[Mick]

500! Two HRs. Encarnacion with two hits. Webb with a strong outing. Bullpen really solid. Still, a big hole to dig out of, but progress against crappy teams. . . .

Doval struck out the side in the ninth.

Giants are just 1/2 game behind Pittsburgh and St. Louis.

Not to be the wet blanket, but Ray, Chapman and Snell all have opt-outs next year.

I think Snell will opt-out (he certainly should).  Chapman and Ray?  No clue.

Obviously all of these guys were on "prove it" contracts and if they played well enough they were going to opt-out. The Giants knew that when they offered those contracts. In fact, in a perverse sort of way the Giants wanted all of them to have the kind of year that would justify opting-out :-). The Giants may hope that a good experience this year will give them a "home town discount" in negotiating with these guys if/when they do opt-out. To the extent that would be true, making the playoffs would undoubtedly help.

I am not aware of any Boras clients (Snell/Chapman) giving hometown discounts.  They generally squeeze every dollar they can from ownership.  Of course, we saw that approach backfire last off-season.

It seems to me that Boras' approach failed for his four main clients last year, including Chapman and Snell. Those two still use Boras, so does Cody Bellinger. Snell turned down six years, $150 mms. from the Yankees. Jordan Montgomery fired Boras and went with Wasserman. 

Chapman's having an excellent year, he might be the best 3B in baseball. 5.2 WAR, 47 extra base hits, .778 OPS, wizard in the field (he was GG last year), has played in 111 games. Interestingly, he's stolen 12 bases in 13 attempts. He's scored 78 runs, he could get 100, which he did in 2018 and 2019. Assuming he keeps it up, he'll opt out.

Bellinger has played 86 games, .753 OPS, 11 HRs. 1.3 WAR. He has a three year contract, $27.5 mms. I don't think he opts out in 2025, might in 2026 if he crushes it.

Jordan Montgomery's having a terrible year. 6.37 ERA, -1.4 WAR. He has a one year contract, so he'll be an FA.

Snell's...interesting. This year was a microcosm of his career. Often hurt, 1-3, 0.4 WAR, but starting to catch fire. Literally unhittable when he's on, but he's only had two great years in his nine year career. Still, the Giants have won four of his last five starts, and he always closes well. He's scheduled to have 10 more starts. If he finishes 9-1 to go 10-4 overall...maybe. That's a tall order, but not undoable.

Interesting article on whether Boras was right or not: https://www.essentiallysports.com/mlb-ba...ee-agency/

[Mick]

500! Two HRs. Encarnacion with two hits. Webb with a strong outing. Bullpen really solid. Still, a big hole to dig out of, but progress against crappy teams. . . .

Doval struck out the side in the ninth.

Giants are just 1/2 game behind Pittsburgh and St. Louis.

Not to be the wet blanket, but Ray, Chapman and Snell all have opt-outs next year.

I think Snell will opt-out (he certainly should).  Chapman and Ray?  No clue.

Obviously all of these guys were on "prove it" contracts and if they played well enough they were going to opt-out. The Giants knew that when they offered those contracts. In fact, in a perverse sort of way the Giants wanted all of them to have the kind of year that would justify opting-out :-). The Giants may hope that a good experience this year will give them a "home town discount" in negotiating with these guys if/when they do opt-out. To the extent that would be true, making the playoffs would undoubtedly help.

I am not aware of any Boras clients (Snell/Chapman) giving hometown discounts.  They generally squeeze every dollar they can from ownership.  Of course, we saw that approach backfire last off-season.

It seems to me that Boras' approach failed for his four main clients last year, including Chapman and Snell. Those two still use Boras, so does Cody Bellinger. Snell turned down six years, $150 mms. from the Yankees. Jordan Montgomery fired Boras and went with Wasserman. 

Chapman's having an excellent year, he might be the best 3B in baseball. 5.2 WAR, 47 extra base hits, .778 OPS, wizard in the field (he was GG last year), has played in 111 games. Interestingly, he's stolen 12 bases in 13 attempts. He's scored 78 runs, he could get 100, which he did in 2018 and 2019. Assuming he keeps it up, he'll opt out.

Bellinger has played 86 games, .753 OPS, 11 HRs. 1.3 WAR. He has a three year contract, $27.5 mms. I don't think he opts out in 2025, might in 2026 if he crushes it.

Jordan Montgomery's having a terrible year. 6.37 ERA, -1.4 WAR. He has a one year contract, so he'll be an FA.

Snell's...interesting. This year was a microcosm of his career. Often hurt, 1-3, 0.4 WAR, but starting to catch fire. Literally unhittable when he's on, but he's only had two great years in his nine year career. Still, the Giants have won four of his last five starts, and he always closes well. He's scheduled to have 10 more starts. If he finishes 9-1 to go 10-4 overall...maybe. That's a tall order, but not undoable.

Interesting article on whether Boras was right or not: https://www.essentiallysports.com/mlb-ba...ee-agency/