30 Teams in 30 Days 2018 22 San Francisco Giants

Remember back in the days of #Believen? Wow, that seems like a long time ago, doesn't it? Between a rash of pitching injuries and ownership's blockheaded unwillingness to push their payroll past the luxury tax threshold to make up for them, the Giants were fighting an uphill battle before the season even begun. There are a couple of exciting new veterans who joined the team this offseason, so there's at least that element to explore.

All-Acquired Factor

Andrew McCutchen was reportedly on the Giants' radar for quite some time, given how their weak outfield offense (and defense) was an established weakness. And when a surprisingly rebuilding Pirates team made him available, Giants GM Bobby Evans was able to snap him up for relief prospect Kyle Crick and a low minors outfielder. I doubt if Evan Longoria was seriously on anyone's radar prior to this winter, since his contract was so favorable that there was no way the Rays could possibly trade him. But then when Tampa Bay ownership decided to not field a competitive team in 2018 at all costs, they shipped him to San Francisco, just weeks before his 10-and-5 no trade rights would kick in. That deal netted Tampa a good infield prospect in Christian Arroyo, but they also agreed to take on the salary of former center fielder Denard Span.

Speaking of center field, that's where McCutchen played for the majority of his career, but the scouts and advanced metrics agree that he's better suited for corner work. So rather than just have him fill the left field vacancy, they put Cutch in right field and had Hunter Pence try to shift across the outfield for the first time in his career. Maybe it was the unfamiliarity with his new position that caused him to sprain his thumb and cause him to head to the disabled list. In any case, the Giants brought in veteran lefty masher Austin Jackson to play center field, where he has been in somewhat of a reverse platoon with lefty swinging Gregor Blanco (ranked 664 by MLB.com).

Starting Pitching Injuries

Remember last year when Madison Bumgarner injured his shoulder in a dirt bike accident? That was as devastating for the Giants as it was embarrassing for the pitcher himself, just because it could have been so easily avoided. But then this Spring Training, when he was struck by a line drive that broke his pinkie finger, you can't help but feel bad for everyone involved, because that was just a freak occurrence. Add that to reliable innings eater Jeff Samardzija's pectoral injury (although he returned this past Friday 4/20 (blaze it)), and all of a sudden San Francisco was scrambling to replace 40% of its starting rotation before the season even begins. And because ownership was hellbent on staying under the luxury tax threshold, they had to do so in a bargain basement manner.

Even before accounting for all these injuries, journeyman lefty Derek Holland (615) was looking likely to earn a starting job out of Spring Training, after being signed to a minor league deal following a disastrous season with the White Sox. He just fell to 0-3 with a loss against the Angels last night. Two of the other slots were filled by organizatinonal depth pieces Christ Stratton and Ty Blach (whose rankings improved to 378 and 598, respectively, for obvious reasons). The fourth starter projected by Sports Illustrated above, Tyler Beede (ranked 645 overall, but #2 among the organization's prospects), started the season at Double-A and was only called up for one start so far. San Francisco's #9 ranked prospect, Andrew Suarez, got the call the only other time the team needed a fifth starter: to fill in for an injured Johnny Cueto, who thankfully spent just the minimum amount of time on the DL.

Bullpen Injuries

The main beef I have with these new SI baseball previews is that they only show one pitcher in the bullpen. That means that in the case of teams like the Giants - where projected closer Mark Melancon has been on the DL for basically the past two years, since being signed to a then-record setting deal for relievers - it's very hard to get a sense of that team's depth. San Francisco added to said depth when they signed lefty former closer Tony Watson, whose ranking rose to 407 when it was revealed that Melancon wouldn't be healthy to start the year. Another former closer, Sam Dyson, also saw his ranking rise with the news (to 471), but it's mostly been the unranked Hunter Strickland who has gotten the save opportunities for a struggling Giants club in 2018. But that might change if and when lefty Will Smith returns from the his rehab from Tommy John surgery sometime in May.

Fantasy Astrology Relevance

Buster Posey has fallen from grace as the unequivocal best fantasy catcher - his 2018 ranking of 71 falls behind Gary Sanchez (24) and Willson Contreras (59) - but he is remains firmly atop the Aries depth chart behind the plate. Believe it or not, Posey's real life backup, Nick Hundley, is the best catching option for an otherwise very strong Virgo team. With Jake Lamb on the DL, Evan Longoria is once again slated for starting duty for Libra at the hot corner. Johnny Cueto has earned a spot near the top of the Aquarius rotation, but the fact that Austin Jackson will be their starting center fielder is more a testament to the weakness of the sign than the top tier talent of AJax.

Song

I Left My Heart in San Francisco - Tony Bennett

Personally, I prefer the hippy anthem "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" by Scott McKenzie, as I find it funny to picture a bunch of pot-smoking long-hairs in tie-dye T-shirts swimming nude in McCovey Cove, waiting for the next splash hit. But I do recognize that Tony Bennett's signature song captures something more universal about the city by the bay, a sense of longing that Giants fans have been experiencing since way back in 2015.