Three big decisions the SF Giants must make within the next five days
SAN FRANCISCO — After the 88-win Atlanta Braves stunned the baseball world by beating the Brewers, Dodgers and Astros en route to their first World Series title since 1995, it’s time to focus on 2022.
With Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement set to expire on December 2, expect negotiations between the owners and the Players Association to dominate the news cycle and for the threat of a lockout to become a dominant storyline.
In the meantime, clubs must conduct normal offseason business, all without knowing exactly what the future holds.
A Giants team that set a franchise record with 107 wins has plenty of important decisions to make before the CBA can expire, and we examined some of the biggest that president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and Co. must answer in the immediate future.
1. Will the Giants exercise Buster Posey’s 2022 option?
Within the next five days, the Giants must determined whether or not to exercise Buster Posey’s $22 million club option for the 2022 season.
Seems like a no-brainer, right?
The franchise cornerstone turns 35 in March, but he was the best all-around catcher in the National League this season as Posey hit .304 with an .889 OPS and 18 home runs.
It makes plenty of sense to exercise the option and Zaidi has already given a strong hint that he’s prepared to do so, but there’s a catch: Posey hasn’t publicly declared whether he plans to play next season.
It’s possible Posey wants to play two-to-three more years and then retire, which could compel the two sides to toss out the 2022 club option and agree to a multi-year extension. It’s also possible Posey is ready to move on from the sport and spend more time with his family, which would render the club option useless.
The good news for the Giants: Even if they pick up Posey’s 2022 option within the next five days, there’s still time for the catcher and the team to sort out their plans.
2. How many players will receive a qualifying offer?
For those of you who may be unfamiliar with a qualifying offer, here are the details you need to know.
- Within five days of the end of the World Series, teams can offer their pending free agents a one-year, $18.4 million contract. A player offered the qualifying offer then has 10 days to accept or decline the offer.
- Players who received a qualifying offer the previous year (e.g. Kevin Gausman) and players who were traded during the 2021 season (e.g. Kris Bryant) are ineligible to receive qualifying offers.
- If a player declines the qualifying offer and signs with a new team, the new team will forfeit a draft choice.
- A team that offers a player a qualifying offer and is unable to re-sign that player will gain a draft choice in a compensatory round.
Under Zaidi’s leadership, the Giants have used the qualifying offer to their advantage. They extended offers to Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith after the 2019 season and after the left-handers declined the offers and departed in free agency, the Giants drafted promising prospects Nick Swiney (LHP, North Carolina State) and Jimmy Glowenke (INF, Dallas Baptist) with their compensatory selections.
Following the 2020 season, Gausman received a qualifying offer and accepted it, which worked out extremely well for the Giants as the right-hander had the best season of his career and was named an All-Star for the first time.
Within the next five days, the Giants will make a handful of decisions on qualifying offers, but one is fairly obvious. If the Giants don’t announce a multi-year extension with first baseman Brandon Belt before the qualifying offer deadline, Belt will receive one.
The tougher calls come with a pair of starting pitchers who were strong performers for the Giants this season: Anthony DeSclafani and Alex Wood.
Given his injury history and established track record, an $18.4 million offer seems steep for Wood, who the Giants would probably like to have back, but at contract more in the two-to-three year range with an average annual value of $8-10 million or so.
It’s unlikely Wood, who turns 31 in January, receives a qualifying offer, but much like Smith in 2019, the Giants could go either way on DeSclafani. The veteran starter doesn’t have an elite track record, but he was a tier below All-Star-caliber this season as his 3.17 ERA was the best mark of his career.
Is it realistic to think DeSclafani, 31, could repeat his success? Sure. Is it likely? That’s more of a stretch, which makes the qualifying offer decision quite interesting for a Giants team that wants to keep much of its roster intact.
3. What will the Giants do about other players with options?
Aside from Posey, the Giants have another player with a $20-plus million option for the 2022 season.
Starting pitcher Johnny Cueto may have a few decent years left in his arm, but those years will likely come elsewhere as the Giants will assuredly decline his option for next season and pay the $5 million buyout to get out of his contract.
A few other players have team options for next season that must be exercised or declined within five days including Wilmer Flores, who has been a bargain over the last two years and should have his $3.5 million option picked up soon. Manager Gabe Kapler views Flores as one of the most clutch hitters in the majors, so there’s no reason to think the Giants will move on from the right-handed hitting infielder.
Left-handed reliever José Álvarez also has a reasonable club option as the veteran southpaw would be owed $1.5 million in 2022 if the Giants exercise his option. There was a point early in the season when Álvarez was nearly designated for assignment, but he finished the year with a 2.37 ERA and the Giants were thrilled with the flexibility he offered the bullpen.