4 former SF Giants failing miserably with their new team in 2023

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While the San Francisco Giants did their absolute best to get involved with the biggest names on the free agent market last offseason like Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa, things didn't really work out. The Giants weren't quiet per se, but the offseason wasn't the splash that they were hoping to make. However, one thing that they did do well is avoid bringing back some guys that have struggled in 2023 elsewhere.

Even for a resource-rich team like the Giants, they cannot afford to have real money committed to players that are not producing. It would have been incredibly tempting to keep some of these guys around as some of them had previously been awesome, but the Giants had to place their bets and leave room for the big names they were targeting.

The question now is how are these departed Giants doing with their new teams? With a few exceptions like Evan Longoria, the results haven't been the prettiest.

Here are the former SF Giants players struggling with their new teams in 2023

Characterizing a player as "struggling" can be a very subjective thing. Sure, some guys be lumped in as being objectively bad here, but there are others who have either been dealing with injuries OR have had more specific shortcomings that have made them fall short of expectations with their new squads.

Without further delay, here are four former Giants players that are struggling with their new teams.

Brandon Belt's power left him when he left the Giants

This is a move that the Blue Jays would still make again in all likelihood. Getting Brandon Belt on a one year deal worth $9.3 million was a good deal at the time and still is reasonably fine. Belt has slashed .251/.360/.408 with that walk rate of his propping up his wRC+ to 118 on the season. A .768 OPS isn't great by any stretch, but he has been fine for the most part.

However, where he has struggled is in the power department. After consistently being a .470+ slugging percentage guy for most of his career, Crawford is in the middle of his second straight season where he power has seemingly disappeared. He hit only eight homers last season in almost 300 plate appearances and currently has four for Toronto. He is also slugging .408 in 2023 after slugging .350 last season with a similar dropoff in his ISO.

This isn't an indictment of Belt has a hitter overall. Again, a 118 wRC+ this year is more than reasonable. However, there is a lot of pressure on Belt's bat as a first baseman/DH and the lack of power combined with missing some time with a hamstring injury probably has the Giants glad they moved in a different direction.

The Giants were right to not keep Willie Calhoun around

Willie Calhoun has been a guy that, for a while now, has been long on potential but hasn't been able to put it together on the field. The Giants hoped to be able to unlock something with him when they traded Steven Duggar to the Rangers to acquire Calhoun. Unfortunately, Calhoun struggled after the trade and only made nine plate appearances with the Giants before hitting free agency.

Given the toolset here, it might have been tempting to see if they could stash Calhoun and see if he could resemble the guy that he was back in 2019 when he posted an .848 OPS with 21 homers for Texas. The Giants made the right call, though, as Calhoun ended up signing with the Yankees and has put up a .712 OPS with five homers in 2023. As talented as a guy can be, the game is played on the field and Calhoun continues to struggle to put actual results up.

Carlos Rodon got paid by the Yankees and Giants fans should be glad of it

One of the biggest names on the free agent market period last offseason was Carlos Rodon. In his one season with the Giants, Rodon was awesome as he posted a 2.25 ERA with 237 strikeouts in 178 innings of work. While the Giants clearly managed Rodon carefully, the results were there and a lot of Giants fans wanted the team to bring him back. However, he instead signed a deal with the Yankees for six years and $162 million.

All of that innings management that we saw last year ended up foreshadowing Rodon's first season with the Yankees. During spring training. Rodon suffered a forearm strain as well as issues with his back that have kept him from making his debut with the Yankees. It does look like he should return from the IL very soon, but losing a marquee free agent signing for the first half of his first season with a new team is not what the Yankees needed.

If anything, this is a lesson in being very careful about signing pitchers to long-term deals. The reality is that the laws of physics and biology are very often not compatible with what pitchers are asked to do to their bodies each time they are out there. Rodon could end up putting together some great seasons in New York, but it is also just as likely that this won't be the only time he is on the shelf.

Jason Vosler has struggled mightily since leaving the Giants

In limited playing time last season, Jason Vosler actually put together a nice 2022 season with the Giants while slashing .265/.342/.469 in 111 plate appearances as a backup corner infielder type. However, his production in the minors didn't exactly match up with his work in the majors and the Giants ultimately DFAed him last offseason to make room on the 40 man roster.

As it turns out, that was the correct choice. Vosler eventually landed with the Reds on a minor league deal and while he has seen some time in the big leagues with them, the results have been bad as he has a .571 OPS in 65 plate appearances with his time in the minors only being a little better than that.

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