© Stan Szeto | 2018 Sep 12
With the free agency period officially beginning on Nov. 3, four Giants are scheduled to hit the open market this Sunday. OF Gregor Blanco, OF Hunter Pence, C Nick Hundley, and SP Derek Holland will all see their contracts expire.
You can strike Pence off the list immediately as a possible candidate to return. It was clear at the end of last season that the Giants would not be re-signing the fan-favorite who made $18.5 million last year while hitting .226 with a .590 OPS. Though it won’t be with the Giants, Pence has made it clear that he has no plans to retire, and plans to play winter ball at the end of November.
For the other three, things are a little more complicated:
Derek Holland
Holland, 32, is coming off his best season since 2013, and seemed to resurrect a fading career in 2018. Holland led the Giants in starts (30) and strikeouts (169) all while posting an impressive 3.57 ERA.
The Giants would probably like to bring Holland back considering the amount of question marks facing the rotation heading into the next few seasons. Johnny Cueto is out, Madison Bumgarner is in the final year of his deal, Jeff Samardzija is coming off an injury riddled season. Not to mention that San Francisco doesn’t have a ton of young arms waiting in the wings, aside from Dereck Rodriguez and Andrew Suarez.
Holland has expressed interest to return as well, but this is also probably Holland’s last chance to cash out on the open market. If he receives a generous offer that the Giants are unwilling to match, he may be tempted to take it.
Nick Hundley
Hundley also expressed interest in returning for a third season after another solid campaign in San Francisco. A Willie Mac Award winner in 2017, Hundley is probably likely to return on another one-year deal, considering the question marks surrounding Buster Posey’s ailing hip.
A long-term deal seems unlikely, however. Youngster Aramis Garcia was surprisingly effective after being called up in September, and is probably the back-up catcher of the future. Not to mention last year’s first-round pick Joey Bart, who the Giants expect to take over as an everyday starter at the position in the next few years.
If Hundley wants to be back he probably will be, but it’ll also probably be his last season in Orange and Black.
Gregor Blanco
Bruce Bochy believes Gregor Blanco would make a great coach, and that’s exactly what he’ll be if he joins the Giants in spring training, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Blanco has expressed a desire to play next year, but after spending most of 2018 in Triple-A, it’s probably more likely he enters the next stage of his career in 2019.