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It is far, far, far too early to make any proclamations about the San Francisco Giants, positive or negative. It’s far, far, far too early to make any proclamations about any of their players, save for things like “Logan Webb is awesome,” and “Jung Hoo Lee is cool” and “Does Christian Koss have a book club and if so how can I join.”
But so far, things have looked excellent for the position player acquisitions that Buster Posey and Zack Minasian made this offseason. Second Baseman Luis Arráez has hit 3-6 with a double, and generally played decent defense. Center fielder Harrison Bader has hit 4-9 with a double, a walk, and a home run so impressive that it caused property damage.
Things haven’t been quite as pretty on the pitching front. Reliever Sam Hentges has dealt with an injury setback, and is unlikely to be available for Opening Day. Starter Tyler Mahle is sick, and we haven’t seen him pitch yet. And starter Adrian Houser made his spring debut on Wednesday and gave up four baserunners, including a home run, in two innings, with no strikeouts. On the other hand, many of the NRI relievers, like Caleb Kilian and Michael Fulmer, have pitched well.
Again: it’s too early. Far, far, far too early. It will be too early this time next month, too, and even this time in April. Bader and Arráez might end up having awful seasons while Mahle and Houser make 30 starts each and garner Cy Young votes.
But while it’s many months too early to judge these players, it’s never too early to predict them. So … which offseason signing will look best when the season is over?
I don’t mean the player who will increase the win total the most, per se. More the player who we’ll get to the end of the season and say, “Yeah, Posey and Minasian were cooking with that one.”
For me, it’s a non-roster player: reliever Gregory Santos. I’ve been a big believer in Santos for years, and was sad when the Giants got rid of him due to roster logistics. He was one of the best relievers in baseball in 2023, and it’s not like he fell off the last two years — he was just injured. And those injuries weren’t even to his arm, so there’s a strong reason to believe that he’ll bounce back this year if he can stay healthy. We’ve already seen it, as he breezed past 100 mph in his preseason debut.
And if he does pitch well, the Giants will have him under team control for two more seasons after this one.
So that’s my pick. What’s yours?