Despite strong areas, SF Giants defensive woes continued in 2024

The SF Giants had some strong areas on defense in 2024. However, the team's defensive woes, especially in the outfield, continued.

Despite strong areas, SF Giants defensive woes continued in 2024

Matt Chapman, Patrick Bailey, and Mike Yastrzemski were all recognized as Gold Glove finalists on Tuesday. There is a pretty strong case for both Bailey and Chapman to take home the award, whereas Yastrzemski continues to do a nice job in right field.

Unfortunately, the rest of the team was not as strong with the glove as those three. As a unit, the Giants posted -5 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), -8 Outs Above Average (OAA) and 0 Fielding Run Value (FRV). The neutral FRV metric is mildly surprising considering that Patrick Bailey led all position players with +22 FRV.

Unfortunately, the rest of the team did not hold up their end of the bargain. This excludes both Chapman (+8 FRV) and Thairo Estrada (+6 FRV), both of whom graded out favorably in FRV.

Of course, you probably did not need these advanced metrics to conclude that the Giants performed poorly with the glove. They did not pass the eye test as well, whether it was the communication breakdowns in the outfield or the routine errors at shortstop.

The Giants began the year with a solid defensive plan at premium positions like catcher, shortstop, and center field. Bailey held down the fort behind the dish but Nick Ahmed and Jung Hoo Lee did not finish the season at shortstop and center field, respectively.

Those are just a couple of examples, but when Lee sustained a season-ending injury and the Giants released Ahmed, it opened up massive holes at key positions. This is not to say that it was a bad move to part ways with Ahmed, but that decision did highlight the lack of shortstop depth.

When Lee went down, it was quite apparent that Heliot Ramos could not handle center field. This is not a knock on Ramos. The Giants needed to have a better defensive alternative. Instead, they played him out of position.

On the other hand, Tyler Fitzgerald forced himself into the starting lineup with an impressive month of July. However, as the season progressed, it highlighted that he was not an everyday shortstop in the field.

Nevertheless, the Giants did insulate Fitzgerald's struggles to some degree with strong defense at both second base and third base. This led to a stark contrast with how the team's defense performed in 2024.

Giants infielders posted +11 OAA compared to -19 OAA in the outfield this past season. It bears mentioning that OAA does not capture a catcher's defensive value, so the infield element does not tell the whole story.

The defensive woes in the outfield are not new. Giants outfielders were last in baseball with -26 OAA in 2022 and fourth-worst in 2023 with -13 OAA. The struggles differed this year compared to the past two years where the issues were in the corners.

In 2024, Giants center fielders tallied -12 OAA. This was not part of the plan. They hoped that Lee would improve the team's defense at a premium position and he adjusted nicely to the expansive confines of Oracle Park.

However, after he went down with a shoulder injury, the Giants had no plan and it was on display a little too often.

With Buster Posey running the show now, outfield defense will be one key area for him to address. Heliot Ramos and Lee will be in the mix but the Giants need to consider defense when they are looking at outfield upgrades this year.