Originally Posted by
Dan Druff
Giants decided that a 98-loss season in 2017 wasn't going to stop them from trying to compete with the Dodgers in 2018.
In addition to getting a healthy Madison Bumgarner back (unless he injures himself again with off-the-field antics), they acquired Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen over the past few days.
Longoria hasn't hit over .273 since 2012, and he only had 20 HR last year, but he still has a solid enough bat.
McCutchen had a down 2016, hitting only .256, but he improved in 2017, so maybe he's righted the ship. Still, he's not the defensive player he once was, and offensively he's not going to put up the 900+ OPS that he did for several seasons. Again, he will definitely help the Giants offensively, but he's no longer a superstar.
Pirates seem like they're giving up, as they also traded Gerrit Cole. Sorry, badguy.
These trades, combined with presumably improved years from Cueto and Bumgarner, plus perhaps a healthy (but 35-year-old) Pence might mean that the Giants will no longer be awful.
But can they compete with the Dodgers, or even make the wildcard?
I doubt it.
Posey, Crawford, and Belt are all over 30 now. I don't see any of them stepping up to significantly improve in 2018.
They don't really have much pitching beyond Bumgarner and Cueto.
Dodgers are going to sit pretty and are unlikely to acquire anyone of note, as they want to stay under the luxury tax this year. Still, they're bringing back mostly the same team they fielded in 2017 -- minus some dead weight they traded -- and there's not likely to be much degradation, given that the stars of the team were mostly young. The only two key Dodgers players who are getting up there are Turner (33) and Hill (38), but they will likely still perform well in 2018, provided they remain healthy.
Dodgers should win the NL West again in 2018. Where they go from there is anyone's guess.