Locked On Giants – Daily Podcast On The San Francisco Giants

Seiya Suzuki to the San Francisco Giants? The Japanese outfielder may be the Giants' top priority when the MLB lcokout finally comes to an end.

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick answers questions from listeners about the state of the SF Giants and the MLB lockout. Among the questions asked and answered are:

Do you think Seiya Suzuki will be the Giants' main right-handed-hitting free-agent target when the lockout ends? If not Suzuki or Nick Castellanos, which other free-agent hitters do we actually think Farhan Zaidi would be interested in adding?

Is Kris Bryant as good as gone, or is he more likely to come back?

How do you think expanded playoffs will affect teams? Are they abolishing the Manfred runner?

Do you think the players hold on their earlier threat that any loss of regular season games would result in them refusing expanded playoffs?

Who is YOUR #1 target, signing or trade, that you want to see the Giants make when the lockout ends (in 7 months)?

Your hot take: _______ will be the most likely Giant to get NL MVP votes in 2022.

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Opening Day is cancelled. Major League Baseball took the dramatic step of cancelling the season's first two series of the year yesterday, casting blame on the players for not accepting what they described as a very generous final offer.

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick breaks down what went wrong on the final day of negotiations in Florida, as the league and the players attempted to hammer out a deal that would save the scheduled start date of the 2022 season. After a 16.5-hour negotiating session the night before, there seemed to be real optimism that a deal could be struck before MLB's made-up deadline for "saving" Opening Day. But the league accused the players of "changing their tone" the next day (something the players vehemently dispute), and presented them with a "best and final offer" that never had a chance of being accepted.

Ben breaks down what was in the league's proposal, and how it differs from what the players are seeking. He also discusses additional ramificaitons that come from missed games, including the loss of pay for players (and revenue for teams), as well as issues of service time. Starting at 15 days missed, players will potentially start losing out on the ability to accrue a full year of service, even if a "full season" is played. These are major issues that will now need to be an additional component of the CBA negotiations. Both sides are likely to go their separate ways for some period of time, before ultimately reconvening to continue bargaining.

Ben also continues his tour of the NL West, today comparing the division's bullpens. Ben thinks the Dodgers' pen ranks at the top on paper, but has the Giants close behind. A rag-tag group made up of cast-offs and under-the-radar players, Ben thinks the Giants' bullpen (with the likes of Camilo Doval, Tyler Rogers, Jake McGee, and a deep cast of others) has the potential to be good again. They led the majors in ERA at 2.99 in 2021. Following the Dodgers and Giants, Ben has the Padres well above the D-Backs and Rockies, who feature two of the game's weaker 'pens.

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Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

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Sixteen and a half hours later...

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association had a marathon bargaining session on Monday (which bled into the early morning hours on Tuesday). No new CBA was reached, but there's real momentum towards a deal for the first time since the lockout began. On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick breaks down the latest on the lockout. Apparently, a 12-team expanded postseason has been agreed to in principle. Additionally, the penalties for exceeding the Competitive Balance Tax (also known as the "luxury tax") will remain the same. The league had been pushing for harsher penalties. Also likely to be in a new deal: a pre-arbitration bonus pool of at least $25 million (the players likely will need this to be at least $40-50 million), substantial increases to the league minimum salary, and a significant bump to the CBT threshold amounts. Although the sides remain apart, for the first time since the lockout began it's not that difficult to see an agreement being reached.

Ben also discusses the state of starting pitching in the NL West, and compares the Giants to their division rivals. While the Dodgers and Padres have good starting pitching on paper, both have significant question marks. Yu Darvish and Blake Snell were big offseason acquisitions last year, but neither was a real difference maker for the underperforming Padres. Meanwhile, Clayton Kershaw is a free agent and Trevor Bauer is a great unknown at this point for LA. The Giants have Logan Webb and three solid mid-rotation arms, but there is injury risk. The Rockies and D-backs are pretty clearly ranked fourth and fifth in Ben's interpretation.

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Built Bar

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BetOnline

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Mike Yastrzemski looked like an MVP candidate in the short 2020 season, but then came crashing down to earth in 2021. Will he bounce back in 2022, or continue to become less relevant to the San Francisco Giants?

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick answers questions from listeners about the state of the SF Giants. Among the questions asked and answered are:

Will Mike Yastrzemski bounce back or continue to become less relevant to the team?

Thoughts on Evan Longoria having a big year and having his $13 million club option picked up in 2023. I think there’s a real possibility.

Is Camilo Doval the 9th inning guy to start the season?

Who’s the 5th starter?

Starting outfield best guess?

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Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

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Rock Auto

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Is Luis Matos a better prospect than Marco Luciano? Is Patrick Bailey a better prospect than Joey Bart? These questions would've once seemed crazy, but now there is a case to be made.

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick discusses the release of FanGraphs' Top 100 Prospects list. Matos potentially being better than Luciano isn't a knock on young shortstop; rather, it's a credit to the young center fielder, who just had an unreal season for Low-A San Jose. Luciano, Matos, and Kyle Harrison are three very exciting young prospects, all ranking in the Top 38, in the lower levels of the Giants' system, and 2022 is a crucial year when projecting their futures, and how fast they'll move through the system.

Moving up the system, the Bailey vs. Bart discussion has never been more relevant. We all was Bart's downside when he struggled mightily during his major league debut in 2020. That performance, along with continued swing decision issues in Triple-A in 2021, put him on the very outside of FanGraphs' list. In fact, he came in at No. 113 out of 114 players ranked. Bailey, meanwhile, comes in at No. 76 after an explosive end to his 2021 campaign, which came after a demotion to Low-A from High-A, where he started the season. Sandwiched in between Bailey and Bart is Heliot Ramos, who comes in at No. 99 on the Top 100 list.

Ben also gives his condolences to the Kuiper family. The Giants announced yesterday that Duane Kuiper's beloved wife, Michelle, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday morning. She is survived by her husband Duane, as well has her two children, Cole and Dannon. Locked On Giants extends our deepest sympathies to the Kuipers during this difficult time.

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Built Bar

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BetOnline

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A bullpen of extremes was quietly among the most effective in baseball in 2021, and a big reason why the Giants won more games than any other team and their most in franchise history.

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick answers questions from listeners about the state of the San Francisco Giants. Among the questions asked and answered are:

You’ve talked about the Giants going after a starting pitcher or even some possible position players after the lockout ends. Do you think there are any bullpen arms they could consider making a move for or is the bullpen something they will work on if the need arises later on?

Mauricio Dubón comeback szn? I’ve seen a few of his workout vids.

When will the lockout end?

Speaking of the MLB lockout, Ben also talks about the latest in that regard. The league and the MLBPA are meeting all week in Juputer, Florida as they try to hammer out a deal before the unofficial deadline passes that would make starting the regular season on time difficult or impossible.

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Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

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Rock Auto

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Life without Longoria. Is it time for the San Francisco Giants to figure out what comes next at third base? Evan Longoria is finally entering the last year of his deal that the Giants inherited in a trade, and the future at the position is murky.

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick answers questions from listeners about the state of the SF Giants. Among the questions asked and answered are:

Now that Longoria has just one year left on his deal, is it possible for the Giants to stop thinking of him as an unmovable contract? Can we stop trying to find platoon partners for him and instead trade for/sign another cheaper and/or better long-term solution?

How likely is it that I’ll be able to use the current bookings I have for my kids & I to go watch Spring Training the 1st weekend in March?

Alex Pavlovic mentioned in a recent article that the Giants could look to add a LEFT handed bat at DH like Kyle Schwarber or Joc Pederson. Can the idea make sense if they also add a righty as well?

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Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Rock Auto

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Did the players just increase their demands? The MLB lockout marches on, and Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick has the very latest.

Ben explores the MLBPA's latest proposal to owners, in which they increased the amount of the pre-arbitration bonus pool from $100M to $115M. On first glace it may appear to be a bigger ask, but the devil is in the details. As Ben describes, the fact that the union is reducing its ask in terms of when players reach arbitration, this is actually a modest concession. The players had been asking for players to reach arbitration after two years of service, but in today's proposal they change it to the top 80 percent of players between two and three years of service (as it is now, the top 22 percent reach arbitration). Ben's quick math reveals that this is at least a $15M per year concession by the players.

Ben also discusses the latest with the competitive balance tax, aka the luxury tax. The league is proposing major changes to the penalties for teams exceeding various tiers above the threshold. Ben explains why these are such major changes, and why it's obvious that the players are not on board. The players are proposing a substantially increased threshold; the owners are proposing a slight increase that doesn't even keep up with rates of inflation or increased revenues. Essentially, MLB is proposing something that would effectively become a hard cap.

Finally, Ben gets into ESPN/Kiley McDaniel's Top 100 prospects list, which came out yesterday. He discusses the rankings for Marco Luciano, Luis Matos, Kyle Harrison, and Joey Bart. Overall it's a mixed bag. These are relatively disappointing rankings for Luciano and Bart, but relatively optimistic rankings for Matos and Harrison. Thankfully, the Minor Leagues aren't affected by the MLB lockout, so Minor League Spring Training and the Minor League season will proceed as normal.

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Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline..net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Rock Auto

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Today was supposed to be the day that San Francisco Giants pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training. But thanks to the MLB lockout, that's not happening. Spring Training is OFFICIALLY delayed.

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick details the latest with the MLB lockout. He talks about MLB's proposal on Saturday, and the MLBPA's response. Predictably, the players didn't come away pleased. This has been an ongoing theme during these negotiations. Notably, the two sides are still mostly talking about the same issues, they just disagree on the money. They continue to agree on the principle of a pre-arbitration bonus pool. The league proposed a pool of $15 million in its latest offer (up from $10M in its last); the players have proposed $100M (down from $105M in their first proposal). So the two sides are very far apart on the money.

They're also far apart on the Competitive Balance Tax (CBT), also known as the luxury tax. The league is proposing very modest increases, while also proposing harsher penalties for exceeding the threshold. The players, meanwhile, are proposing a substantial increase and are obviously not interested in harsher penalties for exceeding the threshold. Also in the league's proposal on Saturday was a modest increase in the league minimum salary (two options were presented: one a flat rate, the other a tiered rate based on service time).

Ben also discusses some of what's going on regarding rights and pay for Minor Leaguers. The league is arguing in a class action lawsuit that they shouldn't have to pay Minor League players during Spring Training, and that the players are the ones who benefit from the instruction. They paid someone $775 an hour to come to these conclusions, which is pretty bad optics for the league. Ben also talks about the fact that rights for Minor Leaguers has increasingly become a part of the mainstream conversation around the sport, which is undoubtedly a sign of progress. In recent years, because of pressure from advocates for Minor Leaguers, the league has agreed to increase the pay for MiLB players, and this year they will begin to guarantee housing.

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline..net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

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The San Francisco Giants must do this when the lockout ends. They got a lot of their offseason work done prior to the lockout, but there's still much work to do. Their starting rotation, while solid, is thinned out with the loss of Kevin Gausman to the Blue Jays. Logan Webb, followed by Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood, and Alex Cobb, features four quality starters, but Ben believes they need to add another starter who is a clear upgrade over Tyler Beede, who's out of Minor League options and currently projects as the fifth starter. Carlos Rodón, Clayton Kershaw, Sonny Gray, Luis Castillo, Tyler Mahle, Sean Manaea, Chris Bassitt, and Frankie Montas are the names Ben is looking at.

On the position player side, the Giants must add at least one significant piece, Ben believes. Buster Posey has retired and Kris Bryant is a free agent. Seiya Suzuki, Bryant, Tommy Pham, Nick Castellanos, and Michael Conforto are among the names Ben is circling. Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi even said in November that a right-handed hitter with good at-bat quality and power fits their team, but as of yet they have not addressed it.

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