The Giants have stated their case, and now they’ll wait to hear the verdict.
As San Francisco general manager Bobby Evans gears up for the Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida next week, Evans will wait patiently as two superstars weigh their options.
The first is a known commodity, 2017 National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton, who will move from the Miami Marlins to the Giants if Stanton agrees to waive his full no-trade clause. The second is a mystery, a two-way Japanese superstar who is among the most sought-after free agents in baseball this winter, but a player who has never stepped foot on a Major League diamond. That’s 23 year-old Shohei Ohtani, who Evans discussed at length on KNBR on Wednesday.
“Just an impressive young man, he’s 23 years old, grew up in a small city in Japan and at 18, we were scouting him along with other teams and he got drafted in Japan by the Nippon Ham Fighters, and came through their development system,” Evans told Gary & Larry on 680. “He contemplated, even at 18, coming to the states because that was a goal of his.”
Just days after meeting with Stanton and a representative of his in Southern California, Evans and a team from the Giants’ front office gathered to pitch Ohtani on the idea of signing with San Francisco. Though many analysts believe Ohtani is a natural fit for an American League team that would allow him to pitch in its rotation and serve as a designated hitter, Evans and the Giants have crafted a plan that would allow Ohtani to pitch and play the outfield in San Francisco.
Though Evans said the Giants haven’t made Ohtani any guarantees, the franchise considers him a two-way player, and will not attempt to sway him to give up pitching or hitting should he sign.
“I don’t know what clubs are per se guaranteeing,” Evans said. “Shohei Ohtani is going to play both ways, he’s going to be a hitter and he’s going to be a pitcher. So I don’t think there’s any club that’s talking to him that’s looking at him one way or the other so I would expect all clubs to be looking at him to play both sides of the ball.”
Ohtani has spent the past five seasons playing both ways in the Japan Pacific League, but was hampered by injuries last season. After playing in 104 games as a 21-year-old in 2016, Ohtani dealt with leg injuries that limited him to just 65 games as a hitter and 25.1 innings as a pitcher in 2016.
Though Evans admitted it would take time for Ohtani to be comfortable playing a full season of Major League games, the Giants think Ohtani could serve the team well in the outfield.
“He played outfield in Japan, he’s very athletic, he’s got quick feet, a very athletic body, he’ll service well in the outfield,” Evans said. “He did have some lower leg injuries as well as only pitched 25 innings last year so it will be a build up physically for whatever club he plays for he’ll have to build back up.”
Because San Francisco would still use Ohtani as a pitcher, playing the two-way star in left field might make the most sense for a National League team looking to spare stress on Ohtani’s arm. Evans, however, said the franchise would wait to determine the makeup of its outfield before slotting Ohtani into a position, and didn’t rule out the possibility of lining him up in center field.
“It ultimately depends on our outfield makeup, but we see his ability to play all three (positions),” Evans said. “That’s very flexible for us. There’s certainly advantages to left field in our left field, but we’re not pigeon-holing him to one spot right now.”
What would Ohtani’s role with the Giants’ pitching staff look like if he signed with San Francisco? Because Ohtani has never thrown more than 160 innings in a season, Evans said the Giants would be initially reluctant to pencil him in as a regular member of a five-man rotation. Instead, manager Bruce Bochy could build in extra rest days for Ohtani and other members of the Giants’ staff, and use Ohtani as a starter on a once-a-week basis, much like he’s used to in Japan.
“He’s been starting once a week in Japan, so he starts every seventh day,” Evans said. “It’s a little different over there so I don’t know that you would expect him to come over here and start every fifth day. Our kids, even in the Minor Leagues, we don’t start them but every six days so I wouldn’t expect him to come over here and pitch a whole lot more frequently than he did over there.
Evans said the scouts the Giants sent to Japan observed Ohtani as the league’s best hitter and as the league’s best pitcher, so San Francisco made clear during its pitch meeting with Ohtani and his representatives earlier this week that he would be welcome to continue hitting and pitching.
Evans also said the Giants’ All-Star catcher, Buster Posey, joined the team’s front office personnel during their meeting with Ohtani to provide additional perspective on playing in San Francisco. Evans said because Posey would serve as Ohtani’s catcher, Posey wanted to talk pitching with the coveted free agent.
“Buster was able to speak to our culture, our clubhouse, our intention to fold him in and Buster obviously being the catcher that would catch him wanted to talk a little bit of pitching with him and I think that went well,” Evans said.
Japanese media apparently received word that Posey was involved in recruiting Ohtani to the Giants, and Posey was featured on the cover of a Tokyo paper on Tuesday.
In the midst of negotiating with Japanese superstar pitcher/pos player, Shohei Otani – his mtg w/ @sfgiants brass & @BusterPosey was spotlighted in a Japanese newspaper. Can anyone tell me what it says, LOL? pic.twitter.com/eM8XTg3TGU
— Amy Gutierrez (@AmyGGiants) December 6, 2017
“There’s a great picture of Buster on the Tokyo sports section yesterday, I sent Buster a copy of it, it was pretty cool,” Evans said. “I think that Buster, when he met Shohei, Shohei quickly expressed to Buster that Buster has a great aura. He’s watched him obviously in the World Series and on TV, and he complimented him on his great aura which I think is reflective of the thoughtfulness and the humility of this great player. 23 years old playing in Japan yet still has a respect for the players over here including Buster. ”
While the Giants are determined to land Ohtani, Evans also told Gary & Larry that pursuing the Japanese superstar will not preclude San Francisco from attempting to acquire Stanton. The Giants are still very much involved in Stanton trade talks, and Evans said they have agreed to the terms of a deal with the Marlins that would sent Stanton to San Francisco if the Marlins’ right fielder opted to waive his no-trade clause.
To hear Evans’ full interview with Gary & Larry, click the podcast link below. To listen to Evans’ thoughts on Ohtani, skip ahead to the 6:48 mark.