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Denard Span isn’t Yoenis Cespedes or Justin Upton. So if you were a San Francisco Giants fan hoping for another top-shelf addition in what has been a splashy offseason, perhaps Span’s signing—first reported by CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman—leaves you feeling underwhelmed. 

It shouldn’t. Span may not be a superstar, and he comes with a degree of risk, but he’s a solid, savvy addition who should fit in nicely with the Giants’ overall vibe, as Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan opined:

Span’s deal with San Francisco, pending a physical, is for three years and $31 million plus performance incentives, per Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. It’s not the $130 million the Giants invested in Johnny Cueto or the $90 million they gave Jeff Samardzija, but it’s a significant investment in a significant player.

That “pending a physical” bit up there is important, as we’ll delve into momentarily. First, though, let’s make the case for Span as a strong, needed addition to the Giants’ outfield.

He joins a group that includes veteran right fielder Hunter Pence, incumbent center fielder Angel Pagan and Gregor Blanco, who has seen extended stints as a starter during his four seasons in San Francisco.

Span supplants Blanco on the depth chart and makes the most sense in center field, where he’s been good for nine defensive runs saved and a 15.0 ultimate zone rating in his career, per FanGraphs. That would allow Pagan, whose defense has slipped precipitously in recent years as he’s battled back and leg injuries, to slide over to left. And it puts Blanco back into the fitting role of fourth outfielder.

Regardless of position, Span should provide the Giants with an offensive spark. His best season came in 2014, when he posted a .302/.355/.416 slash line with 31 stolen bases and a National League-leading 184 hits and finished 19th in NL MVP voting.

But he’s been a consistently valuable contributor for his entire eight-year career with the Minnesota Twins and Washington Nationals, averaging 3.0 WAR per season, according to Baseball-Reference.com. More than anything, he knows how to put the bat on the ball: Over the last three seasons, Span has the second-highest contact percentage in the game, per FanGraphs. 

Signing a speedy, slick-fielding outfielder, and a Scott Boras client to boot, for around $10 million a season is a notable bargain for San Francisco. And since Span didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Nats, he won’t cost the Giants a draft pick.

Which brings us back to that risk business. Span, who turns 32 in February, suffered through an injury-riddled 2015, playing in just 61 games and undergoing core muscle and hip surgeries. 

Presumably, the Giants will keep a wary eye out for signs of lingering issues when they conduct their physical. But even if Span checks out, he’ll enter 2016 with reasonable doubts about his durability, to which he recently responded:

Impressive tweet-delivered clips notwithstanding, the injury stuff matters. Pagan, as mentioned, has battled multiple ailments, and Pence, once a noted iron man, missed extended time last year with a fractured wrist and oblique strain.

This group isn’t free from red flags. Aside from Blanco, the Giants don’t have a ton of outfield depth, though youngsters Mac Williamson and Jarrett Parker and imposing journeyman Kyle Blanks could factor into the equation. 

If we assume good health, however, this is a high-upside outfield. Marry it to the Giants’ enviable homegrown infield, revamped rotation, battle-tested bullpen and face of the franchise Buster Posey, and you’ve got the makings of an NL West favorite and legitimate October contender.

Nothing’s guaranteed in January, obviously. Like Span, Cueto and Samardzija bring some risk-reward baggage of their own. Samardzija led the league in earned runs and hits allowed in 2015, and Cueto saw his numbers tumble after a trade-deadline swap to the Kansas City Royals.

On the other hand, Cueto also hoisted a trophy with Kansas City. Now, with two splashy arms and a talented outfielder in the fold, greedy Giants fans can realistically dream about more hardware, confetti and even-year mojo. 

As Cueto put it at his introductory press conference, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle: “It’s a team of champions.”

Span has never won a championship, but he should fit right in.

All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted. 

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The Los Angeles Dodgers were never going to replace Zack Greinke. That may as well have been a decree from the baseball gods.

He’s one of the best right-handers in the game, after all, and MLB‘s reigning ERA king. Even with a free-agent market as deep as this one, once Greinke rode off into the Arizona sunset, that was that.

Still, Los Angeles and President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman had to act. And they did, adding a pair of arms in southpaw Scott Kazmir and Japanese import Kenta Maeda, whose deal is expected to be made official in the coming days, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (more on that in a moment).

The question now is, has Friedman done enough to patch that Greinke-sized hole and revamp the rotation for a title run in 2016?

Make no mistake: It’s title or bust at Chavez Ravine. The Dodgers, baseball’s biggest spenders, haven’t hoisted a Commissioner’s Trophy in more than a quarter-century. Yes, they’ve won three straight division titles and advanced as far as the National League Championship Series in 2013. They’ve knocked on the door.

Meanwhile, their hated rivals to the north, the San Francisco Giants, have won three rings in six seasons. And San Francisco is entering an even year (wink, wink) with a bevy of homegrown offensive talent and some shiny new additions to its starting five. Those pesky, Greinke-robbing D-Backs are coiled in the weeds, too.

And other NL contenders, including the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets, are locked and loaded.

So back to Kazmir and Maeda. They join a rotation fronted by Clayton Kershaw, the 2014 NL MVP and still probably the best pitcher in baseball. That’s a rock-solid foundation.

With Maeda and Kazmir in the fold, the Dodgers now have pitching depth. Left-handers Hyun-Jin Ryu and Brett Anderson figure to claim the other two rotation slots, with Alex Wood slotting into long relief or possibly being dangled in trade. Righty Mike Bolsinger, who posted a 3.62 ERA in 21 starts last season, is likewise in the mix.

Quantity, however, doesn’t trump quality. Again, the Dodgers are trying to recover from the loss of Greinke and his ludicrously stingy 1.66 ERA and 9.3 WAR, per Baseball-Reference.com.

Can Maeda and Kazmir do it?

First, let’s take the optimistic tack. Kazmir, an All-Star in 2014, continued his compelling comeback story last season with the Oakland A’s and Houston Astros, posting a 3.10 ERA in 183 innings. Not bad for a guy who was floundering in the independent leagues in 2012.

“Back in the day, it was just get it and throw it,” Kazmir, who will turn 32 later this month, told Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. “I don’t know how I did it. I just did it. Now, being able to know my body a lot more and being a lot more knowledgeable about the game, it’s a huge advantage.”

Maeda, too, arrives loaded with experience. In eight seasons with the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, the 27-year-old right-hander posted a 2.39 ERA with 1,233 strikeouts in 1,509.2 innings. After watching what Japanese studs like Yu Darvish and Masahiro Tanaka did to MLB hitters when they were healthy, there’s every reason to believe those stats can translate stateside.

OK, now for a dose of pessimism. That “when healthy” caveat referred to the arm troubles that have haunted Tanaka and Darvish, forcing the latter to have Tommy John surgery last spring.

Now, we’re already seeing red flags with Maeda. While Maeda‘s eight-year deal is moving forward, there have been delays “over health concerns,” according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. Remember, L.A. already scrapped a pact this winter with Hisashi Iwakuma over a failed physical.

Maeda, it seems, will don Dodger blue, though his contract is for a low baseline of $25 million and loaded with performance incentives, per the New York Post‘s Joel Sherman. Mostly, questions about his durability won’t go away until he quashes them on the mound.

Kazmir, too, comes with questions. Compelling as his renaissance has been, he faltered down the stretch last season and watched his ERA balloon by a full run between July 30 and Sept. 30. That could have been an anomaly or it could have been fatigue. Or, if you’re feeling especially gloomy, it could have been an ominous harbinger.

The good news for Kazmir is that he’s moving to a pitchers’ yard and to a division that features two other offense-suppressing stadiums in San Diego‘s Petco Park and San Francisco’s AT&T Park.

That should also benefit Maeda, a slender figure with a low-90s fastball who relies largely on command. If you’re thinking that sounds a bit like Greinke‘s scouting report, well, the Dodgers are no doubt thinking (and hoping) along the same lines.

Fox Sports’ C.J. Nitkowski threw a bit of a wet blanket on that comparison with his analysis of Maeda.

“Dodgers fans should temper their expectations,” Nitkowski wrote, “they are not getting the next Darvish or Tanaka. However, Maeda should be a very serviceable starter who gives new manager Dave Roberts the right-handed arm he badly needed in his rotation.”

“Serviceable” isn’t a word that gets pulses pounding or World Series dreams churning. But with Kershaw on hand and Kazmir slotting in as a passable No. 2, the Dodgers don’t need Maeda to light the league on fire.

Still, it feels like there’s a missing ingredient here, something that would push L.A.’s starting five to the next echelon. That ingredient might be Ryu.

The 28-year South Korean was excellent in his first two seasons with the Dodgers, posting a 3.17 ERA in 344 innings between 2013 and 2014. But he sat out the entire 2015 campaign after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder.

On Dec. 18, Ryu said he expected to be ready by Opening Day, per MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick. 

“Other than throwing off a mound and going all out, I pretty much can do everything I want to do,” Ryu said, per Gurnick. “I’m on a great program and everything is going great. No discomfort, absolutely nothing.”

If there are no setbacks and Ryu returns to his 2013-14 form, suddenly L.A.’s starting five becomes more formidable. Whereas in the past there was a steep drop-off after the two-headed monster of Kershaw and Greinke, this group has the potential to be consistently deep and dangerous.

The Dodgers didn’t re-up Greinke. They didn’t (and almost certainly won’t) trade for Jose Fernandez or Carlos Carrasco. Nor did they nab David Price, despite his connections to Friedman from their days in Tampa Bay. 

But if Maeda stays healthy, Ryu gets healthy, Kazmir puts his late-season slide in the rear view and Anderson and/or Wood do credible fifth-starter things, this could be an area of strength for L.A.

Enough to win a long-awaited title and make Dodgers fans say “Zack who?” That’s up to the baseball gods.

All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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After losing Zack Greinke via free agency, the Los Angeles Dodgers made a move to bolster their pitching staff, as they reportedly agreed to a deal with Japanese starting pitcher Kenta Maeda. 

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first reported the signing, and ESPN.com’s Jim Bowden and Mark Saxon confirmed the deal Saturday. 

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported the deal is for eight years and worth $25 million with lots of performance incentives. 

It’s been a busy week for L.A., which also agreed to a three-year deal with lefty Scott Kazmir on Wednesday. Kazmir and Maeda will bolster a talented rotation led by Clayton Kershaw. 

Maeda’s path to Major League Baseball has been complicated, as is often the case with Japanese players under contract to a team. Joey Nowak of MLB.com reported on Dec. 9 he was going to be posted by the Hiroshima Carp. 

After Maeda was posted, Baseball America‘s Ben Badler tweeted his expectation was that the Carp were going to be seeking the maximum $20 million posting fee to release him. That likely changed Maeda’s market, as Tom Singer of MLB.com pointed out at least one team (Arizona) had interest before learning of the Carp’s demands. 

Maeda is an unusual starting pitcher to project in MLB because he’s short at 6’0″ and rail-thin at 154 pounds. If you are curious as to why Maeda’s weight is such a big talking point, let Phil Rogers of MLB.com explain it with a few examples. 

“Here’s a list of guys 166 pounds or less who pitched in the majors last season: Shane Robinson, Sam Freeman, Raudel Lazo, Everett Teaford, Zach Davies, Jesse Chavez and Severino Gonzalez,” Rogers wrote. 

Injuries and durability haven’t been a concern for Maeda in Japan, as he’s racked up 1,509.2 innings since 2008. But leagues in that country also use a six-man rotation. 

The stuff Maeda brings isn’t bad, though it’s not dazzling like that of recent Japanese pitchers Yu Darvish and Masahiro Tanaka, as Badler wrote (via Mike Axisa of CBS Sports): 

Maeda is a slightly-built 6 feet, 160 pounds and throws around 87-93 mph with good sink and run, though he doesn’t get great angle on his fastball. He’s a good athlete, which helps him repeat his delivery and thrive when his command, which can be plus at times, is on point. Maeda doesn’t have one knockout secondary pitch, but he has a solid-average slider and mixes in a curveball and a changeup as well.

Badler also spoke to an international scouting director who views Maeda as a “fourth starter at the big league level” because his game is built more on command and needing to hit spots than a power arsenal. 

Despite all of these concerns, the 27-year-old now has the opportunity to work with an MLB coaching staff and can add bulk to his frame that could help him add velocity to his arsenal. 

Investing in pitchers is always risky, but Maeda is one worth investing in. His upside is greater than any starter who was left on the market.

Stats and weight per Baseball-Reference.com.

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Scott Kazmir is nice. Quite fine, even.

But Scott Kazmir is not enough to fix what is becoming a more uninspiring offseason by the day for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Dodgers, three-time defending National League West champions, agreed to a three-year, $48 million contract with the left-handed Kazmir, according to Fox Sports’ Jon Morosi:

Scott Kazmir’s deal with #Dodgers is 3 years and $48 million, with an opt-out after the first year, sources confirm. @FOXSports

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 30, 2015

On its own, the deal is solid, as the soon-to-be 32-year-old owns a respectable 3.33 ERA over the last two seasons.

But in the vacuum that is the Dodgers’ offseason, one that has seen them let Zack Greinke walk to a rival and Aroldis Chapman’s domestic issues sully a blockbuster trade and Hisashi Iwakuma’s balky medicals nix their agreement, this deal for Kazmir is not enough to say the Dodgers are the favorites in the remade and highly competitive NL West.

The opt-out after one year shows that Kazmir would like to re-establish his value with a good 2016 and that the Dodgers just need a stopgap starter before their young minor league pitchers mature enough to take on full-time roles in their rotation.

“In Scott’s case, he and his representation are aware that next year’s free-agent starting pitching market will probably be a pretty good seller’s market,” Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi told reporters. “From our standpoint, we have a lot of good young pitching that we feel is going to be ready to contribute at some point in 2016 and certainly by 2017.”

The problem is Kazmir, if he is not a front-line arm the way he was for the Oakland A’s during the first half of last season, is not the kind of piece that gives the Dodgers a major boost. In fact, if he pitches like he did down the stretch for the Houston Astros, he is a liability.

As of now, the Dodgers are not a bad club, despite what knee-jerk analysts, misinformed fans and radio talking heads might have you believe.

This team was among the best offensive clubs in baseball last season, and that was with Yasiel Puig out or playing hurt for the majority of 2015. And the offense stands to improve next season if All-Star center fielder Joc Pederson can become more disciplined as a power threat and rookie shortstop Corey Seager produces more than Jimmy Rollins did last season, which shouldn’t be difficult.

Then there is Puig, a player who the misguided believe should be on the scrap heap for offenses no more serious than him being a youthful headache. But he won’t even make $20 million in base salary over the next three years, and when he’s been healthy, he has been among the best. That last part is undeniable.

Oh, and there is Clayton Kershaw, the best thrower of a baseball on the planet. Also undeniable. Plus a dominant closer in Kenley Jansen, even if the rest of the bullpen is seriously suspect.

So people should be inclined to stop bashing the Dodgers as an afterthought within their own division. They might not be the favorite before the new year rings in, but they do not stink to the high heavens.

Kazmir affirms that. He could end up as a quality lefty, one battle-tested in the more difficult American League last season.

In fact, why Kazmir wasn’t more coveted in a market thirsty for pitching is a bit of a mystery. He is aged and he did have a rugged end to 2015, pitching to a gruesome 5.89 ERA over his final nine starts for the Astros (he had a 2.12 ERA over his first 22 starts between the A’s and Astros). But he’s healthy and capable, and he can help the Dodgers if he pitches as he did before his late-season collapse.

However, the Dodgers needed more than help this offseason. They needed significant impact considering they lost Greinke, arguably the best pitcher in the majors last season. And ideally, they needed a right-handed starting pitcher since, with Kazmir, the rotation might be entirely left-handed come Opening Day, though the Dodgers front office does not see that as a major negative.

“That’s something we’ve discussed over the course of the offseason,” Zaidi told reporters of the all-lefty rotation. “It sets you up for a situation where having some balance in the bullpen makes some sense, because you’re going to see a certain type of lineup day-in, day-out when you have an extreme rotation one way or another.”

Chapman would have provided that impact and excitement. Johnny Cueto or Andrew Miller would have, too. A deal for Jose Fernandez was always a pipe dream, but Carlos Carrasco or Danny Salazar had potential.

Instead, the Dodgers are driving a fall and winter that to this point have done little other than disappoint onlookers, and possibly themselves, as Chapman and Iwakuma appeared to be in the bag. The consolation prize is Kazmir and a bunch of little-to-nothing signings and trades, although their prospect package in the Todd Frazier trade was applauded and they could still win the bidding war for Kenta Maeda.

That does not mean the Dodgers should be written off as also-rans. They have a quality roster, one that most other GMs in the game would swap for their own right now. But this franchise is not in the business of simply being better than most.

It exists to win World Series titles. Kazmir could end up contributing to that, but as of right now, he is the Dodgers’ major acquisition and does not make them a pennant favorite in what is still a lackluster offseason.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

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First, let’s get this out of the way: Jose Fernandez won’t come cheap, if he comes at all.

The Miami Marlins are under no obligation to trade the 23-year-old budding ace. And if they do, they’ll demand a king’s ransom.

Yet the rumors won’t go away. Fernandez has been linked to multiple potential suitors this winter, but none more than the Los Angeles Dodgers, who need a front-line starter after Zack Greinke rode off into the desert for a massive payday with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

There are roadblocks and reasons for skepticism, to be sure. But Los Angeles is one of the few clubs that could theoretically net Fernandez without completely crippling its farm system, as we’ll examine shortly.

First, a look at where things stand. The Dodgers “are staying in touch with the Marlins” about Fernandez, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported Dec. 21. At the same time, Rosenthal added, “it remains difficult to imagine the teams matching up on a trade unless Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria decides he wants Fernandez gone.”

Fernandez’s bumpy relationship with Miami’s front office and his teammates is just one part of a toxic circus in South Beach, as Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller recently detailed. 

When asked if he’d like to remain a Marlin, Fernandez said he’s “not allowed to comment,” per Walter Villa of the Miami Herald. Which sounds an awful lot like thinly veiled code for, “Heck no,” or perhaps something less printable.

Again, though, Miami doesn’t have to deal him. He’s under club control for the next three years. And while his 2014 Tommy John surgery and last season’s biceps strain raise injury red flags, the 336 strikeouts and 2.40 ERA he’s tallied in 289 big league innings make him one of the most tantalizing talents in baseball.

Just the thought of him slotted next to Clayton Kershaw at the top of the rotation should leave L.A. fans drooling onto their Dodger Dogs.

So what would Los Angeles have to give up to land him? Let’s start with the haul the D-Backs surrendered to get Shelby Miller from the Atlanta Braves and go from there.

For Miller—who’s two years older than Fernandez and has a significantly lower ceiling—Arizona sacrificed shortstop and No. 1 overall pick Dansby Swanson, center fielder Ender Inciarte and pitching prospect Aaron Blair. The Marlins, no doubt, would demand similar pieces and more for Fernandez.

In fact, as Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reported, before the Miller trade, the Marlins and Diamondbacks were discussing a deal that would have featured Swanson, Inciarte and Blair, plus pitcher Patrick Corbin and infielder Brandon Drury. That’s a top prospect, a secondary prospect and multiple big league-ready players.

Whew.

Could the Dodgers make that happen without hopelessly mortgaging the future? Depending on whether the Marlins are willing to play ball, the answer is a definite maybe. 

Let’s start with the prospects. Infielder Corey Seager, who impressed in his MLB debut last year, should be off-limits. But Julio Urias—L.A.’s No. 2 prospect and the top left-handed pitching prospect in the game, according to MLB.com—could be an enticing centerpiece. 

Urias, still just 19 years old, rose as high as Triple-A last season. Overall, he owns a 2.91 ERA and an impressive 264 strikeouts in 222.1 minor league frames.

Losing him would hurt, no question, but the Dodgers would be replacing him with a more fully developed ace. And L.A. has five more pitchers—right-handers Jose De Leon, Frankie Montas, Grant Holmes, Walker Buehler and Chris Anderson—among its top 10 prospects.

As for secondary pieces, the Dodgers could toss in speedy Micah Johnson—the fifth-best second base prospect in baseball, per MLB.com—whom they acquired in the three-team swap that sent Todd Frazier from the Cincinnati Reds to the Chicago White Sox. 

And perhaps Miami would be interested in reacquiring catcher Austin Barnes, who was shipped to Los Angeles in the Dee Gordon trade last December. Barnes, the Dodgers’ No. 13 prospect, posted an .869 OPS in Triple-A and got a cup of coffee in the big leagues.

According to ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon, losing Barnes in the Gordon trade “stung most” for the Fish. Could a potential reunion sweeten the pot now?

OK, so that’s one superlative prospect, one good one and another solid chip that we know Miami likes. We’re getting warm, but we’re not there yet.

Remember, the D-Backs supposedly dangled Inciarte for Fernandez and ultimately sent him to Atlanta. The Dodgers, too, have a promising young outfielder by the name of Joc Pederson.

Yes, Pederson’s production tailed off significantly in the second half, and he finished with an anemic .210 average. But he teased huge power, blasting 26 dingers and putting on a jaw-dropping display at the Home Run Derby.

He’s also got plus speed and excellent defensive tools. And, like Fernandez, he’s just 23, meaning there’s room for growth. Just the spectacle of him and Giancarlo Stanton taking batting practice together should put butts in the seats at Marlins Park.

If the Dodgers were to move Pederson—and, to be clear, there’s no indication he’s on the block—they’d need to plug a hole in the outfield, possibly by signing a free agent in the Dexter Fowler or Denard Span mold.

A package of Pederson, Urias, Johnson, Barnes and maybe one more prospect from the bottom of L.A.’s top 20 if the Marlins demand quantity might feel like too much to jettison. And it is a lot. But the Dodgers would still be left with eight of their top 10 prospects and would retain Seager, their brightest rising star.

At the same time, that still might not be enough for Loria and Miami, who could hold out for Seager as well. If that’s the case, the Dodgers should move on, assuming they haven’t already. 

Los Angeles reportedly met with Japanese ace Kenta Maeda in Southern California on Christmas Eve. And even with Greinke, David Price and Johnny Cueto off the board, there are high-upside free-agent options, including left-handers Scott Kazmir and Wei-Yin Chen.

None of those names, though, matches the potential impact of Fernandez. Maybe the Marlins truly aren’t selling for anything less than a blow-up-the-farm overpay. But the Dodgers should keep asking, and they should offer the gaudiest deal they can without going over the cliff.

Jose Fernandez won’t come cheap. If he comes, however, he’ll be a game-changer worth paying for—within some semblance of reason.

All statistics and contract information courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted. 

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The San Francisco Giants plunged into the offseason with two clear and pressing needs: upgrades in the starting rotation and reinforcements in the outfield.

The signings of Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto equal mission accomplished on item one. Now, it’s time to add the final piece, a scary bat in left, and cement this all-in winter.

First, a few words abut those pitching upgrades. Samardzija is an intriguing reclamation project who should benefit from the Giants’ excellent defense and the spacious confines of AT&T Park. And Cueto, as I recently argued, could join forces with ace Madison Bumgarner to form the most potent one-two pitching punch of San Francisco’s recent title era.

The Giants’ outfield situation, however, is unsettled. Right fielder and former iron man Hunter Pence, who turns 33 in April, is coming off an injury-riddled campaign. Center fielder Angel Pagan, who turns 35 in July, has missed 186 games over the last three seasons with hamstring, back and knee issues. 

After declining team options on Nori Aoki and Marlon Byrd, San Francisco is penciling 32-year-old Gregor Blanco into left. No offense to Blanco, who’s been a valuable contributor in his four seasons by the Bay, but he’s a fourth outfielder on a team with championship aspirations. 

The good news for the Giants is that this winter is laden with available outfielders. The Chicago Cubs snapped up Jason Heyward, but a trio of All-Star-quality players—Alex Gordon, Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes—sit unsigned.

And, look at that, all three profile best as left fielders.

They also won’t come cheap. Gordon is seeking somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million annually, per CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman. Cespedes will likely demand at least that much and told ESPN in September that any contract he signs “has to be six years or more.” 

Upton, a 28-year-old five-tool talent, can use Heyward’s eight-year, $184 million deal as a comp. He may not match it, but he could come close.

The Giants have already invested $220 million into Samardzija and Cueto (assuming Cueto doesn’t pull the opt-out ripcord two years into his deal). Will they really dole out another eight- or nine-figure contract?

General manager Bobby Evans sounded skeptical in recent remarks on MLB Network Radio.

“The middle-of-the-order bat is probably harder to get,” Evans said regarding left field. “We’ve seen guys stay on the market a lot longer, so there’s clearly an expectation as to where they’re going to be [financially]. And I think at some point, the market will get them what they’re looking for. And that could put us in a tough spot.”

Translation: We’re not getting a Gordon, a Cespedes or an Upton unless their prices come down. Which, you know, probably isn’t happening.

It’s an assessment shared by Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News, who predicted after the Cueto signing that “the Giants will lower their sights in left field…”

That shouldn’t shock Giants fans. After all, prior to this offseason, the team hadn’t made a major commitment to an outside free agent (meaning a player who wasn’t already a Giant) since Aaron Rowand in 2007. Before that, it was Barry Zito in 2006.

Neither of those contracts worked out especially well, to put it mildly. Rowand’s production tumbled in his four seasons in San Francisco, to the point where the Giants paid the veteran outfielder $12 million to stay away in 2012. And Zito, transcendant postseason moments aside, never lived up to his seven-year, $126 million payday, which was a true headline-grabber by 2006 standards.

So there may be a bit of gun-shyness in the Giants’ front office. If so, however, they obviously pushed past it to nab Cueto and Samardzija and address a glaring need.

Now, they should do the same in left. Not because it’s an even year or any such nonsense (although it is an even year).

Rather, they should do it because a right-handed power bat like Cespedes sandwiched between Pence and Buster Posey in the middle of the lineup would make this club exponentially more dangerous. Also because they set a National League record for the most consecutive sellouts. And, finally, because it’s not my money, or yours either.

The Giants are set with an enviable homegrown infield of Brandon Belt, Joe Panik, Brandon Crawford and last season’s surprise rookie, Matt Duffy. They’ve got a battle-tested bullpen, a revamped rotation and Posey, the face of the franchise and the best backstop in baseball.

They just need to find that missing piece, one way or another.

Here’s another interesting nugget from Evans’ MLB Network Radio interview: “We have the flexibility to spend some money now. But we also recognize a good number of options in the trade market, too.”

If your mind didn’t immediately go to the Colorado Rockies‘ Carlos Gonzalez, you’re not dreaming big enough.

Gonzalez’s name has been churning through the rumor mill since before the offseason began. He’s coming off a strong bounce-back season that saw him club 40 home runs and post an .864 OPS. And the two years, $37 million left on his contract make him a bargain in today’s market.

He’d cost more than money, of course. It’s unclear what, exactly, the Rockies would demand. But any deal would surely start with one (or two) of the Giants’ top prospects, including right-hander Tyler Beede and shortstop Christian Arroyo.

If Colorado asks for Panik or Duffy, forget it. But if the Giants could get this done without sacrificing any current big league starters—backup catcher Andrew Susac could be an enticing chip—they should make a serious play.

Any trade or free-agent signing carries risk. Gonzalez’s injury history is a red flag and AT&T’s right-field dimensions are an imposing sight for left-handed hitters not named Barry Bonds. If you’re playing pessimist, Gordon, Cespedes and Upton could all succumb to ailments or declines, as well. That’s the nature of the beast.

So, yes, the safe move is probably for San Francisco to give fewer dollars and years to someone like Gerardo Parra and call it an offseason. Or they could pair Blanco with a young player from their system such as Mac Williamson, Jarrett Parker or journeyman/mountain-of-a-man Kyle Blanks and hope for the best.

They’d still arguably be the favorite to win the NL West, though the Arizona Diamondbacks are loading up on pitching and the Los Angeles Dodgers are perennial contenders, despite an underwhelming offseason.

This is a chance, however, for the Giants to get greedy and charge full steam toward their fourth title in seven years. 

They can solidify their dynasty beyond reproach. They can reward the fans who religiously pack their sparkling waterfront ballpark. They can hoist the trophy yet again. 

All they need to do is be bold and, OK, a little reckless. It is an even year, after all.

All statistics and contract information courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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Try as they might, the Los Angeles Dodgers haven’t made much noise this winter. They’ve committed only blunders instead, making for a rough finish to Major League Baseball’s 2015 season.

Clearly, this means the only thing for them to do now is get off to a good start in 2016.

The new year will be here in just a few days, folks. That will only mean following up on New Year’s resolutions—alas, the gym awaits—for most of us. But for the Dodgers, it will mean finding ways to turn their 2016 roster into a powerhouse befitting of baseball’s richest team.

Again, it’s not like the Dodgers haven’t tried to do that already. It’s also not like their offseason has been a total wash. They found a promising new manager in Dave Roberts and secured some talent for him. They’ve retained Brett Anderson and Chase Utley, and they arguably upgraded their prospect depth in a recent three-team trade. Their offseason could be going worse.

But, yeah, it could also be going a lot better.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports told us very early on that ace pitchers Zack Greinke and David Price were the Dodgers’ top two targets, and they missed out on both. They couldn’t land either Jeff Samardzija or Johnny Cueto as plan-B options.

Elsewhere, they thought they had landed Hisashi Iwakuma, only to watch him return to the Seattle Mariners when the Dodgers took issue with his physical. They also thought they had a deal for Aroldis Chapman, but that was scuttled by an alleged domestic violence incident.

There is a bright side, though. The Dodgers have been doing a lot of swinging and missing, but they should not be mistaken for a doomed team.

“I understand people wanting as much good, positive, big news as early as they can get it,” Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten told Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles. “I totally get that, but I also know that nowadays all of us tend to overreact to everything, both good and bad. If you’re feeling down right now about the Dodgers, I think it’s unwarranted as well as way premature.

Kasten is not wrong. According to FanGraphs, only the Chicago Cubs are projected to produce more wins above replacement than the Dodgers in 2016. Looking at that is when you recall they’re still built around Clayton Kershaw, Adrian Gonzalez, Yasiel Puig, Justin Turner, Kenley Jansen and a host of additional impact talents.

The catch is that though the Dodgers look good on paper, they also look incomplete. The club’s maneuvering this winter suggests that they agree, particularly where starting pitching and bullpen depth are concerned.

So, let’s take it as a given that those are the things the Dodgers need to find after January 1 and dive into how they could go about finding them.

If one thing bodes well for the rest of the Dodgers’ offseason, it’s that they’re not lacking in resources.

Though they’re not going to be spending $300 million again like they did in 2015, they can surely spend more than the $215.1 million in guaranteed salaries and projected arbitration payouts (per MLB Trade Rumors) that they already have committed to 2016. The Dodgers also have the goods to make trades, most notably a deep farm system that contains five players in MLB.com’s top 100.

What bodes less well is that the avenues for the Dodgers to put these resources to use are now limited, particularly where their need for a top-of-the-rotation starter is concerned. With Price, Greinke, Cueto and Jordan Zimmermann all spoken for, the open market is fresh out of those.

That leaves the trade market, where the Dodgers do have options.

Before you ask, Jose Fernandez isn’t one of them. The Miami Marlins have never seemed committed to trading him, and MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro’s “read” is that the Marlins don’t see the Dodgers as a fit for the young ace.

Sonny Gray is another option that should be disregarded. With still a year to go until arbitration, there’s no pressure on the Oakland A’s to deal him. Then there’s Chris Archer, but Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports that the Tampa Bay Rays consider him “pretty close” to untouchable.

Two possibilities that are within reach for the Dodgers, however, appear in this report from Jon Morosi of Fox Sports:

Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar are both prized options. The Cleveland Indians right-handers are short of 30 and controllable through 2020. They both boast power stuff that made them easily above-average pitchers in 2015.

According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com, Cleveland isn’t in a hurry to deal either of them. They’re part of the club’s primary strength, after all, and their status as would-be contenders takes both pitchers off the table unless a team has established or MLB-ready talent to offer.

That’s where the Dodgers stand a chance. Cleveland is particularly needy of outfield depth. This allows for the possibility of the Dodgers building a package around some combination of the newly acquired Trayce Thompson, Alex Guerrero, Carl Crawford or Andre Ethier. If Yasiel Puig is cleared of a suspension stemming from his own alleged domestic violence incident, he could also be in play.

To be sure, the Dodgers would probably prefer to swap prospects for an impact pitcher. But if Fernandez, Gray and Archer were taken off the table, the list of targets that could be had for prospects is short. Maybe Tyson Ross could be considered, but the Dodgers probably aren’t interested in sending young talent to a division rival.

In so many words, if the Dodgers want a top-of-the-rotation starter, it’s probably going to require paying the price for Carrasco or Salazar.

If the Dodgers can do that, they’ll knock their list of needs down to rotation and bullpen depth. That’s where we can entertain the idea of them killing two birds with one stone.

As Morosi noted, the Dodgers are also eyeing Rays right-hander Jake Odorizzi. Elsewhere on the Rays—otherwise known as the team that Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman used to run—Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times was right to speculate that the Dodgers could be interested in hard-throwing left-hander Jake McGee. He’s not Chapman, but he’s a pretty good substitute.

As for what the Dodgers could trade for an Odorizzi/McGee package, we could take the package that Dave Cameron of FanGraphs proposed for an Archer/McGee haul and downgrade it a tad. Rather than the seemingly untouchable Corey Seager, the Dodgers could base the trade around Julio Urias, Jose De Leon or maybe even Grant Holmes.

Of course, the Dodgers don’t need to kill two birds with one stone in a trade with the Rays quite like they need to point their search for a top-of-the-rotation starter toward Cleveland. In separate moves, they could turn to the open market for a starter and to the trade market for a reliever.

The open market may be out of aces, but it does have some solid mid-rotation options. According to Rosenthal, three players on the Dodgers’ radar are left-handers Scott Kazmir and Wei-Yin Chen and Japanese right-hander Kenta Maeda. Ask Morosi, and he’ll say Maeda makes the most sense:

The consensus on Maeda appears to be that he won’t be an ace-level pitcher in the majors. But at just 27 years old and with a 2.39 career earned run average in Nippon Professional Baseball, you can see his appeal.

Mind you, Kazmir and Chen would also make sense. Kazmir has a connection to Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi, and he has been largely good in posting a 3.33 ERA over the last two seasons. Chen is two years younger than Kazmir, and his extreme, strike-throwing style has led to a 3.54 ERA over the last two seasons.

If the Dodgers can sign any of these three, their rotation would be in much better shape. They would also have just their bullpen left to figure out, and that’s where they would have a few trade options.

If they can’t get either in a package deal, the Dodgers could deal for McGee or fellow Rays reliever Brad Boxberger individually. They could also look elsewhere in the American League East and swap out some pitching depth for New York Yankees left-hander Andrew Miller. Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Mark Melancon is another option. There’s also Shawn Tolleson of the Texas Rangers. 

Regardless of the direction they go to fill these needs, the Dodgers will indeed be in good shape if they get a top-of-the-rotation starter, an additional starter and an ace reliever after the new year. They’ve had a rough offseason so far, but these remain the only things they really need to add to a roster that’s already elite on paper.

We would wish them luck…But we’re pretty sure their luck can only go up anyway.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Tuesday they’re set to unveil a statue of Jackie Robinson outside Dodger Stadium in 2016. 

According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, California-based sculptor Branly Cadet has been tabbed to create the statue, which will reportedly be nine-to-10 feet tall and based around the concept of “Leveling the Playing Field.”     

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It’s an even year, San Francisco Giants fans. And that means—well, here’s the thing. You want honesty?

It means nothing.

There is no mystical energy that binds the galaxy together and decrees the Giants must hoist a Commissioner’s Trophy in 2016. Yes, they won titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014. That’s a fascinating numerical anomaly, but it’s not a harbinger of things to come.

On the other hand, here’s something that could help San Francisco add to its gaudy championship heap: the dynamic duo of Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto.

The Giants built each of their recent World Series runs around pitching. In 2010, it was a young, homegrown rotation headlined by Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain. In 2012, it was Bumgarner and Cain, with a surprise assist from redeemed albatross Barry Zito.

And in 2014, it was basically Bumgarner all by himself, including one of the most transcendent postseason relief appearances in baseball history in Game 7 of the Fall Classic:

Last year, the Giants led the National League in batting average and finished among the top five in hits, runs and OPS. Yet their starting pitchers posted a 3.95 ERA and were a mixture of inconsistent and mediocre after Bumgarner. Unsurprisingly, they missed the playoffs.

Also unsurprisingly, the Giants front office made pitching a priority this winter. First, it inked Jeff Samardzija to a five-year, $90 million deal. Then, it nabbed Cueto for six years and $130 million.

Samardzija, an All-Star in 2014 who led both leagues in earned runs and hits allowed last year with the Chicago White Sox, is an intriguing reclamation project who should benefit from San Francisco’s strong defense and the spacious confines of AT&T Park.

But the real prize is Cueto, a legitimate ace-level arm who joins Bumgarner to form one of MLB‘s best lefty-righty tandems, especially now that Zack Greinke has left Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers for a mercenary’s payday in Arizona.

So where do Cueto/Bumgarner rank in the pantheon of Giants’ title-run twosomes? We won’t know the answer until the season plays out, obviously, and we see whether San Francisco actually makes a title run.

But let’s say S.F. does charge back into the October picture. If Bumgarner and Cueto replicated their 2015 regular-season numbers, here’s how they’d stack up against Lincecum/Cain from 2010 and Cain/Bumgarner from 2012:

Bumgarner and Cueto would have the highest combined WAR, if that stat does anything for you, and the highest strikeout total. It’s tough to discount Lincecum at the height of his powers coupled with vintage workhorse Cain. But Johnny and MadBum are squarely in the mix.

Bumgarner, quite simply, just keeps getting better. He’s eclipsed 200 frames in each of the last five seasons, has kept his ERA under 3.00 for three consecutive campaigns and has made three straight All-Star teams.

And he’s locked into a ridiculously affordable contract with the Giants through 2019, assuming they pick up a pair of $12 million team options (a safe assumption).

Cueto‘s 2015 numbers, meanwhile, were skewed by a late-season slide that saw him post a 4.76 ERA after a trade-deadline swap from the Cincinnati Reds to the Kansas City Royals.

Many theories were floated to explain his K.C. malaise, including an elbow strain that cost him a couple of starts in May with the Reds. That may have limited the pool of offseason bidders, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post noted:

But the Giants conducted an MRI and were apparently satisfied. “His elbow looks great,” San Francisco general manager Bobby Evans said, per CSN Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic. “It really looked good.”

Speaking of which, Cueto looked more than good in his final start of 2015, a complete-game masterpiece in Game 2 of the World Series against the New York Mets.

That gem didn’t erase all doubt about Cueto‘s struggles with the Royals, but it was about as emphatic a punctuation mark as anyone could hope for.

Still, he languished unsigned while David Price and Greinke inked contracts north of $200 million. And he “settled” for his deal with the Giants, which allows him to opt out after two years if he thinks he can get more on the open market.

For now, he can settle into a pitchers’ yard with an all-world catcher in Buster Posey and a widely respected pitching coach in Dave Righetti.

“It’s already a great rotation,” Cueto said of the group that will include himself, Bumgarner, Samardzija, veteran Jake Peavy and a recovering Cain, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com). “I will just come here to complement the rest of the guys.”

The Giants are hoping he can do more than complement. They want him to turn the clock back, just a couple ticks, to 2014, when he led the Senior Circuit in strikeouts and innings pitched with his vast repertoire and signature herky-jerky delivery.

Putting that guy next to a still just 26-year-old Bumgarner is a scary thought for opposing hitters. Heck, Cueto won’t be 30 until February, meaning time as well as stuff is on this duo’s side.

They may not have that much in common, the dreadlocked right-hander from the Dominican Republic and the tree-chopping southpaw from North Carolina. And there are legitimate questions about durability on Cueto‘s part.

But they’ve got the Giants. They’ve got immense combined ability and potential. And they’ve got an even year ahead.

Probably that last bit means nothing. Then again, it could mean everything.

All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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According to CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman, the Colorado Rockies have agreed to a three-year extension worth $10.4 million with reliever Adam Ottavino on Saturday. 

Ottavino appeared in just 10 games before Tommy John surgery derailed his season back in May. It’s a straight deal with no options for the 30-year-old, whose one-year, $1.3 million contract expired at the end of the 2015 season, via Spotrac.com. 

He pitched just 10.1 innings last season but was dominant in that short time. Ottavino didn’t allow a single run and gave up just three hits while saving three games, finishing five games in total. Just five baserunners got on while he was on the mound, and he struck out 13 of the 32 batters he faced. That’s an 11.3 strikeouts-per-nine-innings mark. 

Ottavino’s presence was sorely missed in a Rockies bullpen that ranked 24th in saves and dead last in the MLB with a 4.70 ERA. 

He showed flashes of why he can be Colorado’s man out of the bullpen for years to come, which is why Colorado was probably willing to extend his deal three years. His fastball increased almost three mph from 2014 to 2015, jumping from 97 to 100 mph.

Pair that with some nasty breaking stuff, like this one to get Nori Aoki of the San Francisco Giants, and Ottavino will be one tough man to get a hit against when he comes back healthy:

The problem is, Rockies fans will have to wait a while to see him take the mound in 2016. Per Heyman, he’s expected to be back with the team by the middle of the summer, though he is recovering well from the torn UCL. 

With the Rockies adding Chad Qualls and Jason Motte this offseason, the team does have options for late-inning situations until Ottavino returns. If he is able to regain his form from 2015, Colorado could have an improved combination coming out of its bullpen.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com

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