As the San Francisco Giants continue to stumble through the gobbledygook that is the 2022 baseball season, fans have settled into two undeniable truths: The Giants defense is very bad this year, and the team needs a star player to act as a main attraction. While there is no quick fix for the former, two potential quick fixes have come to the attention of Giants fans lately: Nationals outfielder Juan Soto and Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge. Either would do the trick.
To make such a statement acquisition, the Giants would have to move a few metaphorical mountains. A trade for Soto would require a bevy of top prospects, and probably Logan Webb. To sign Judge, the Giants would probably have to write a number on a check that could very well be north of $400 million.
The Giants could, in theory, still pull off moves to acquire one of (or both if you want to go crazy about it) these fine hitters. Which brings us to what happened Monday night when Giants President and CEO Larry Baer held a town hall style “State of the Franchise” with The Commonwealth Club that was hosted by NBC Bay Area anchor Raj Mathai. Baer answered questions covering a variety of topics, including the Giants need to acquire a star player, to which he said the following (bolding is mine):
“I would say that, having a star or two is highly desirable. But, two points. One is you can’t mortgage the farm for the star, because if you’re going to have a star, but the team craters, you’re in a worse position. And the second point is, stars can be homegrown. So, Buster (Posey), if you remember, was a Giants draft pick. Another incredibly popular Giant, a star, was (Tim) Lincecum. Homegrown. Madison Bumgarner, homegrown. So, you can also do it that way. It takes a little longer. Barry (Bonds) of course was a free agent signing, (that) was in our first year, it was our first move. So, I would say it’s highly desirable but not at the expense of team performance.”
It does not take a lot of reading between the lines to dissect what is said here. Start with the statement that you cannot give up all your precious prospects for one player, which would put the kibosh on a deal for Soto. Imagine a world where the Giants trade away Marco Luciano, Heliot Ramos, Kyle Harrison, Luis Matos and Logan Webb for Soto, but are unable to find any talented players to put around him in the lineup, causing him to fall out of love with the team and leave in free agency after the 2024 season. That would be what we in the sportswriting industry like to call “a bad thing.”
The second point that stars can be homegrown, could put a potential deal for Judge on life support as well. As the San Francisco Chronicles John Shea mentioned on The Morning Roast back on July 15th, since moving to San Francisco in 1958, outside of five seasons, the Giants have always had a big bopper in the lineup that made fans want to show up, from Willie Mays, to Jack Clark, to Will Clark, to Barry Bonds to Buster Posey. Add in Willie McCovey and you get four seasons in which none of those players were on the Giants, 1974-76 and 2008. Although he is not a hitter, you can shave it down to three years by adding Tim Lincecum in 2008, who was as much an attraction as the above hitters.
Aside from Bonds, those are all homegrown players drafted and developed by the Giants organization. And while Bonds is not homegrown in that he did not rise up through the Giants farm system, he did rise up as a child in the Giants clubhouse, which makes him a different kind of homegrown. And this trend extends back to the New York days as well, from Carl Hubbell, to Bill Terry, to Mel Ott to Christy Mathewson. Even their stars of the 1800s such as Roger Connor, Buck Ewing, Tim Keef and Mickey Welch were a part of the original New York Gothams team in 1883 (That team was formed from the Troy Trojans after that team folded after the 1882 season. Google it.)
The Giants entire 140-year history was built on the concept of the homegrown star.
The fact that the Giants most successful run in this 140-year history came under Baer’s watch with a core of homegrown stars is only going to reinforce his belief that the next great superstar to join the list of Giants legends is currently in the minor leagues somewhere. Maybe it is Luciano, or Ramos, or Harrison. It could even be Will Wilson. It is not even certain that this future homegrown star is in the organization yet.
The Giants want to build a sustainable, long-term winning formula, and they believe the best way to do that is by building these teams from within. The Giants are aware this process can take a while, and Baer is VERY aware that Giants fans are not going to be pleased with how this process can take a while.
All of this suggests that a deal for Soto is probably not going to happen. A deal for Judge is not dead however, as Baer brought in Farhan Zaidi to provide “Next Gen” thinking and lead the Giants in a new age direction. That new-age direction could very well include breaking with 140 years of precedent and signing a big-time free agent star like Judge. But after hearing what Baer had to say on Monday, holding your breath for a Judge deal is not something I would advise.
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