The offseason is just getting underway and there are some positional issues the San Francisco Giants front office will have to address over the winter. These specific positions include left field, second base, and third base.
Technically, those three positions could be filled right now by putting Casey Schmitt in left field, Marcelo Mayer at second base, and Matt Chapman at third base. But with a certain individual being traded, it'd open up a much better avenue for the team.
The main points of emphasis here is that Mayer needs to be playing everyday for proper development purposes while left field needs a serious upgrade. The question is, how do they free up left field while keeping Mayer at third base?
If you didn't already know, Giants' left fielders ranked dead-last this past season with a 72 wRC+ and -1.4 fWAR. Clearly signaling a need for an upgrade, or change of direction for the respective position.
Let's just say that come 2027, Mayer is the everyday second baseman and the Giants decide to move Schmitt out of left field. Except, where would Schmitt move to?
Here's where the problem could and will likely occur.
Since Mayer would be covering second, third base is where Schmitt would be headed in this hypothetical scenario. That would mean that the Giants would have to line up a trade to deal Matt Chapman .
Trading Chapman would be in the best interest for the Giants, but it'll be hard to move him because of several factors.
He's already 33 years old and his performance has started to decline over the past few seasons. Chapman is also under club control through the 2030 season, further complicating things.
Marcelo Mayer doubles in fifth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
While trading Chapman currently looks like a long-shot, it could certainly still happen.
Like mentioned before, trading Chapman would allow Schmitt to slide into a full-time position at third base while letting Mayer get the much-needed daily reps at second.
Mayer has yet to be given a serious runway at the major league level and the Giants would have the chance to do so. He's still only 23 years old and was the Boston Red Sox's first-round pick in 2021.
Unlikely, the Giants wouldn't have traded for Mayer just to occupy a bench role. It seems likely that he'll be the second baseman one way or the other.
The whole point of his scenario is to open up left field, while also loosening up the infield mix. It would also allow the Giants to turn the roster over to their younger core and prepare the way for up-and-coming prospects.
If left field were to open up, free agents Ian Happ, Randy Arozarena, Seiya Suzuki would be great, but second-tier guys like Randal Grichuk, Taylor Ward, and Ramon Laureano could be great bridge guys while Bo Davidson and Dakota Jordan continue to develop.
A trade of Chapman could lead to many positive things as discussed, but ultimately it'd help pave the path for the next wave of young Giants to make their way to the majors while helping settle some positional issues.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/giants/onsi as Ideal Scenario That Would Solve 3 Position Dilemmas for the Giants .
