Evan Longoria, the Giants’ starting third baseman, hasn’t played in a spring training game and won’t pick up a bat until after April 8’s season opener.
Longoria won’t be available against Miami to start the 2022 campaign, and it’s possible he’s sidelined for much longer than that. His finger will be “immobilized” for the next 10 days, the team said.
Longoria is entering his 15th season. He missed 81 games last year and spent significant time on the injured list in 2018 and 2019 — the last two full seasons. He’s still a valuable player, but if the Giants are serious about contending in the ultra competitive National League in 2022, they might have to make an upgrade. And that upgrade’s name is José Ramírez.
The switch-hitting Ramírez is in the middle of his prime at 29-years-old. He’s a perennial MVP candidate who scored and drove in over 100 runs last year while flashing a strong glove at the hot corner. He’d lengthen the Giants’ lineup, add infield depth and give the club a dynamic base runner who plays every day.
In each of his last four seasons — with 2020 extrapolated out to 162 games — Ramírez has hit at least 20 home runs and stolen at least 20 bases.
Ramírez’s combination of speed and power is historically rare. Since the sport was integrated in 1947, seven third basemen have had seasons with at least 30 home runs and 25 steals. Ramírez has done it twice.
| Player | Season | HR | SB |
| Chipper Jones (ATL) | 1999 | 45 | 25 |
| José Ramírez (CLE) | 2018 | 39 | 34 |
| Howard Johnson (NYM) | 1991 | 38 | 30 |
| Mike Schmidt (PHI) | 1975 | 38 | 29 |
| Howard Johnson (NYM) | 1987 | 36 | 32 |
| Howard Johnson (NYM) | 1989 | 36 | 41 |
| José Ramírez (CLE) | 2021 | 36 | 27 |
| Alex Rodriguez (NYY) | 2004 | 36 | 28 |
| Tommy Harper (MIL) | 1970 | 31 | 38 |
| David Wright (NYM) | 2007 | 30 | 34 |
He’s finished in the top-10 in WAR among position players four out of the past five seasons.
Ramírez, simply, is one of the best baseball players alive. And those players don’t become available too often.
Rumors have swirled around a possible Ramírez trade because if he and Cleveland can’t agree on an extension, the Guardians may look to recoup some value for him before his impending free agency in 2024 (Ramírez has a club option for the 2023 season).
Players of Ramírez’s caliber don’t come cheap, either. Cleveland would certainly ask for the Giants’ top prospects. It would likely take even more than “just” Marco Luciano or Luis Matos. San Francisco’s current front office hasn’t pulled off a trade like that yet, but that’s not evidence that they couldn’t if an opportunity presented itself.
A player like Ramírez would reset the Giants’ core. Longoria is 36. Brandon Crawford is 35. Brandon Belt is 33. The proverbial cliff is coming for them, whether it’s this year or not.
Ramírez would help the Giants contend immediately and align more with the core of the future — a core of Logan Webb, Carlos Rodón, Camilo Doval, Joey Bart and a string of promising prospects knocking on 24 Willie Mays Plaza’s door.
Even before Longoria’s injury, Ramírez would’ve been considered a dream option for SF. The news — and general concern over Longoria’s availability — should create some added urgency, though.
The Giants, on paper, were already thin on right-handed bats. They didn’t replace Buster Posey or Kris Bryant with a right-handed hitter. One of the reasons not to fret was Longoria, who posted a 1.088 OPS against southpaws last year.
San Francisco has internal options to replace Longoria’s production. The club showed that last year, when the team didn’t miss a beat as a freak shoulder injury sidelined the veteran for most of June and all of July.
But last year’s Giants won 107 games by playing .600 ball every month. Consistent excellence may be necessary again this year when the Dodgers, Braves, Mets and Padres each got better. Given Longoria’s importance as a right-handed hitter, even a few weeks without him could dig a serious hole.
That’s a testament both to Longoria’s value and the teams’ overreliance on him. Giving his April at-bats to a combination of Wilmer Flores, Jason Vosler, Mauricio Dubon, Thairo Estrada or Alex Blandino could be fine. But San Francisco might need more than fine.
While Ramírez would make any team that trades for him better immediately, not every team is one big bat away from World Series contention like SF appears to be.
It would be perfectly understandable — rational, even — to not blow up the farm system for Ramírez. Longoria might only miss a couple series, and the Giants have depth to absorb the blow.
But Ramírez, if available, is the type of player you push all the chips in for. If Longoria’s finger forces the front office’s hand, that wouldn’t be the worst thing.