One team who seems to be heading for a downturn ahead of the 2023 offseason is the San Francisco Giants.
The San Francisco Giants, who are two years removed from their best regular season in 2021, are struggling to find similar success. San Francisco also won two fewer games than their 2022 campaign in 2023. A 79-83 season was certainly disappointing for them.
It appears that management is getting an overhaul this offseason. Will the team follow suit with a change for offense or pitching? Signing OF Jung Hoo Lee is a good start.
Stats will be a part of the discussion later on in the piece, however. Looking back, at the mid-season report, San Francisco did not make much of an improvement, unfortunately. They hung around the wild card race but faded in the final weeks of September.
So, if the Giants want to reclaim their memories of success, they need to make some serious shake-ups. But what steps can they take to solidify their offseason goals and build some positive momentum?
Let’s go take a swing by the Bay. Here are the details of the offseason plan for the San Francisco Giants.
Offense: Scraping the Bottom of the Barrel
Looking at the mid-season stats, the Giants were part of the middle of the pack amongst National League teams for offense. Post All-Star break, the offense fell off. Badly.
For the final tallies of the season, San Francisco fell to the worst spot in the Senior Circuit. Overall, the Giants finished last in the NL in team batting average (.235), slugging percentage (.383), OPS (.695), and hits (1271). They also tallied second-worst numbers in runs (674), team on-base percentage (.312), doubles (256), and triples (13. Ouch).
2023 A Solid Season for Davis
But despite the poor showing overall, one player in particular who put together a decent season is 3B J.D. Davis. In his first full season in the Bay, Davis put together a respectable .248/.325/.413 slash line, with 18 home runs (six better than last year), 69 RBIs, and a career-high 23 doubles. Davis is showing himself to be a corner infielder who is not afraid to put some pop at the plate.
Flores Also Showing Signs of Power
A second guy who is turning heads with a rise in his power is utility infielder 1B Wilmer Flores. After a bit of a lackadaisical season in 2022, the Venezuela native broke out with a healthy 23 home runs and 60 RBIs in 2023, good enough to lead the squad in the former category. He also saw a major bump in his batting average (.284), on-base percentage (.355), and slugging percentage (.509), while also tallying a career-best .863 OPS.
With one more season left on his current contract, retaining Flores should be a key priority when the 2024 offseason rolls around.
Pitching Gives Out Mixed Results
Well, the pitching for the Giants ended up being all over the place. They had the third-best team ERA in the National League at 4.02, and their starters tossed the most complete games of any unit in the Senior Circuit with four. But they also gave up the fifth-most hits as a total staff with 1395 and struck out the fifth-fewest batters at 1359. When a pitching staff ends up providing a mix of good and bad, it’s hard to tell whether the team will be good or bad. As a result, the Giants were mediocre.
Injuries were also a bit of a factor for the Giants’ rotation in 2023, costing them two or three key starters. And when the starters aren’t available, the bullpen will have to pick up the slack.
Webb Cools Down After Hot Start
One pitcher in particular who looked to be potentially bound for Cy Young candidacy was SP Logan Webb at the mid-season point. While he did log a career-high in innings with 216 and finished second for the NL Best Pitcher, the record may show a bit of inconsistency.
However, despite the 11-13 mark, Webb posted personal-bests in strikeouts (194), WHIP (1.074), walks per nine innings (1.3), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.26).
Those statistics would make any pitching coach and manager happy, so records may be a bit of a misleading statistic.
Doval Continues to Assert Himself as Dominant Closer
When the San Francisco Giants need someone to turn to in shut-down situations, they can rely on their closer, CP Camilo Doval. After assuming the closing role in 2022, Doval had a breakout campaign in his third pro season in 2023. The 26-year-old Dominican Republic native finished with 39 saves in 47 opportunities. Those 39 saves tied for the National League lead and were second overall in the Majors.
In his career, Doval has converted 69 of 83 save opportunities, a better than 83% conversation rate. That puts him amongst some of the better closers in today’s game. For the most part, the bullpen is not an issue in San Francisco.
So… What Do the Giants Need to Do in the Offseason?
Well… that’s a good question. Of course, the first priority is to get everyone healthy and ready for the 2024 season. But after missing out on some key free agents, the goal should be to add a consistent bat who can hit for average and power. Lee may be the answer there, but it is tough to predict when signing someone from overseas.
Overall, it’s hard to tell what’s going wrong for the San Francisco Giants. But there is still time to figure things out. Will the Giants be able to capitalize?
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Nate Powalie is a contributor for Back Sports Page. A 2022 graduate of Ashland University (Ashland, Ohio), Nate has five years of sports writing experience, and has gotten the chance to call sporting events for radio and live stream. Nate also works as a cashier and can be found on Twitter (@PNate22) and Facebook (Nate Powalie).
