After busy offseason, did SF Giants moves actually improve the roster?

The SF Giants had a busy offseason. Despite this, there are plenty of question marks with the roster, so did the moves they made actually improve the roster?

After busy offseason, did SF Giants moves actually improve the roster?

The Giants' more notable moves include adding Jung Hoo Lee, Tom Murphy, Robbie Ray, Jordan Hicks, and Jorge Soler. However, those moves feel more like lateral moves that had to be made to fill out the roster with some talent. That being said, they have maybe gotten incrementally better if anything. Perhaps, some of the players they brought in are better additions to the clubhouse than those who left in the offseason.

Even after the addition of Soler, there is still a lot of work to get the team close to competing for a playoff spot. As spring training gets underway, it looks like the offseason is over and Farhan Zaidi hinted at that being the case recently. Though, that could be to maintain some leverage in free agency.

To me, this is a huge letdown. When the winter started there were numerous ways that the team could get better, especially with the starting rotation, but the Giants are putting a lot of faith in their young pitchers. That is not a bad thing, but there is very little track record outside of Logan Webb when looking at the Opening Day rotation.

Spring Training has started and top talents like Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell are still on the market. There is no doubt that they would help any team. However, the Giants seem to need them more than anyone. Either pitcher would be a huge boost to the Giants' rotation.

As for Snell, I can argue that they need to pay him whatever. Looking at the starting rotation, it lacks depth and track record. The only one in the starting rotation that they can rely on is Logan Webb. Robbie Ray is good but will not be back until the second half. Jordan Hicks might stick as a starter, but that is unknown at this point. Lastly, Keaton Winn and Kyle Harrison are promising but also very green at the same time. Adding Snell would make the rotation a bit more reliable and take some of the pressure off of the young guys. 

I was once on board for getting Matt Chapman, but there is a lot of risk in adding him on a long-term deal. Looking at who is available at the moment, C.J. Cron could make a lot of sense to bolster the lineup. He has a potent bat and can add some power for cheap. It does seem like they need another infielder or two for depth at this point anyway. 

Now that I’ve looked at what they could’ve done, I feel like this offseason was mediocre at best. It seems like Bob Melvin and his staff are going to have a lot of work to do to see any improvement from last season. It is hard to give them a better grade given that the Opening Day rotation has so many question marks.

With all that being said, I think the PECOTA projections feel a bit generous at this point. They could win 81 games, but a lot of breaks have to go their way. Even if they reach 81 games, they still likely fall short of reaching the playoffs again.

The other reason this was a disappointment is because we keep getting promised that they will be active in the offseason. Instead, the organization has come up shy of star talents, which continues a theme of gut punch after gut punch for a team in need of star players. 

I do not know who to place the blame on either. Is it the owners not wanting to spend on big names or is it the front office not wanting to make the moves needed to win? Either way, the fans have been patient for years and are anxious to see the front office do more to move the needle.