One area of the roster the SF Giants will need to address in the offseason

The SF Giants struggles against left-handed pitching have been so extreme this season that it is tough to ignore or overlook. They cannot have the same struggles next year, which is why it will need to be addressed this offseason.

One area of the roster the SF Giants will need to address in the offseason

The Giants are hitting .211/.275/.335 (73 wRC+) against left-handed pitching this year. This includes a 7.2 percent walk rate, 25.5 percent strikeout rate, and .124 ISO. The wRC+ is tied with the Colorado Rockies for the worst mark in baseball.

To put it differently, the Giants are not hitting for power against left-handed pitching, and they are striking out too much. Sunday's 8-0 loss against the Washington Nationals was another example of this. Southpaw starter MacKenzie Gore pitched six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts and only one walk. He did not tally a strikeout in his last outing, but made up for it against the Giants.

On paper, it should not be as big an issue as it is. Matt Chapman, Wilmer Flores, and Casey Schmitt have put up good numbers against left-handed pitchers. Willy Adames has shown reverse platoon splits throughout his career, meaning that he is better against right-handed pitchers. That said, his numbers have cratered to a .587 OPS against left-handed pitching this year.

According to Cot's, the Giants have invested $217 million into this season's roster. You cannot invest that much money and be this deficient in one area. Teams like this will be exposed against good teams, especially if they have a lot of left-handed starters.

The Giants cannot do much about it now. The roster is what it is at this point. However, there are a few ways they can address is in the offseason. The cost-effective way would be bringing back an unpopular strategy. That strategy would be platooning.

All teams platoon to some degree. At times, even the Giants do it. They just do not really have a roster that is built for it. The everyday lineup has not produced against left-handed pitching, and the bench just does not bring much value to the table.

There could be another difficulty here. Adding platoon bats would force Bob Melvin to change his style. Melvin has managed for over two decades, and a lot of players like the continuity that he brings to the lineup. If you are an everyday player, your name will be in the lineup a lot. That type of predictability can be reassuring.

However, Melvin does not really leverage the bench all that much. To his defense, he does not have much of a bench to leverage. The Giants will need to be better against left-handed pitchers next year, and it might take the front office and coaching staff staff out of its comfort zone to do it.

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