San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi offered a positive update Friday regarding the team's talks with free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper.

According to Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle, Zaidi said, "There's mutual interest on both sides."

Henry Schulman and John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Zaidi, Giants manager Bruce Bochy and Giants president Larry Baer met with Harper in Las Vegas this week.

The Giants are seemingly making a play for Harper after rarely being mentioned as a suitor for his services throughout the offseason.

Harper has been closely linked to the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox and San Diego Padres, as well as a potential return to the Washington Nationals.

Along with All-Star infielder Manny Machado, Harper is somewhat surprisingly still available with spring training set to begin.

The 26-year-old Harper is a six-time All-Star and one-time National League MVP during his seven-year MLB career, and he is coming off a season that saw him slash .249/.393/.496 with 34 home runs and a career-high 100 RBI.

Since winning three World Series titles in five years from 2010-2014, the Giants have struggled in recent seasons.

Over the past four campaigns, San Francisco has just one playoff appearance. It has posted a losing record in each of the past two seasons as well, including a 73-89 mark in 2018.

Last season, the Giants ranked 29th in Major League Baseball in scoring, 29th in home runs and 25th in batting average.

Harper would provide the Giants with a massive offensive boost and a much-needed star in what may be the worst outfield in the entire league.

With Harper, Buster Posey, Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria supporting a starting rotation led by Madison Bumgarner, the Giants would have a chance to be far more competitive in the talented NL West than they have been in recent years.

The San Francisco Giants are reportedly "making a late play" to sign superstar free agent Bryce Harper, according to Randy Miller of NJ.com.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network confirmed the Giants' interest but noted the extent of their pursuit is not known after meeting with him.

That follows a report from Jim Bowden of The Athletic earlier in the week that suggested there were "mystery teams" interested Harper, beyond the usual suspects of the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals:

Harper, like Manny Machado, remains unsigned, which has brought free agency to a near halt as clubs wait for the market to be set.

The 26-year-old is likely seeking a historically lucrative contract. It's also rare that free agents this young and this good hit the market. Harper is a six-time All-Star, the 2012 Rookie of the Year and the 2015 NL MVP. 

He hit just .249 in 2018, though he added 34 homers, 100 RBI, 103 runs and 13 stolen bases, with a .393 on-base percentage and .496 slugging percentage. His combination of production, upside and marketability is hard to match, even if interested teams have slow-played negotiations.

The Giants are one of many clubs Harper would improve significantly. The team's projected outfield is extremely inexperienced, with Steven Duggar looking like the most obvious everyday starter, while Mac Williamson, Austin Slater and Chris Shaw will battle for the other two spots.

The Giants will likely address the position in free agency, even if Harper isn't the target. 

But for now, we wait. 

Former San Francisco Giants executive Peter Magowan died Sunday at the age of 76.

Henry Schulman and Sam Whiting of the San Francisco Chronicle reported the news, noting Magowan had recently gone into hospice care and underwent surgeries for prostate and liver cancer during the past few years.

Giants legend Willie Mays released a statement on Magowan, via David Lombardi of The Athletic:

Magowan was the CEO of Safeway from 1979 until 1993 and was a managing general partner of the Giants for 15 years. His tenure with the Giants started in March 1993 when his time as the CEO of Safeway ended.

Schulman and Whiting noted Giants fans remember the late executive as one of the most important people involved in keeping the team in San Francisco. Former owner Bob Lurie reached a deal with a group planning on moving the team to St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1992, but the National League rejected the sale.

Magowan and Larry Baer stepped in to organize a collection of partners to buy the club and keep it in San Francisco.

"Peter Magowan did save baseball for San Francisco," former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said in 2008, per Schulman and Whiting. "He should get credit for that. That's a fact. He got a beautiful ballpark built. When you look back at what he’s done in San Francisco, a town he loves, those are the two overriding things he did."

The ballpark Selig referred to was what is now known as Oracle Park. Magowan helped orchestrate the decision to move from Candlestick Park to a new waterfront stadium, and the team was able to use private funding in the process.

He and Baer threw out the first pitches when the stadium opened in 2000.

Magowan was also instrumental in signing Barry Bonds when the investment group took over the team following the 1992 season. Schulman and Whiting also pointed out he was known for sitting with the fans while wearing a business suit in Candlestick Park rather than in an ownership box.

Magowan will be inducted onto the Giants Wall of Fame on Feb. 9.

Drew Pomeranz signed with the San Francisco Giants, the team announced Wednesday.

According to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, Pomeranz and the Giants agreed to a one-year, $1.5 million deal, and Pomeranz can earn as much as $5 million from the deal if he hits all of his incentives.

The structure of Pomeranz's contract is indicative of his performance in 2018. The veteran left-hander made 26 appearances and finished with a 6.08 ERA and 5.43 FIP, per FanGraphs. Among the 212 pitchers who logged at least 70 innings, he was 203rd in WAR (minus-0.3).

Pomeranz missed all of June and most of July while recovering from left biceps tendinitis. Upon returning to the mound, he made three starts before Red Sox manager Alex Cora moved him to the bullpen.

Little changed for the 30-year-old in his new role. In 22.2 innings of relief, Pomeranz allowed 14 earned runs and 12 walks while striking out 22 batters.

Despite his obvious flaws, NBC Sports Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic believes Pomeranz helps the Giants achieve one of their offseason aims:

The 2016 All-Star is worth a one-year, relatively cheap flier. Assuming he can stay healthy in 2019, he might be closer to the pitcher who was worth 3.2 WAR in 2017. Pomeranz had a 3.84 FIP while averaging 9.0 strikeouts and 3.6 walks per nine innings that season.

The risk for the Giants isn't very high if Pomeranz's performance doesn't improve or he once again battles injuries. The upside for San Francisco is that it potentially got a middle-of-the-rotation starter for a bargain price.

The San Francisco Giants' home stadium will now be called Oracle Park, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. The stadium had been named AT&T Park from 2006-2018. 

San Francisco reportedly signed a 20-year deal with Oracle, a computer technology corporation with headquarters in Redwood City, California, that begins this year, per Schulman.

AT&T's naming-rights deal with the Giants was set to end after 2019, but the company informed the Giants they were not going to seek a new contract, per Giants team president and CEO Larry Baer's comments to the Chronicle.

Sources told Ron Leuty of the San Francisco Business Times that Oracle "will pay eight figures—upwards of $10 million—per year to the Giants."

The stadium was known as Pac Bell Park during its debut 2000 season. The name changed to SBC Park in 2004 before becoming AT&T Park in 2006. Now Oracle Park, the Giants' home stadium will have had four names in 20 seasons.

The Giants' home opener will be Friday, April 5 against the Tampa Bay Rays.

If the Milwaukee Brewers expect to pry Madison Bumgarner from the San Francisco Giants, they'll have to part with young arms.

MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported Tuesday that San Francisco is seeking a package centered around young pitching—featuring Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff or Freddy Peralta—from Milwaukee.

Morosi previously reported that the Brewers and Giants have had "substantive communication" regarding Bumgarner this winter and that Milwaukee is the left-hander's most likely landing spot should he be traded.

Bumgarner is owed $12 million in 2019 and can be a free agent after the season.

The 29-year-old is coming off another solid year, as he went 6-7 with a 3.26 ERA in 21 starts. He struck out 109 batters in 129.2 innings. A broken hand delayed the start of his season after a line drive struck him during spring training.

Even though he has made just 38 starts over the last two years because of injuries, Bumgarner is a four-time All-Star and a three-time World Series champ. He is 8-3 with a 2.11 ERA in 16 career postseason appearances (14 starts), earning both the 2014 NLCS and World Series MVP awards.

Considering Milwaukee relied heavily on its bullpen during its NLCS run a season ago, a workhorse starter could put the club over the top.

Meanwhile, Burnes, Woodruff and Peralta are among the most promising arms in the Brewers' system.

Burnes impressed in his first taste of the big leagues in 2018, going 7-0 with a 2.61 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and .199 batting average against in 30 relief appearances. The 24-year-old right-hander struck out 35 batters in 38 innings and owned a 9.1-strikeouts-per-nine rate in the minors.

Woodruff debuted for Milwaukee in 2017. The 25-year-old right-hander is 5-3 with a 4.22 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP in 27 big league appearances, including 12 starts.

Peralta went 6-4 with a 4.25 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 16 appearances (14 starts) for the Brewers last year. The 22-year-old right-hander struck out an impressive 96 batters in 78.1 innings in his first season in the majors.

With the Giants coming off a 73-89 effort, dealing Bumgarner could set the team up for future success. Burnes, Woodruff and Peralta all have little service time, so they could be a part of San Francisco's long-term plan—although it's not clear what it would take to get a deal done.

The Milwaukee Brewers have reportedly had "substantive communication" with the San Francisco Giants about trading for pitcher Madison Bumgarner.

Jon Paul Morosi of MLB.com reported Milwaukee is Bumgarner's next home should the Giants choose to move on from their four-time All-Star. Morosi added that San Francisco would be seeking young pitching, such as Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff or Freddy Peralta, in return.

Bumgarner, 29, will be an unrestricted free agent next winter. He's due $12 million in 2019.

The Giants are coming off a 73-89 season and are in the midst of a rebuild. They hired Farhan Zaidi to be their president of baseball operations in November. Zaidi comes over from the Los Angeles Dodgers and has served under Andrew Friedman and Billy Beane during his MLB career.

Bumgarner went 6-7 with a 3.26 ERA and 1.24 WHIP last season. While he's remained highly effective when on the mound, Bumgarner has missed extended parts of the last two seasons. He did not make his 2018 debut until June because of a fractured pinky finger.

The Brewers went 96-67 last season, winning the NL Central and reaching Game 7 of the NLCS before losing to the Dodgers. Milwaukee will bring back a majority of its core from that team and could see Bumgarner as a one-year rental who could push the team to World Series heights.

Bumgarner, should he have a fully healthy and productive season, is likely out of Milwaukee's long-term price range. 

Jhoulys Chacin is the only pitcher close to an ace the Brewers have on their roster at the moment. Getting a piece like Bumgarner to help fortify the rotation could swing the balance of power in the National League.