How the 2029 Champion San Francisco Giants Were Built
Feb 18, 2023 19:15:13 GMT -5
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Post by Commissioner Erick on Feb 18, 2023 19:15:13 GMT -5
The San Francisco Giants, for years, struggled to take an excellent team filled with elite pitching and young cheap hitting to the next levels. The Giants often stalled in the NLDS as their offense struggled against elite pitching. Vic Black came aboard and made some changes, turning San Francisco into a team that looks a lot like the Dodgers’ mid-decade title teams.
San Francisco traded for its core starting pitching early in the decade during its rebuild, and used the draft to supplement with relievers. The Giants used recent trades and financial might to build the team’s offensive engine. Sound familiar?
It’s not a 100% clean comparison—The Giants have a few more key pieces taken during the draft than those Dodgers teams, but broadly it’s a formula that has done wonders for NL West contenders.
Players
Draft Picks
Shamar Polite (2021, 1st round, 36th overall, minimum contract in 2029)
Chris Davis (2021, 2nd round, 74th overall, minimum contract in 2029)
Juan Campos (2021, 4th round, 132nd overall, minimum contract in 2029)
Alex McKee (2021, 5th round, 162 overall, 700K arbitration contract in 2029)
Octavio Lopez (2022, 2nd round, 51st overall, $1.9 million arbitration contract in 2029)
Ryan DiSbio (2023, 4th round, 128th overall, $6.1 million arbitration contract in 2029)
Brian Hampton (2024, 2nd round, 40th overall, minimum contract in 2029)
Chris Malloy (2024, 3rd round, 102nd overall, minimum contract in 2029)
Philip Wirths (2024, 5th round, 169th overall, minimum contract 2029)
Evan Orcutt (2025, 1st round, 17th overall, minimum contract in 2029)
Ricky Valencia (2025, 5th round, 168th overall, minimum contract in 2029)
During San Francisco’s early decade rebuild years, they accumulated a ton of draft picks which they used to great effect. A close look reveals four things—a relative lack of high-impact players, a cutoff around 2025, two players worth more than 700K, and a paucity of first rounders.
San Francisco’s 2029 team mostly used drafted players to fill out the roster. Most of their drafted players were relievers and Catchers, with Juan Campos the only classic First Division position player type—though Brian Hampton had a great postseason and was an All-Star.
This is the biggest similarity to the Dodgers, the approach of building out your core with other means and supplementing with the draft around the edges. The Dodgers did so mainly to keep costs down at fringe positions—the Giants did so because they identified elite talent better than their drafted talent and had the budget space to upgrade.
The Giants have traditionally drafted very young players, which ties in to the second and third point. Many of their recent picks are still too young to contribute, but the ones who were drafted young in the early part of the decade ended up developing later. They’re more recent PBA arrivals and as such, are still on minimum or cheap contracts. The timing ended up working out perfectly.
Finally, San Francisco only has a couple of their own first round picks on the team, a fascinating fact with a number of contributing explanations. To start, San Francisco accumulated a number of second, third, and fourth round picks through trading veterans to contender and being a brokerage house to buy draft picks to help teams’ financial issues. They rarely engaged in classic, stars-for-firsts trades, opting instead for smaller deals to get quantity over quality, trusting their development system to do the rest. With so many bites at the apple, they had more second-through-fifth rounders with chances to hit than first rounders.
Then, as San Francisco became a contender and Vic Black placed his stamp on the team, San Francisco’s first rounders either weren’t good enough to play over the team’s new stars; were traded to acquire those stars; or are still too young to be contributors.
Vic did a terrific job of ignoring whether a player was a draft pick, a free agent, or on another roster. He simply went out and got the best players for the position.
Free Agents
Andres Gimenez (3/6/2029—signed 5-year, $89 million contract. $17.7 million contract in 2029)
Victor Robles (6/8/2029—signed 1-year, $13 million contract)
The Giants only signed two free agents who played a significant role for them. The steady Gimenez had been a touch underwhelming the middle of the decade, but was coming off a strong 2028 with Boston. Gimenez had settled in as a player who would provide consistent league-average offensive production, which is very valuable as a Shortstop, but had become a subpar defender.
Vic Black had built Baltimore into a contender with a minimal focus on defense, and gambled that Gimenez’ steady presence would eliminate a position that had recently been an offense black hole for San Francisco. Sure enough, Gimenez had been -12 on Zone Rating last year, but he also turned in the best offensive year of his career, hitting .308 with a 129 OPS+, helping turn San Francisco’s lineup from one with a good core to one with weapons throughout the order.
Victor Robles had less of an impact, but he was a mid-season signing halfway through the year. He didn’t get the benefit of a Spring Training and was rusty. He still hit .275 with 15 homers and 16 doubles in half a year playing Center Field in a brutal offensive park, while on a reasonable contract. Robles was on the bench in the playoffs, but was still worth 2.0 WAR in half a season, a great luxury to have
International Free Agents
Nelle Willemsen (7/7/2022—signed $8 million signing bonus out of Curacao. Minimum contract in 2029)
San Francisco went over the IFA budget in 2022 to sign Zipper Willemsen out of Curacao. Willemsen was a Top 50 prospect the next offseason, despite being so young, he played for Curacao in the 2024 WBC before he ever played professional ball for the Giants. Once he took the field for San Francisco’s minor leagues, he progressed rapidly, making it to Triple-A and hitting for an .801 OPS as a 19-year-old in his second pro season. However, due to a glut of talent, he spent most of the second half of the decade stuck in Triple-A, never playing more than 68 games with San Francisco, including this year. The Giants always had a deep outfield and Willemsen always had options. Plus, in San Francisco’s defense, Zipper hit for a .668 OPS this year with a deep team.
Zipper was in the minors in September, winning a Pacific Coast League Semifinals MVP award and a championship with the Sacramento River Cats, before being placed on San Francisco’s playoff roster. Given a starting role and playing time, he hit .311 with seven postseason homers and will likely never see Sacramento ever again unless he needs a rehab assignment.
Trades
Mehki Lias (1/7/2022—Traded from the Rays along with Luis Medina, Mandel Angrenny, Jeremiah Jackson and Brad Miller for Buster Posey. $25 million contract in 2029)
Tim Johnson (11/22/2022—Traded from the Reds along with Gerlad Riches for Ryan Feltner. $950K arbitration contract in 2029)
Shane Baz (12/30/2022—Traded from the Braves for Trevor Rogers, Jordan Adell, and Brendan Spagnuolo. $20 million contract in 2029)
Kelyn Klattenberger (12/24/2023—Traded from the Braves along with Ismael Morel for Brandon Waddell. $11.3 million arbitration contract in 2029)
Marshall Patch (1/20/2025—Traded from the Orioles for Luis G. Cabrera)
Ivan Silva (1/20/2025—Traded from the Athletics along with Frankie Montas, Jorge Mateo, and Roberto Gamboa for $1 million. Minimum contract in 2029)
Tomaz Espassandim (12/1/2028—Traded from the Mets along with a third round pick and a fourth round pick for Gilberto Flores, Jim Rogers, Bob Stamps, Luke Poley and Ignacio Soto. Minimum contract in 2029)
Juan Castereno (12/1/2028—Traded from the Athletics along with Dave Pocasangre and Jimmy Anderson for Elias Ramirez, Gerlald Riches, and Arturo Rivera)
Jadon Ancrum (12/25/2028—Traded from the Orioles for David Bollman, Sergio Arellano, and a third round pick. $22.4 million contract in 2029)
Luis Zapien (3/29/2029—Traded from the Tigers for Marty Parham)
The Giants had two rounds of trading that shaped their team, an initial round in 2022 that shaped the team as a dominant pitching force, and then a second round after Vic Black took over that built the team into an offensive juggernaut.
Buster Posey was traded in 2022 as he was past San Francisco’s timeline and only had three more seasons left. The Giants received Brad Miller’s dead money, replacement level infielder Jeremiah Jackson, career minor leaguer Luis Medina, still a prospect Mandel Agrenny, and one of the best postseason pitchers ever in Mehki Lias. Lias was an elite arm from 2025-2028, and while his 2029 wasn’t elite, he suffered some bad BABIP and homer luck and still has never lost a playoff game. The deal was critical for San Francisco’s ascent in the middle of the decade.
The other major acquisition San Francisco made in 2022 was acquiring Shane Baz in an All-Time challenge trade. Both Shane Baz and Trevor Rogers profiled as elite relievers who didn’t profile as being able to start. Baz was rough as a starter with Atlanta, but after the trade morphed into a Cy Young candidate, putting out an excellent year in 2023, and then leading the league in wins, ERA, and finishing second in Cy Young voting in 2024. He’s had an elite career and struck out 209 hitters in 177 innings last year as San Francisco’s number two starter.
Baz was traded essentially for Trevor Rogers and Jo Adell. Rogers was a historically good reliever, but in the transition to starting, lost his stuff. San Francisco bet on the right horse.
The Giants also got Tim Johnson and Gerald Riches in 2022 for Ryan Feltner. Johnson was a perfectly fine swingman who turned into a good reliever this year, while Riches was once the number two prospect who was flipped for Juan Castereno. Feltner has never pitched in the PBA. Another win for San Francisco.
The other big move San Francisco made as they were ascending was another deal with Atlanta for Kelyn Klattenburger. Klattenberger has led the league in homers, he’s led the league in doubles, and while he had a rough 2028, he’s been a Platinum Stick Award Winner as a DH. He had a big 2029 again after coming back from an MCL injury. The Giants gave up Brandon Waddell for him, and Waddell was very good for a couple of years, with a pair of 3+ WAR seasons for Atlanta, but Klattenberger’s been better and is still currently in his prime.
San Francisco made a couple of trades in 2025 that affected their title team. They grabbed Marshall Patch from Baltimore for Luis G. Cabrera. Cabrera never made it above Triple-A and put up -0.6 WAR for the Italy Black Cats this season while Patch had a 2.19 ERA for the Giants this season. Good business. They also grabbed Ivan Silva, Frankie Montas’ dead money, Jorge Mateo, and Roberto Gamboa for $1 million. Most of the players didn’t contribute much, but Silva is young and won a couple of games in the playoffs. Not a bad payoff for $1 million.
San Francisco made a trio of gigantic deals before the 2029 season to turn their offense into a ferocious monster. They acquired Tomaz Espassandim, plus a third and fourth rounder that turned into Devin Elam and Miguel Sanchez, a pair of interesting prospects, for backup Catcher Gilberto Flores and prospects Bob Stamps, Jim Rogers, Luke Poley, and Ignacio Soto. Poley is a lottery pick, but while none of the other prospects look like superstars, they all look like they have solid shots to be good or interesting PBA players. The Giants had plenty of good, interesting PBA players, plus plenty more interesting prospects. They picked up a fantastic offensive Second Baseman in Espassandim. Cannibal hit .312 with 33 doubles, then tore up the playoffs with a .329 average and .914 OPS. San Francisco would not have won the World Series with good, interesting players. They needed Cannibal Espassandim to punch through against the elite arms San Francisco faced in the playoffs.
The same day they traded for Cannibal, the Giants traded for Juan Castereno. San Francisco gave up two blue chip prospects in Gerald Riches and Elias Ramirez, plus a strong offensive First Baseman, former Rookie of the Year and All Star Arturo Rivera so the cost was massive. The Giants got a couple of low-level prospects back as well, but for the cost they gave up, they needed Castereno to be a star. The mercurial Center Fielder actually turned in the worst year of his career in the regular season, though an .813 OPS in a pitcher’s park is pretty solid. In the playoffs though, he was a monster who beasted a host of elite pitchers. He produced a .970 OPS with six doubles, seven homers, and a .295 average to help deliver a World Series title. That’s why San Francisco gave up so much to get him.
Vic Black also made a pick to bring over old friend Jadon Ancrum from Baltimore. The Giants gave up David Bollman, Sergio Arellano, and a third round pick that turned into xxx. Unlike the other moves, Salesman struggled adjusting to the National League, and he produced only 0.9 WAR and struggled in the playoffs. Bollman won Rookie of the Year and Arellano was a solid mid-rotation arm. Sometimes when you take big swings, you miss the ball. Salesman’s young enough to rebound, or the Giants’ losing him in Free Agency may net them a Compensation Pick.
San Francisco also made a smaller trade to shore up their defense, trading Marty Parham to acquire Luis Zapien. Zapien was minimized as the year went on and San Francisco acquired Andrew Benintendi. He played solid defense, but provided no pop and was better served as a backup outfielder and defensive replacement. Parham struggled as a rookie but looks like a starting Second Baseman, so the price was a little high to acquire Zapien. Still, with such a deep class of prospects, one can afford to give up slightly more as it wouldn’t diminish the coffers.
The Giants made the right bets on challenge trades early in the decade to build their core, knew when to trade veterans for prospects, and then their big swings to improve their offensive talent base paid off in the playoffs. It was a great team effort of Dave Twibell of knowing what to do when the Giants were building into their contention cycle, and Vic Black making the right moves to grab the championship.
Scouting Discoveries
Alfredo Esteves (3/15/2023 from Nicaragua. Minimum contract in 2029)
Long time San Francisco Scouting Director Jorge Navarro discovered Alfredo Esteves in Nicaragua in 2023. Esteves looked like a potential relief ace when discovered, but worked hard to develop an underwhelming changeup and increase his velocity. As he aged, he started to throw 100 miles-an-hour and perfected his changeup and splitter making him a bear to hit. He’s a credit to Esteves’ scouting work and the team’s development work.
Rule V Draft
Bobby Sheesley (2028, 2nd round, 53rd overall from Brewers—minimum contract in 2029)
Sheesley had a small role for the Giants, being plucked from another deep organization, Milwaukee, before the season. He only started 25 games, but he did play in 71, seeing time pinch hitting against lefties or playing the corners off the bench. He hit for an .868 OPS. He may be too old to develop more as he’ll be 29 this upcoming season, but he profiles as a Second Division starter who can now be stashed in the minors. Not a bad use of a final roster spot.
Waiver Claims
Fernando Tatis Jr. (4/12/2029 from Padres—$638K contract in 2029)
Andrew Benintendi (7/3/2029 from White Sox—$23.5 million contract in 2029)
Most teams don’t use the waiver wire to find key talent, but San Francisco found two starters this year by being diligent. Fernando Tatis Jr. was waived by the Padres in early April and San Francisco brought him on, making him their starting Third Baseman when Joe DeCarlo didn’t hit enough early in the year. Tatis held his own in the regular season, and while he was a black hole offensively in the playoffs, his defense was strong and the team could absorb a weak point in the lineup. Tatis was also a strong influence in the locker room.
San Francisco had so much budget space even after their trades, that they had room to make one more addition halfway through the year. As Chicago onboarded Zigmo Thedogo and he took a look at his books, he realized he had to clean up the team’s finances. Andrew Benintendi had interest in other teams, but didn’t want to waive his No-Trade Clause. Thedogo promptly waived him, and the Giants were the only team that was a contender and had budget space to absorb his contract. Benintendi hit for a .968 OPS for the Giants in half a year, then played more than seven games in a postseason for the first time ever, putting up a respectable .740 OPS against a gamut of tough pitching. Benintendi still plays like an MVP candidate and is under contract for three more years, allowing the Giants the luxury of having an elite hitter under contract going forward.
Staff
Team Trainer: Rick Jameyson
Jameyson has been San Francisco’s trainer since the PBA’s inception, and San Francisco has had excellent health under his watch.
San Francisco had the seventh fewest IL days this year, with most going to Ismael Morel who was on the 40-man roster, but technically never actually played for the Giants. Omar Lara also missed the second half of the year with biceps tendinitis, but the Giants believe the bulk of the stress on his arm was accumulated in Washington. As a result, San Francisco’s arms remained very healthy, with only Marshall Patch on the IL for two weeks.
The giants did suffer injuries to position players, but nothing crippling. Zipper Willemsen and Juan Castereno missed three weeks, and Kelyn Klattenburger was out for roughly a month and a half, and San Francisco had the depth to withstand their losses. Jameyson retained his reputation for being one of the best trainers in the league.
Scouting Director: Jorge Navarro
Navarro has been San Francisco’s Scouting Director since 2022, earning a well-deserved title. He was instrumental in San Francisco discovering Esteves, identifying Willemsen as an IFA target, and successfully targeting the host of players San Francisco has traded for over the years. The Giants have also drafted well under his purview. Rival front offices view Navarro as a balanced and accomplished scout with a keen eye for talent. Whatever struggled he had with Boston early in his scouting career are well behind him.
Assistant GM: Peter Woodfork
Woodfork hasn’t had to do much the past three years. The coaching staff has been with the Giants since before he took over, making his job very cushy. His main task has been to help the staff stay cohesive, and he’s done an excellent job, working well with a number of coaches who prefer dealing with someone temperamental. It’s a weird staff, perhaps a secret to their success?
Bench Coach: Armando Camacaro
Hitting Coach: Kevin Cameron
Pitching Coach: Jason Windsor
1B Coach: Nate Spears
3B Coach: Alex Cora
San Francisco’s developed strong relationships among the staff by having their coaches around for three or four years. Camacaro, Spears, and Cameron signed for the 2026 season, while Windsor and Cora came aboard for 2027. Camacaro, Cameron, and Windsor each coached in San Francisco’s minors as the team has preferred to develop coaches and hire internally to fill positions.
Camacaro made the playoffs for Sacramento three years as Pitching Coach before being hired to be the big club’s Bench Coach. An excellent teacher who also makes sure prospects reach their full potential, he has neutral gameplans and philosophies, allowing him to produce with prospects and veterans, hitters, and pitchers alike. For a team with elite young talent as well as surly veterans, he’s an excellent choice as Bench Coach.
Jason Windsor is an elite Pitching Coach. He twice won titles for Richmond in the Eastern League before being promoted to San Francisco. He’s an outstanding pitching teacher, but is also excellent with interpersonal skills, and working with older arms to help them age, and younger ones to help them develop. The team’s pitching did slip this year, but most sources believe that was more of a focus shift away from defense. Windsor’s now won titles in two levels as a Pitching Coach and may be a Manager or Bench Coach someday.
Kevin Cameron made the playoffs four times as Sacramento’s Manager, twice winning Manager of the Year in the Pacific Coast League, before being hired to be the Giants’ hitting coach. Cameron’s a legendary teacher of hitting, but while he’s also exceptional at handling developing hitters, he prefers veterans. It wasn’t a surprise that the veterans San Francisco brought on performed so well with Cameron at the helm. Cameron won a title back in 2018 with Houston’s A-Ball team, the Quad City River Bandits, so he’s tasted success at all levels of PBA baseball.
Nate Spears had success as a Manager in the minors before looking for work for seven years. He signed on to be San Francisco’s 1B coach in 2026. He’s good at understanding the basepaths and got San Francisco running more, though he’s only okay as a teacher of defense. Alex Cora had success as a Bench Coach for Houston and Arizona and a manager at Albuquerque, making him an overqualified 3B coach. He was mainly responsible for teaching defense, and he did what he could.
Summary: Excellence with the scouting and training staff has allowed the Giants to identify talent and keep that talent on their field. The club has largely worked internally to identify the best coaches, developing a pipeline of excellence. San Francisco has been able to keep a close eye on understanding that their minor league coaching talent has been excellence and giving them more responsibility when needed. Richmond’s Ji-Man Song has an excellent reputation and has two Eastern League titles. Expect him to get a PBA shot should the Giants move on from any of their staff.
San Francisco traded for its core starting pitching early in the decade during its rebuild, and used the draft to supplement with relievers. The Giants used recent trades and financial might to build the team’s offensive engine. Sound familiar?
It’s not a 100% clean comparison—The Giants have a few more key pieces taken during the draft than those Dodgers teams, but broadly it’s a formula that has done wonders for NL West contenders.
Players
Draft Picks
Shamar Polite (2021, 1st round, 36th overall, minimum contract in 2029)
Chris Davis (2021, 2nd round, 74th overall, minimum contract in 2029)
Juan Campos (2021, 4th round, 132nd overall, minimum contract in 2029)
Alex McKee (2021, 5th round, 162 overall, 700K arbitration contract in 2029)
Octavio Lopez (2022, 2nd round, 51st overall, $1.9 million arbitration contract in 2029)
Ryan DiSbio (2023, 4th round, 128th overall, $6.1 million arbitration contract in 2029)
Brian Hampton (2024, 2nd round, 40th overall, minimum contract in 2029)
Chris Malloy (2024, 3rd round, 102nd overall, minimum contract in 2029)
Philip Wirths (2024, 5th round, 169th overall, minimum contract 2029)
Evan Orcutt (2025, 1st round, 17th overall, minimum contract in 2029)
Ricky Valencia (2025, 5th round, 168th overall, minimum contract in 2029)
During San Francisco’s early decade rebuild years, they accumulated a ton of draft picks which they used to great effect. A close look reveals four things—a relative lack of high-impact players, a cutoff around 2025, two players worth more than 700K, and a paucity of first rounders.
San Francisco’s 2029 team mostly used drafted players to fill out the roster. Most of their drafted players were relievers and Catchers, with Juan Campos the only classic First Division position player type—though Brian Hampton had a great postseason and was an All-Star.
This is the biggest similarity to the Dodgers, the approach of building out your core with other means and supplementing with the draft around the edges. The Dodgers did so mainly to keep costs down at fringe positions—the Giants did so because they identified elite talent better than their drafted talent and had the budget space to upgrade.
The Giants have traditionally drafted very young players, which ties in to the second and third point. Many of their recent picks are still too young to contribute, but the ones who were drafted young in the early part of the decade ended up developing later. They’re more recent PBA arrivals and as such, are still on minimum or cheap contracts. The timing ended up working out perfectly.
Finally, San Francisco only has a couple of their own first round picks on the team, a fascinating fact with a number of contributing explanations. To start, San Francisco accumulated a number of second, third, and fourth round picks through trading veterans to contender and being a brokerage house to buy draft picks to help teams’ financial issues. They rarely engaged in classic, stars-for-firsts trades, opting instead for smaller deals to get quantity over quality, trusting their development system to do the rest. With so many bites at the apple, they had more second-through-fifth rounders with chances to hit than first rounders.
Then, as San Francisco became a contender and Vic Black placed his stamp on the team, San Francisco’s first rounders either weren’t good enough to play over the team’s new stars; were traded to acquire those stars; or are still too young to be contributors.
Vic did a terrific job of ignoring whether a player was a draft pick, a free agent, or on another roster. He simply went out and got the best players for the position.
Free Agents
Andres Gimenez (3/6/2029—signed 5-year, $89 million contract. $17.7 million contract in 2029)
Victor Robles (6/8/2029—signed 1-year, $13 million contract)
The Giants only signed two free agents who played a significant role for them. The steady Gimenez had been a touch underwhelming the middle of the decade, but was coming off a strong 2028 with Boston. Gimenez had settled in as a player who would provide consistent league-average offensive production, which is very valuable as a Shortstop, but had become a subpar defender.
Vic Black had built Baltimore into a contender with a minimal focus on defense, and gambled that Gimenez’ steady presence would eliminate a position that had recently been an offense black hole for San Francisco. Sure enough, Gimenez had been -12 on Zone Rating last year, but he also turned in the best offensive year of his career, hitting .308 with a 129 OPS+, helping turn San Francisco’s lineup from one with a good core to one with weapons throughout the order.
Victor Robles had less of an impact, but he was a mid-season signing halfway through the year. He didn’t get the benefit of a Spring Training and was rusty. He still hit .275 with 15 homers and 16 doubles in half a year playing Center Field in a brutal offensive park, while on a reasonable contract. Robles was on the bench in the playoffs, but was still worth 2.0 WAR in half a season, a great luxury to have
International Free Agents
Nelle Willemsen (7/7/2022—signed $8 million signing bonus out of Curacao. Minimum contract in 2029)
San Francisco went over the IFA budget in 2022 to sign Zipper Willemsen out of Curacao. Willemsen was a Top 50 prospect the next offseason, despite being so young, he played for Curacao in the 2024 WBC before he ever played professional ball for the Giants. Once he took the field for San Francisco’s minor leagues, he progressed rapidly, making it to Triple-A and hitting for an .801 OPS as a 19-year-old in his second pro season. However, due to a glut of talent, he spent most of the second half of the decade stuck in Triple-A, never playing more than 68 games with San Francisco, including this year. The Giants always had a deep outfield and Willemsen always had options. Plus, in San Francisco’s defense, Zipper hit for a .668 OPS this year with a deep team.
Zipper was in the minors in September, winning a Pacific Coast League Semifinals MVP award and a championship with the Sacramento River Cats, before being placed on San Francisco’s playoff roster. Given a starting role and playing time, he hit .311 with seven postseason homers and will likely never see Sacramento ever again unless he needs a rehab assignment.
Trades
Mehki Lias (1/7/2022—Traded from the Rays along with Luis Medina, Mandel Angrenny, Jeremiah Jackson and Brad Miller for Buster Posey. $25 million contract in 2029)
Tim Johnson (11/22/2022—Traded from the Reds along with Gerlad Riches for Ryan Feltner. $950K arbitration contract in 2029)
Shane Baz (12/30/2022—Traded from the Braves for Trevor Rogers, Jordan Adell, and Brendan Spagnuolo. $20 million contract in 2029)
Kelyn Klattenberger (12/24/2023—Traded from the Braves along with Ismael Morel for Brandon Waddell. $11.3 million arbitration contract in 2029)
Marshall Patch (1/20/2025—Traded from the Orioles for Luis G. Cabrera)
Ivan Silva (1/20/2025—Traded from the Athletics along with Frankie Montas, Jorge Mateo, and Roberto Gamboa for $1 million. Minimum contract in 2029)
Tomaz Espassandim (12/1/2028—Traded from the Mets along with a third round pick and a fourth round pick for Gilberto Flores, Jim Rogers, Bob Stamps, Luke Poley and Ignacio Soto. Minimum contract in 2029)
Juan Castereno (12/1/2028—Traded from the Athletics along with Dave Pocasangre and Jimmy Anderson for Elias Ramirez, Gerlald Riches, and Arturo Rivera)
Jadon Ancrum (12/25/2028—Traded from the Orioles for David Bollman, Sergio Arellano, and a third round pick. $22.4 million contract in 2029)
Luis Zapien (3/29/2029—Traded from the Tigers for Marty Parham)
The Giants had two rounds of trading that shaped their team, an initial round in 2022 that shaped the team as a dominant pitching force, and then a second round after Vic Black took over that built the team into an offensive juggernaut.
Buster Posey was traded in 2022 as he was past San Francisco’s timeline and only had three more seasons left. The Giants received Brad Miller’s dead money, replacement level infielder Jeremiah Jackson, career minor leaguer Luis Medina, still a prospect Mandel Agrenny, and one of the best postseason pitchers ever in Mehki Lias. Lias was an elite arm from 2025-2028, and while his 2029 wasn’t elite, he suffered some bad BABIP and homer luck and still has never lost a playoff game. The deal was critical for San Francisco’s ascent in the middle of the decade.
The other major acquisition San Francisco made in 2022 was acquiring Shane Baz in an All-Time challenge trade. Both Shane Baz and Trevor Rogers profiled as elite relievers who didn’t profile as being able to start. Baz was rough as a starter with Atlanta, but after the trade morphed into a Cy Young candidate, putting out an excellent year in 2023, and then leading the league in wins, ERA, and finishing second in Cy Young voting in 2024. He’s had an elite career and struck out 209 hitters in 177 innings last year as San Francisco’s number two starter.
Baz was traded essentially for Trevor Rogers and Jo Adell. Rogers was a historically good reliever, but in the transition to starting, lost his stuff. San Francisco bet on the right horse.
The Giants also got Tim Johnson and Gerald Riches in 2022 for Ryan Feltner. Johnson was a perfectly fine swingman who turned into a good reliever this year, while Riches was once the number two prospect who was flipped for Juan Castereno. Feltner has never pitched in the PBA. Another win for San Francisco.
The other big move San Francisco made as they were ascending was another deal with Atlanta for Kelyn Klattenburger. Klattenberger has led the league in homers, he’s led the league in doubles, and while he had a rough 2028, he’s been a Platinum Stick Award Winner as a DH. He had a big 2029 again after coming back from an MCL injury. The Giants gave up Brandon Waddell for him, and Waddell was very good for a couple of years, with a pair of 3+ WAR seasons for Atlanta, but Klattenberger’s been better and is still currently in his prime.
San Francisco made a couple of trades in 2025 that affected their title team. They grabbed Marshall Patch from Baltimore for Luis G. Cabrera. Cabrera never made it above Triple-A and put up -0.6 WAR for the Italy Black Cats this season while Patch had a 2.19 ERA for the Giants this season. Good business. They also grabbed Ivan Silva, Frankie Montas’ dead money, Jorge Mateo, and Roberto Gamboa for $1 million. Most of the players didn’t contribute much, but Silva is young and won a couple of games in the playoffs. Not a bad payoff for $1 million.
San Francisco made a trio of gigantic deals before the 2029 season to turn their offense into a ferocious monster. They acquired Tomaz Espassandim, plus a third and fourth rounder that turned into Devin Elam and Miguel Sanchez, a pair of interesting prospects, for backup Catcher Gilberto Flores and prospects Bob Stamps, Jim Rogers, Luke Poley, and Ignacio Soto. Poley is a lottery pick, but while none of the other prospects look like superstars, they all look like they have solid shots to be good or interesting PBA players. The Giants had plenty of good, interesting PBA players, plus plenty more interesting prospects. They picked up a fantastic offensive Second Baseman in Espassandim. Cannibal hit .312 with 33 doubles, then tore up the playoffs with a .329 average and .914 OPS. San Francisco would not have won the World Series with good, interesting players. They needed Cannibal Espassandim to punch through against the elite arms San Francisco faced in the playoffs.
The same day they traded for Cannibal, the Giants traded for Juan Castereno. San Francisco gave up two blue chip prospects in Gerald Riches and Elias Ramirez, plus a strong offensive First Baseman, former Rookie of the Year and All Star Arturo Rivera so the cost was massive. The Giants got a couple of low-level prospects back as well, but for the cost they gave up, they needed Castereno to be a star. The mercurial Center Fielder actually turned in the worst year of his career in the regular season, though an .813 OPS in a pitcher’s park is pretty solid. In the playoffs though, he was a monster who beasted a host of elite pitchers. He produced a .970 OPS with six doubles, seven homers, and a .295 average to help deliver a World Series title. That’s why San Francisco gave up so much to get him.
Vic Black also made a pick to bring over old friend Jadon Ancrum from Baltimore. The Giants gave up David Bollman, Sergio Arellano, and a third round pick that turned into xxx. Unlike the other moves, Salesman struggled adjusting to the National League, and he produced only 0.9 WAR and struggled in the playoffs. Bollman won Rookie of the Year and Arellano was a solid mid-rotation arm. Sometimes when you take big swings, you miss the ball. Salesman’s young enough to rebound, or the Giants’ losing him in Free Agency may net them a Compensation Pick.
San Francisco also made a smaller trade to shore up their defense, trading Marty Parham to acquire Luis Zapien. Zapien was minimized as the year went on and San Francisco acquired Andrew Benintendi. He played solid defense, but provided no pop and was better served as a backup outfielder and defensive replacement. Parham struggled as a rookie but looks like a starting Second Baseman, so the price was a little high to acquire Zapien. Still, with such a deep class of prospects, one can afford to give up slightly more as it wouldn’t diminish the coffers.
The Giants made the right bets on challenge trades early in the decade to build their core, knew when to trade veterans for prospects, and then their big swings to improve their offensive talent base paid off in the playoffs. It was a great team effort of Dave Twibell of knowing what to do when the Giants were building into their contention cycle, and Vic Black making the right moves to grab the championship.
Scouting Discoveries
Alfredo Esteves (3/15/2023 from Nicaragua. Minimum contract in 2029)
Long time San Francisco Scouting Director Jorge Navarro discovered Alfredo Esteves in Nicaragua in 2023. Esteves looked like a potential relief ace when discovered, but worked hard to develop an underwhelming changeup and increase his velocity. As he aged, he started to throw 100 miles-an-hour and perfected his changeup and splitter making him a bear to hit. He’s a credit to Esteves’ scouting work and the team’s development work.
Rule V Draft
Bobby Sheesley (2028, 2nd round, 53rd overall from Brewers—minimum contract in 2029)
Sheesley had a small role for the Giants, being plucked from another deep organization, Milwaukee, before the season. He only started 25 games, but he did play in 71, seeing time pinch hitting against lefties or playing the corners off the bench. He hit for an .868 OPS. He may be too old to develop more as he’ll be 29 this upcoming season, but he profiles as a Second Division starter who can now be stashed in the minors. Not a bad use of a final roster spot.
Waiver Claims
Fernando Tatis Jr. (4/12/2029 from Padres—$638K contract in 2029)
Andrew Benintendi (7/3/2029 from White Sox—$23.5 million contract in 2029)
Most teams don’t use the waiver wire to find key talent, but San Francisco found two starters this year by being diligent. Fernando Tatis Jr. was waived by the Padres in early April and San Francisco brought him on, making him their starting Third Baseman when Joe DeCarlo didn’t hit enough early in the year. Tatis held his own in the regular season, and while he was a black hole offensively in the playoffs, his defense was strong and the team could absorb a weak point in the lineup. Tatis was also a strong influence in the locker room.
San Francisco had so much budget space even after their trades, that they had room to make one more addition halfway through the year. As Chicago onboarded Zigmo Thedogo and he took a look at his books, he realized he had to clean up the team’s finances. Andrew Benintendi had interest in other teams, but didn’t want to waive his No-Trade Clause. Thedogo promptly waived him, and the Giants were the only team that was a contender and had budget space to absorb his contract. Benintendi hit for a .968 OPS for the Giants in half a year, then played more than seven games in a postseason for the first time ever, putting up a respectable .740 OPS against a gamut of tough pitching. Benintendi still plays like an MVP candidate and is under contract for three more years, allowing the Giants the luxury of having an elite hitter under contract going forward.
Staff
Team Trainer: Rick Jameyson
Jameyson has been San Francisco’s trainer since the PBA’s inception, and San Francisco has had excellent health under his watch.
San Francisco had the seventh fewest IL days this year, with most going to Ismael Morel who was on the 40-man roster, but technically never actually played for the Giants. Omar Lara also missed the second half of the year with biceps tendinitis, but the Giants believe the bulk of the stress on his arm was accumulated in Washington. As a result, San Francisco’s arms remained very healthy, with only Marshall Patch on the IL for two weeks.
The giants did suffer injuries to position players, but nothing crippling. Zipper Willemsen and Juan Castereno missed three weeks, and Kelyn Klattenburger was out for roughly a month and a half, and San Francisco had the depth to withstand their losses. Jameyson retained his reputation for being one of the best trainers in the league.
Scouting Director: Jorge Navarro
Navarro has been San Francisco’s Scouting Director since 2022, earning a well-deserved title. He was instrumental in San Francisco discovering Esteves, identifying Willemsen as an IFA target, and successfully targeting the host of players San Francisco has traded for over the years. The Giants have also drafted well under his purview. Rival front offices view Navarro as a balanced and accomplished scout with a keen eye for talent. Whatever struggled he had with Boston early in his scouting career are well behind him.
Assistant GM: Peter Woodfork
Woodfork hasn’t had to do much the past three years. The coaching staff has been with the Giants since before he took over, making his job very cushy. His main task has been to help the staff stay cohesive, and he’s done an excellent job, working well with a number of coaches who prefer dealing with someone temperamental. It’s a weird staff, perhaps a secret to their success?
Bench Coach: Armando Camacaro
Hitting Coach: Kevin Cameron
Pitching Coach: Jason Windsor
1B Coach: Nate Spears
3B Coach: Alex Cora
San Francisco’s developed strong relationships among the staff by having their coaches around for three or four years. Camacaro, Spears, and Cameron signed for the 2026 season, while Windsor and Cora came aboard for 2027. Camacaro, Cameron, and Windsor each coached in San Francisco’s minors as the team has preferred to develop coaches and hire internally to fill positions.
Camacaro made the playoffs for Sacramento three years as Pitching Coach before being hired to be the big club’s Bench Coach. An excellent teacher who also makes sure prospects reach their full potential, he has neutral gameplans and philosophies, allowing him to produce with prospects and veterans, hitters, and pitchers alike. For a team with elite young talent as well as surly veterans, he’s an excellent choice as Bench Coach.
Jason Windsor is an elite Pitching Coach. He twice won titles for Richmond in the Eastern League before being promoted to San Francisco. He’s an outstanding pitching teacher, but is also excellent with interpersonal skills, and working with older arms to help them age, and younger ones to help them develop. The team’s pitching did slip this year, but most sources believe that was more of a focus shift away from defense. Windsor’s now won titles in two levels as a Pitching Coach and may be a Manager or Bench Coach someday.
Kevin Cameron made the playoffs four times as Sacramento’s Manager, twice winning Manager of the Year in the Pacific Coast League, before being hired to be the Giants’ hitting coach. Cameron’s a legendary teacher of hitting, but while he’s also exceptional at handling developing hitters, he prefers veterans. It wasn’t a surprise that the veterans San Francisco brought on performed so well with Cameron at the helm. Cameron won a title back in 2018 with Houston’s A-Ball team, the Quad City River Bandits, so he’s tasted success at all levels of PBA baseball.
Nate Spears had success as a Manager in the minors before looking for work for seven years. He signed on to be San Francisco’s 1B coach in 2026. He’s good at understanding the basepaths and got San Francisco running more, though he’s only okay as a teacher of defense. Alex Cora had success as a Bench Coach for Houston and Arizona and a manager at Albuquerque, making him an overqualified 3B coach. He was mainly responsible for teaching defense, and he did what he could.
Summary: Excellence with the scouting and training staff has allowed the Giants to identify talent and keep that talent on their field. The club has largely worked internally to identify the best coaches, developing a pipeline of excellence. San Francisco has been able to keep a close eye on understanding that their minor league coaching talent has been excellence and giving them more responsibility when needed. Richmond’s Ji-Man Song has an excellent reputation and has two Eastern League titles. Expect him to get a PBA shot should the Giants move on from any of their staff.