Farhan Zaidi's explanation for SF Giants 2021-22 offseason doesn't add up

Farhan Zaidi was asked about the SF Giants approach to free agency after the 2021 season on The TK Show. His answer felt like a misdirection.

As the MLB offseason continues dragging –– or lagging –– along into the new calendar year, several avenues still exist for the SF Giants to improve their club ahead of Opening Day. However, any addition the team makes will likely fall short of the possible acquisitions they could’ve assembled during the offseason following their record-setting 107 victories in 2021, a time when the free-agent market featured numerous star-studded players. Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi was asked about that offseason during a recent interview on The TK Show with The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami.

Texas Rangers 2B Marcus Semien is forced out at second base. (2023) / Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

“You look at guys like Marcus Semien and Corey Seager –– even at first base you had Matt Olson traded and Freddie Freeman, as a free agent,” Zaidi said. “Those were positions where we have [Brandon] Belt and [Brandon] Crawford, who are like two legends here who had unbelievable years in 2021.”

Despite playing in just 97 games in 2021, Belt’s offensive production mirrored statistics from a few of the best left-handed hitters in baseball as he slashed .274/.378/.597 with a career-high 29 homers and .975 OPS.

Crawford was even more impressive, regaining his elite defense at shortstop and reaching career-highs of his own in almost every offensive category. He received a fourth-place finish for National League MVP for his efforts, along with a two-year contract extension. Belt was re-upped, too, accepting the qualifying offer to return for 2022.

However, Zaidi's focus on Belt and Crawford omits their prolonged injury histories and the open space on the depth chart. Even if Crawford was penciled in at shortstop, second base remained an open question. Incumbent starter Donovan Solano had left in free agency and the position was slated for a competition between Thairo Estrada and Mauricio Dubón. Estrada has become a solid everyday player, but also has positional versatility that would have helped him find playing time even if the Giants had added another middle infielder.

Even if Belt was penciled in at first base, the National League was expected to adopt the universal DH for the 2022 season. In other words, the Giants needed to fill another spot in the lineup. After all, that's why they added Joc Pederson.

Moreover, the Giants let stars Kevin Gausman and Kris Bryant walk in free agency to sign nine-figure deals with other teams and lost Buster Posey to retirement. There were some clear needs the Giants needed to address. They chose to do so via a lower-tier of free agency.

There most notable additions that offseason were Pederson, Alex Cobb, and Carlos Rodon, all signings that worked out incredibly well. However, the Giants entered the 2022 season with an Opening Day payroll less than $6 million higher than it had been the year before, when the team was coming off the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Moreover, it was roughly $24 million less than the Giants Opening Day payroll from 2015-2019, roughly the AAV of contracts signed that offseason by several prominent free agents.

Perhaps Zaidi's answer included this convoluteframing, though, because of circumstances beyond his control. Zaidi also mentioned the uncertainty surrounding the Giants’ payroll level at the time and alluded to the Bay Area’s slow resurrection following the pandemic.

“After 2021, we were looking at sort of two of the most difficult years we'd had financially, probably in the last 20-30 years of the organization,” Zaidi said. “The COVID year, obviously, teams were really operating in the red. Even in 2021, it's easy to forget now, but we started off early in the season with pretty limited attendance.”

In October 2020, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said the league would lose between roughly $2.8 billion and $3 billion in “operational losses,” an evaluation debunked by the actions of teams who continued to spend big during future offseasons despite the common narrative regarding their lack of revenue from pandemic-riddled seasons.