As the MLB lockout comes to an end, SF Giants CEO Larry Baer believes the organization will be “very active” in the free agent market going forward.
The 2022 Major League Baseball season was on the verge of being cancelled until the league’s owners and players came to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement on Thursday.
When Giants pitching coach Andrew Bailey received the news, he was standing behind home plate on one of the fields at the Giants’ new minor league facility, studying the organization’s young arms.
The team’s coaches have been prohibited from contacting anyone on the 40-man roster for the previous 99 days, including top pitcher Logan Webb, while big league owners locked out their players while the two sides negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement. Spring training has been postponed. Then there’s Opening Day. However, just after 12 p.m. PT on Thursday, it was announced that the players had voted to accept the owners’ newest offer.
Within the first five minutes, Bailey was on the phone with a member of his pitching staff. New Year’s greetings. Christmas greetings. Even though it’s March, there’s still a lot of catching up to accomplish.
Thursday was a “wonderful day for the industry,” according to Giants president Larry Baer. “Now that we’ve reached an agreement,” he said, “we really need to move our emphasis to how we can expand the sport’s appeal.”
The Giants and A’s will not play until April 8, nine days after their previously planned season openers, as a result of the pact. The Athletics will begin their season at Philadelphia, while the Giants will host the Marlins.
According to reports, the offseason will start in a short period of time — maybe as soon as Thursday — meaning that clubs will have to act swiftly to fill the voids on their rosters while simultaneously preparing for spring training in earnest. In addition, the Bay Bridge Series, albeit only in its preseason incarnation, has been forced to cancel as a result of the limited ramp-up time.
Larry Baer, the President and CEO of the San Francisco Giants, appears to be aware of this. Following the announcement of the MLB lockout, Baer talked candidly with media about the club’s plans for the remainder of the season. “We’re ready to go out there and compete,” he said of the company. Like many other clubs, we want to be rather proactive in our approach.” A rush of activity will take place during this period. “We’ve been putting together a plan for it.”
Typically, front desks are quite cautious about the terminology they use, since they don’t want to overpromise and underdeliver on their promises. If things don’t work out, saying things like “We’re going to be quite aggressive” might come back to get you in the rear end.
So, what kind of moves will the Giants make? A major consideration for them is whether to retain or trade Kris Bryant, a 30-year-old third baseman who the Cubs acquired from them in the midst of the 2021 season. A large deal is on his wish list, thus he will have lots of credible suitors who have not yet been discovered. (At this point, the only thing we know for certain is that the Mets might not be interested.)
Aside from Bryant, the Giants are still in the process of assembling their starting rotation. After signing a three-year deal with the team in November, Anthony DeSclafani returned to the squad, while Alex Wood also signed a new contract with the organization. Alex Cobb, who was previously with the Los Angeles Angels, is the only other famous pitcher to join the team thus far.
In case you missed it, see more recent SF Giants and Larry Baer news: https://www.traveldailynews.com/post/sf-giants-ceo-larry-baer-shares-details-on-new-partnership-with-the-san-francisco-giants-and-alaska-airlines
