San Francisco Giants losing Bryce Harper sweepstakes isn’t the end of the world
The San Francisco Giants did not land Bryce Harper, but missing out on the superstar isn’t a catastrophe. Still far from contending, the Giants need to develop young talent and find an identity.
The San Francisco Giants lineup will not feature superstar Bryce Harper after he, reportedly, agreed to a 13-year, $330M deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. Under new President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi, the Giants seemed to be aggressive in their pursuit of the former MVP, but ultimately the Phillies’ deal–which includes a no-trade clause–was too good for him to pass up. Though it’s a disappointing development for San Francisco, it’s not disastrous.
First of all, as the ancient proverb goes, at least it wasn’t the Los Angeles Dodgers. Los Angeles was, reportedly, in the mix for Harper, though only for a short-term deal which he, obviously, wasn’t interested in. The Giants could not allow themselves to be outbid by their rivals and they’ll be happy to know that their fiercest foe, who has won back-to-back National League pennants, will not be adding one of the game’s best players.
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The Giants went after Harper because they could. If you have the opportunity to sign a legitimate superstar who will sell jerseys and put people in the seats at Oracle Park, you go for it. But this wasn’t a Harper-or-bust situation.
The Giants aren’t near contention. They’ve won a combined 137 games over the last two seasons. The well that delivered them championship-level young talent has temporarily run dry and the roster is full of aging veterans who have struggled to stay healthy recently.
San Francisco isn’t in a position where Harper was going to put them over the top right away. He was never going to be the last piece to their World Series puzzle like he could have been for the Dodgers. Despite all of his talent, he probably wouldn’t have been the key to helping unlock the team’s potential, as he can be for the Phillies.
Zaidi and the rest of the front office will go back to the drawing board. They struck out on this superstar, but fans should be pleased with their team swinging for the fences in free agency. Now they can turn their attention–and wallets–to other players.
There is plenty of fish in the sea and the Giants should prepare themselves to make a run at the biggest one of them all: Mike Trout. The best player in baseball will be a free agent following the 2020 season. He will be 29 years old and looking for a big payday and every team in the league would be willing to give it to him.
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The Giants need to put themselves in a position to make themselves an appealing destination for Trout, or any other star free agent, over the next few years. That means that they need to develop young talent, especially Joey Bart, Buster Posey‘s heir apparent and future of the franchise. It means that the Giants need to avoid more big contracts with veterans whose production don’t match the payday and find ways to unload the ones they already have.
It’s going to be a long process before the Giants are ready to reclaim the glory they found in their championship seasons. Though signing Harper would have been a lot of fun, missing out on him won’t set back their nonexistent title hopes. Now that it’s official, however, it’s time to focus on finding an identity that can make them special once again.