3 decisions that doomed the SF Giants chances in 2022

3 decisions that doomed the SF Giants chances in 2022

2. Not tinkering with the bullpen sooner

The Giants bullpen led baseball with a 2,99 ERA in 2021 and they returned nearly every reliever for the 2022 season. However, betting on stability and continuity proved to be the wrong choice for the most volatile area on the roster.

The 2022 bullpen has posted a 4.03 ERA, which ranks near the middle of the pack. The good news is that they have a legitimate closer in Camilo Doval, who has posted a 2.53 ERA with 27 saves in 30 opportunities this year.

The bad news is that they did not have enough quality relievers to get the ball to Doval. They have a small nucleus of relievers that they can pencil into next year's roster but they were not quick enough to begin reworking the bullpen.

The Giants have seen a lot of new faces over the past month like Jharel Cotton, Shelby Miller, and Scott Alexander. All three have looked good in a limited showing and it has helped the Giants tally a 3.43 ERA in the final month of the season. This is the type of output that the Giants expected from the bullpen when the season began.

At the trade deadline, it would not have made sense for the Giants to target a top-end reliever like Josh Hader or David Robertson. That said, they could have benefitted from adding a bullpen arm like Chris Martin, which the Los Angeles Dodgers shipped utility infielder Zack McKinstry to the Chicago Cubs. This is one of those moves that could have better positioned the bullpen in 2022 and beyond at a cost that made plenty of sense.

San Francisco has gone 21-27 in one-run games in 2022. Those games are often determined by the team that plays cleaner defense with a bullpen that can work with little margin for error. That was not the Giants bullpen this year and it felt like they should have responded quicker to that unit's struggles.

3 decisions that doomed the SF Giants chances in 2022

3. Not prioritizing defense

This is a tough one because poor defense is usually a trait that quickly gets woven into a team's identity. You either can play defense or cannot play defense and you usually find out quickly what side of the spectrum the team is on.

For the Giants, they could not play defense. They had some really rough months with the glove in the middle of the year but the lack of execution followed them throughout the entire season. The Giants were officially eliminated on Saturday by a score of 8-4 against the Arizona Diamondbacks and it was a rather fitting end for this team.

Thairo Estrada committed a throwing error whereas there were a couple of defensive miscues in the outfield including Joc Pederson losing the ball in the sun. You cannot do anything about a player losing the ball in the sun because it happens sometimes.

However, it is hard to ignore that the front office built a roster that did not prioritize defense or versatility. The Giants defense posted -45 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and -28 Outs Above Average (OAA), which ranks as second-worst and third-worst, respectively, in baseball.

Giants outfielders combined to recorded -42 DRS and -24 OAA with both marks being the worst in baseball. Second base was another problem area with -19 DRS and -4 OAA. The point is, the defense was rough at nearly every position.

I suppose it is no surprise given that the Giants once had a roster that consisted of Tommy La Stella, Wilmer Flores, Darin Ruf, Yermín Mercedes, and Joc Pederson all at the same time. None of the five mentioned are above-average fielders, and in many instances, they were playing out of position.

The team that executes better is usually the one that wins close games more often than not. At 21-27 in one-run games, the Giants just did not execute enough on defense and it likely led to less-than-stellar numbers for many of the Giants pitchers as well.

The front office cannot make that same miscalculation again. Once it is embedded in the team's identity, it is tough to fix. Defensive acumen needs to be a priority this winter, especially at premium positions.