The One Way The San Francisco Giants Progress Toward Contention Even Without Baseball

Let’s get some necessary caveats out of the way. The COVID-19 crisis is among the worst events of our lifetimes. The positives are completely dwarfed by the death and suffering this disease is causing, and that’s to say nothing of the economic hardship it brings. Even within the relatively insignificant realm of Major League Baseball, the news is essentially all bad. To write about anything positive for a particular team feels a bit callous. On the other hand, baseball is usually a welcome distraction from the mayhem of the world, and without baseball all we have is baseball analysis (and replays of old games). So, wash your hands, keep your distance, and if you’re so inclined, read about the San Francisco Giants.

The Giants are on the tail end of many contracts signed with the first half in mind. You would be hard pressed to find a Giants’ fan who wouldn’t defend the contracts of Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and, perhaps to a lesser degree, Brandon Belt (equally valuable but not as well liked as the other Brandon). All three have two more seasons on their current deals, deals which need to expire before the Giants can truly become a new team. They pay those three $52 million a season for middling production.

Speaking of which, Jeff Samardzija is on the last year of a deal that would pay him just under $20 million for a full 2020 season. He would be happy to earn half that on the open market. Johnny Cueto, lovable as he is, has also been injured for much of his big deal, and has two more years at $22 million a pop. Evan Longoria is still owed about $59 million (counting his $5 million buyout of the last year of his megadeal) on a deal that lasts through 2022, or 2023 if San Francisco picks up the option.

Add that all up and you are most of the way to explaining how the Giants spent $186 million and won 77 games last season. They can afford the salaries, but there is a limit somewhere, and that limit makes it hard to add on top of all those underwater deals.

If the 2020 season is cancelled, the Giants, like everyone, will lose a year of player development. They will lose a year of figuring out what they have and seeking out diamonds in the rough. They will also lose a year of each of those deals.

Perhaps more than any other team, the Giants are in the process of shedding their old skin so that they can become a new kind of serpent. That can only happen with time, as their previous deals age out.

The only thing that’s happening in baseball right now is that the days are passing. It’s sad and one more challenge on top of countless others. As we look toward a more hopeful future in which we get to care about how far the San Francisco Giants are from contending, the passage of time is one thing that, in some ways, allows them to be reborn.