Other Sites Predictions For The SF Giants Offseason

ESPN and MLB Trade Rumors came out with their offseason predictions for each team and tied some intriguing names to the SF Giants.

As Major League Baseball writers worldwide continue speculating about this offseason’s transactions and upcoming free-agency contracts, two of their more reputable sites in the sport came out with their most complete predictions yet. ESPN predicted moves for every team in baseball. On the other hand, MLB Trade Rumors predicted the final contracts and destinations for the top 50 free agents by their rankings.

While neither list cites any sources or direct rumors, it’s always interesting to see what national sites predict for the SF Giants. Local writers and reporters tend to be much more tapped in and familiar with the front-offices way of thinking, but sometimes an outside perspective can see something others cannot.

Let’s evaluate what each site predicted.

SF Giants Predictions From Around The Web
ESPN: Re-Sign Kevin Gausman, Sign Rich Hill, and Jose Quintana

The article speculates that the Giants could spend big on the top-end of the market but expects Kevin Gausman to accept his qualifying offer and satisfy the organization’s desire for top-tier targets. With that said, Rich Hill and Jose Quintana both have more upside than your average mid-rotation target.

President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi is quite familiar with Hill as a part of both the A’s and Dodgers front-offices that brought in the southpaw. While he’s struggled with injuries throughout his career, the 40-year old hasn’t recorded an ERA above 3.75 in a season since 2013.

Quintana has spent his entire career in Chicago between the Cubs and White Sox organizations. A consistent mid-rotation arm, he’s been incredibly durable prior to a lat injury this year. Still, set to be 32 next season, Quintana will not be particularly pricey and comes with a strong history of consistency.

SF Giants Predictions From Around The Web
MLB Trade Rumors: Re-Sign Kevin Gausman, Drew Smyly, Sign Trevor May

MLB Trade Rumors sees the Giants going in a different direction this free-agency period. They also predict that Gausman will accept the qualifying offer but see a reunion on another one-year deal with Drew Smyly as the only other major starting pitching acquisition of the offseason.

In fact, the only outside player in their top 50 that they predict the Giants to sign is Twins reliever Trevor May. A 31-year old righty with big strikeout stuff, May seems like a strong high-leverage bullpen option for a team looking to solidify an inconsistent unit in 2020. May does not have closer experience but has been a primary setup man in Minnesota for most of the past three seasons. He’s completed 113 innings, struck out 153, walked just 38, and has a solid 3.19 ERA.

Smyly is by no means the biggest guarantee on the free-agent market, but in his small-sample, this season was dominant in San Francisco. Striking out nearly 14.5 batters per nine innings, Smyly’s solid 3.42 ERA came with substantial bad luck, according to pitching independent stats like FIP, which estimated Smyly’s performance as worthy of a 2.01 ERA. If he could replicate just some of that success over a full season, the Giants rotation would be in fantastic shape.

Perhaps most illuminating of all from MLB Trade Rumors’ predictions was how often the SF Giants were listed as potential landing spots for top free agents. It seems that while sites are aware the Giants could spend big this offseason, for now, they see the team content taking a more middle-of-the-road route by bringing Gausman back and adding a couple  other solid arms. We’ll see how that plays out.