3 New Year’s resolutions for the SF Giants in 2024

3 New Year’s resolutions for the SF Giants in 2024

1. Get faster and more athletic

This has been a point of emphasis for Farhan Zaidi and the SF Giants the last two offseasons. Last offseason, the Giants did not accomplish this goal. Their signings of Michael Conforto and Mitch Haniger made the team slower and less athletic.

The signing of Jung Hoo Lee should help to achieve this end. They are hoping that Lee will be a guy who can get on base a lot as a leadoff man and an everyday center fielder. He certainly showed impressive defensive skills in his time in the KBO.

However, as a whole, the Giants are still a slow team. They stole the fewest number of bases last season and it wasn’t even close.

Plus, their lack of range in the outfield made them a much weaker defensive team as well.

The Arizona Diamondbacks showed last season just how valuable it is to have young, speedy outfielders who can seemingly track anything down in the outfield.

The Giants could address this need by signing Cody Bellinger who is a solid defensive outfielder, but he could command a lengthy, sizable, and risky deal in free agency.

Harrison Bader is also available in free agency at a much more affordable price, but his offensive limits likely prevent him from being an everyday starter even though he is a great defender and is fast.

Matt Chapman is another option. He would make the Giants better defensively, but he is also a really solid baserunner and would give them more speed on the bases which is something the Giants have been missing as of late.

There are also younger players currently in the roster who could make the Giants more athletic. Luis Matos and Tyler Fitzgerald are two players who come to mind who showed their athletic skills last year.

The Giants will not become the fastest and most athletic team overnight, but they can make meaningful steps in the right direction if they play their cards right in 2024.

3 New Year’s resolutions for the SF Giants in 2024

2. Add to the rotation

Another area the SF Giants should try to improve on in 2024 is to strengthen their rotation. They have been aiming for a frontline starter all offseason and we are still waiting on that move.

As of right now, Logan Webb is the only person you can say for certain will be in the team’s starting rotation. Alex Cobb would also be a definite member of the rotation if not for his hip injury which will keep him out at the beginning of the season.

Currently, they have several starters who have proven they can be solid starters in the past like Ross Stripling and Anthony DeSclafani. But both struggled mightily last year which makes one question whether they can be trusted going forward.

They also have some promising young arms that showed potential as future starters in 2023. This included Kyle Harrison, Keaton Winn, and Tristan Beck. All could play a prominent role in the rotation next season.

The Giants are probably counting on some combination of these five pitchers to make up their 3-5 spots in the rotation. For the number 2 spot, they have several options.

They could go after free-agent pitchers like Blake Snell or Shōta Imanaga. Both come with question marks but they would immediately help bolster the rotation for the team.

Other free agents would not be as flashy but are still solid starters with a proven track record like Marcus Stroman and Jordan Montgomery.

Then there are potential trade targets out there like Corbin Burnes or Dylan Cease. Both would likely take giving up some big trade chips but they’d provide a big boost to the rotation.

Most seem to agree that the Giants need to become a pitching and defense first team if they want to compete going forward. If I remember right, this approach worked pretty well on three separate occasions about a decade ago.

But in order to do that, the Giants really need to have an elite rotation. There are options out there, and the Giants need to be proactive to ensure they have a solid rotation in 2024.

3 New Year’s resolutions for the SF Giants in 2024

3. Finish over .500/make the playoffs

The SF Giants failed to finish above .500 each of the last two seasons and failed to make the postseason either year.

I am not sure whether they will be able to accomplish both of those things in 2024, but they should at least strive to play winning baseball in 2024.

The addition of Lee and, just for the sake of argument, let’s say they add another pitcher and Matt Chapman in free agency. It stands to reason that adds a few wins to the club and would allow them to finish above .500.

This is not a rebuilding year for the Giants, but they are trying to build something new with Bob Melvin and Farhan Zaidi. They are trying to win, but also be more exciting and fun to watch.

They want to win, but they will not do it with the same approach of recent years with a heavy reliance on openers and platoons.

There still may be some of that, but it seems like they want a more consistent everyday lineup and they want regular starting pitchers who try to go deep into games.

With this new approach, there could be bumps in the road, but if the Giants add some more talent then they could be a team in the 85-90 win category, which should be good enough to be in the running for a Wild Card spot.

The offseason is far from over, and the SF Giants still have plenty of time to address these New Year’s resolutions to make 2024 better than 2023. We just ask that they give fans an exciting product to watch on the field.