Giants Don’t Sign Aaron Judge

by
Greek Giant

Let’s start with the fan rage:

Jason H:

They won in spite of the platoons in 2021, not because of them. Otherwise, they would’ve done much better in 2022.

The reality, as many of us know, is that platoons only get you so far. Your margins for error are paper thin if you think you’re going to platoon split your way to compete with the Dodgers, Padres, Mets, Braves, and on and on. Those teams have stars. They have talent. We have neither. We won in 2021, with players Farhan inherited from the previous regime, because a good number of them had either career years or dead cat bounce years. It absolutely was not going to be repeated, and despite the fact it was not going to be repeated, Farhan did nothing to the everyday lineup other than sign Joc Pederson.

If Farhan does nothing other than sign Mitch Haniger *this* offseason, his days are numbered. That current lineup is not going to compete, no matter how much lipstick on the pig (and spin) Farhan tries to put on it.

Walt R: 
As has been said ad nauseam…Zaidi appeared to be a somewhat logical choice when hired. But the reality is he spent all those years with the A’s learning ” Moneyball ” and never really had ” boots on the ground “. Instead of spending tons and tons of money on players it is best at this point to allow Farhan to move on and spend some of the cash on an experience rainmaker who has a history of winning in the P/GM position.

Also remember when Zaidi left the Dodgers Friedman didn’t even try to replace him for like 3 years. That in itself tells a story.

and

Can’t blame the FO on this one. They offered much more than I (and likely many of you) thought they would’ve, and it’s clear now that he simply just wanted to be a Yankee, with us, unfortunately, getting caught in the crossfire. Definitely hurts, but that’s how free agency can play out.

Where you CAN blame the FO, however, building off what Grant said, is the complete failure of getting the prospect pipeline up and running; in order to have this team as a much more attractive destination for a marquee player such as Judge. 4 years into this regime, with no real farm contributions other than Webb and Doval (neither being Farhan pickups mind you), is an egregiously bad look.

At this point, they need to pray Carlos Correa decides to sign on the dotted line with them because the fanbase is growing restless and I don’t see another clear path to a massive offseason like they have been teasing without him in the fold.

Anonymous Poster:

I’ve been a season ticket holder since 2014…now that Judge is out of picture, Giants need to put up or shut up…again, if on opening day 2023, Wilmer Flores is in starting lineup and hitting 4th or 5th in batting order, I’m done.

Correa + Nimmo + mid-tier starter such as Senga or Manaea, + high leverage bullpen arm (Rogers would be a great story/fit) is the only real and semi-realistic way I see them saving the offseason at this point (barring a mega trade for one of Reynolds/Devers/Ohtani, which is neither very smart nor at all likely).

For the sake of my sanity and other Giants fans out there, I truly hope they can salvage this. We deserve to be excited about Giants baseball again.

Giovanni S.:

It is time to spend a ludicrous amount of money on a baseball player who makes the team better. There are a few reasons to do this, starting with the whole “making the team better” bit. But it’s also a show of faith. It’s a nod to the fans, a way to get them optimistic. It’s something they’ll need to do because the farm system is still in beta testing, a full year after the expected product launch.

Why I am Happy the Giants Did Not Sign Aaron Judge

All is not well in Giants nation ladies and gents. When the news arrived yesterday that Aaron Judge signed a new contract with the New York Yankees for nine years and $360 million. Disappointment was the common refrain among many San Franciscans everywhere. Not from me, however. I believe the Giants dodged the proverbial bullet for a number of reasons:

• Judge will be 31 next season, the first of his new contract (He’s not young!)
• Judge has an injury history that is likely to get worse as he ages
• The Giants will not win the World Series simply by adding Judge
• With the $360 million the Giants could spend on other players and still have money left over to commit to player development and scouting (the real need in the Giants organization)
• Watching an ageing slugger in his later years putting up sub-par numbers while earning $40 million a season is not a sight I want to see in San Francisco

But let’s get back to the disappointment for a minute. Yes, it is true the Giants need some star power. Yes, it’s true Judge is a generational talent. Let’s also remember the facts. The rumors are that both the Padres and Giants offered more money than the Yankees but Judge went to New York. Translation: He preferred to stay with his current team, used the Giants and Padres to leverage a bigger offer from NYY GM Brian Cashman, which, by the way, has a much better roster of talent than the Giants, than move to San Francisco and play for an organization that shuttles in AAAA players and plops them in the starting line up for a week before cutting them. He prefers to play under the bright lights of Broadway than for a Manager who platoons and mixes and matches himself to death only to get caught with his pants down in later innings.

Make no mistake: do not underestimate how undesirable the Giants philosophy of baseball is to talented superstars and veterans across the league.

I’ve been reading, like you, various writers about the news of the Judge signing. One of the most striking things to me is the bitterness of the fans who blame Farhan Zaidi. But that’s unfair. Zaidi and the Giants, by all accounts, did all they could. If anything, we could accuse them of negligence for trying to sign Judge in the first place while they continue with crappy drafts, an under-performing farm system, and the Analytics-driven baseball philosophy that is killing the game of baseball in front of our yes.

Remember,  next season will be 2023, the magical year when Joey Bart was supposed to be an elite slugging catcher, when Heliot Ramos was supposed to be the second coming of Kevin. Mitchell, when the farm was about to produce the arms to make the Giants a power.

It’s not happening.

Grant Brisbee makes the argument that the Giants must absolutely sign a big name player this offseason. I’m not sure I agree. Yes, the team lacks star power but playing the same game A.J. Pelletier is playing with the Padres (He just overpaid for an ageing and slightly above average player named Xander Bogaerts who will be the second or third-best defensive shortstop on his team and whose power numbers are in decline) is not the answer. You cannot buy a championship with one or two stars.

You need to build a champion from the ground up then complement that structure with key acquisitions. Remember Hunter Pence and Marco Scutaro in 2012? and Freddy Sanchez in 2010? Those pieces, along with Pat Burrell and Cody Ross were but a few examples of superb additions complementing a core of studs like Buster, Timmy, Cain, and MadBum.

Breathe Deeply, Giants Fans

There are still good players out there to bought. Remember Carlos Rodon? How about a Carlos Correa? Maybe a Brandon Nimmo? Each and all would make the Giants a much better team and you could argue that each could end up being more valuable to the team than Aaron Judge, depending on injuries and so forth.

Breathe Deeply.