The San Francisco Giants are heading into the offseason looking to snap out of what has been a few years of struggles.
This is already a significant offseason for San Francisco, as the Giants made a major change and hired former catcher Buster Posey as president of baseball operations.
Posey will have his work cut out for him. Currently, the Giants are lacking a true superstar or a face of the franchise. Within their division, there are many of those types of players.
It will be Posey’s job to try and convince star players to come to San Francisco, which is something the previous regime was unable to do. In addition to trying to upgrade in free agency, the Giants also don’t have a well-regarded farm system. This will be a priority for the front office to improve.
With the direction of San Francisco still unclear early in the offseason, Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report recently named Lamonte Wade Jr. as the most likely player to be traded this winter and highlighted why that could be the case.
Part of the reason is that ESPN is among the outlets that have already reported Posey’s willingness to move both Wade and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, Kelly writes. But there is a clear difference between the two players — age.
“There will likely be interest in both, but Yastrzemski is 34 and entering his contract year, which will probably limit the return San Francisco could get for him. Wade, 30, is probably best suited to play first base, though he has corner outfield experience. He has some pop and has averaged 69 walks over the past two seasons. With a pair of years before free agency, Wade could be one of the more under-the-radar big pickups this offseason.”
The 30-year-old’s positional flexibility will certainly be appealing. to teams that need a solid bat at first base or at a corner outfield position.
Yastremski has received more chatter due to the fact that he’s entering the walk year of his contract. But moving both to improve a farm system with some fresh prospects could be what’s best for San Francisco.
Few Giants should be deemed untouchable at this point. The franchise has plenty of work to do, not just this offseason, but in the years to come in order to compete in the National League West.
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