing as his defense always played well enough to keep giving him opportunities. His struggles in the second half of the season last year at the plate ended up not being worth the $1.6 million price tag, despite being second on the team in home runs.

Zaidi, as both a front office man in Oakland and Los Angeles, proved he could find players for less money than that who could provide much more value to his teams.

There are several free agents on the market who could come in under the radar for minimum deals or even become non roster invitees in Spring Training that could provide the same production value.

We looked at some possible under the radar acquisitions earlier this week and there are several more on the open market, especially after other teams non tendered players as well.

Whether it’s multi positional players like Josh Harrison and Daniel Descalso, power from unlikely positions, like catcher Robinson Chirinos or second baseman Brian Dozier, or recently non tendered players like Jonathan Schoop and Avisail Garcia, the Giants will have plenty of veteran options to fill their roster with new talent.

The San Francisco Giants made their first moves of the offseason and of the Farhan Zaidi era, non tendering closer Hunter Strickland and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez, and keeping three others.

More from Around the Foghorn

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