San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants need starting pitching, and they are reportedly taking an "incredibly aggressive" approach to the position this offseason.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported as much Monday, noting Logan Webb was the only starting pitcher who is currently slated into the rotation. "The expectation is that they will sign multiple starting pitchers in the coming days," Passan wrote while also pointing out San Francisco is a desirable location for free agents after a successful 2021 campaign.

It didn't take long for the team to follow that aggressive path:

The Giants finished with the best record in the league last season at 107-55, although they lost to the rival Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series.

Despite the early playoff exit, they exceeded expectations and were aggressive at the trade deadline, acquiring 2016 NL MVP Kris Bryant. They will reportedly remain aggressive this offseason as they look to build a team capable of competing with the powerhouse Dodgers once again in 2022.

Yet the only hope to realistically contend with Los Angeles is by addressing the pitching.

San Francisco already declined Johnny Cueto's $22 million club option, and Kevin Gausman and Alex Wood are free agents. Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi called the rotation the team's "No. 1 priority" this offseason, per Maria Guardado of MLB.com.

Guardado noted San Francisco has a "reputation for helping free-agent starters rebuild their value" thanks to director of pitching Brian Bannister and pitching coaches Andrew Bailey and J.P. Martinez, which could contribute to Passan's report that players want to join the team.

The rotation was just Webb prior to San Francisco's decision to re-sign Anthony DeSclafani, although that is a solid starting point.

The 25-year-old finished the 2021 season with a 3.03 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 158 strikeouts in 148.1 innings and appears primed to serve as a key contributor for the Giants in the immediate future. Who will be lined up around him and DeSclafani in the rotation is the bigger question.       

Brandon Belt will remain with the San Francisco Giants after reportedly accepting the team's $18.4 million qualifying offer, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

The first baseman has spent his entire 11-year MLB career with the Giants and will be back for at least one more before potentially hitting free agency in 2022.

Belt is coming off a huge 2021 season, hitting a career-high 29 home runs in just 97 games. He added a .274 batting average and .378 on-base percentage, while his team-high .975 OPS helped San Francisco produce the best record in baseball (107-55).

This production followed up a strong 2020 for Belt, who hit .309 with nine home runs in 51 games during the shortened season. 

The only thing that has slowed the hitter down in this stretch are injuries. A knee injury kept him out of the lineup for all of July while a fractured thumb put him on the injured list at the end of the regular season.

Last season was the fourth time in the last eight years Belt has missed at least 50 games.

The 33-year-old will look to stay healthy in 2022 as he tries to build off his success of the past few years.

If he stays on the field, the one-time All-Star can help the Giants remain a World Series contender going forward. Even with other question marks entering free agency, the team returns key hitters like Mike Yastrzemski and Evan Longoria as well as most of the elite bullpen that helped carry the squad throughout 2021. 

The team will need all the help it can get to stay ahead in the difficult NL West.

After leading the San Francisco Giants to a first-place finish in the National League West, Gabe Kapler has been named NL Manager of the Year. He finished with 28 of 30 first-place votes from members of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

San Francisco was predicted to finish below the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres in the NL West, but the Giants exceeded expectations throughout the year.

Kapler, in just his second season with San Francisco, guided the Giants to a franchise-record 107 wins in 2021 en route to their first NL West title since 2012. Before the 2021 campaign, the Giants finished below .500 for four straight seasons. 

The 46-year-old beat out Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell and former St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Schildt for the honor. He became the first Giants manager to win the award since Dusty Baker in 2000. Baker also won in 1993 and 1997. 

On an interesting note, Bruce Bochy, who led the Giants to three World Series titles and own more than 1,000 games never won a Manager of the Year award. Kapler took over for Bochy in 2020. 

The news comes after Kapler agreed to a contract extension that runs through the 2024 season. His original deal ran through the 2022 campaign. 

For the second straight year, Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash has won the American League Manager of the Year award. He finished with 19 of 30 first-place votes. 

Cash is the first manager in the AL, and second overall, to win the award in consecutive seasons. Former Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox won the NL award in 2004 and 2005.

This is also the fourth time a Rays' manager has received the honor, as Joe Maddon also won in 2008 and 2011. 

Cash took over as manager in Tampa Bay in 2015 and has led the team to four straight winning seasons and three straight playoff appearances, including a World Series appearance in 2020. 

The Rays finished with the best record in the AL East for the second straight season at 100-62. Those 100 wins are a franchise record. 

Cash beat out Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais and Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker to win the award. Charlie Montoyo (Toronto Blue Jays), Alex Cora (Boston Red Sox), Tony La Russa (Chicago White Sox) and A.J. Hinch (Detroit Tigers) also received votes. 

The San Francisco Giants announced Friday that they have extended manager Gabe Kapler's contract through the 2024 season.

Kapler, who has managed San Francisco for two seasons, is fresh off leading the Giants to an MLB-best 107-55 regular-season record.

The former MLB outfielder played in the bigs from 1998-2010. He worked as the Los Angeles Dodgers' director of player development before the Philadelphia Phillies signed him to be their manager in Oct. 2017.

Kapler was in Philadelphia for two seasons, amassing a 161-163 before being fired. San Francisco then hired Kapler, who led the Giants to a 29-31 record in 2020.

San Francisco's fantastic 2021 campaign has now led to a well-deserved contract extension for the 46-year-old as the Giants, who fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series, will be seeking their fourth World Series win since 2010.

Kapler enters the 2022 season with the unique challenge of piloting a team that just lost a franchise legend in Buster Posey, who retired Nov. 4.

The three-time World Series champion just came off a season where he guided a pitching staff with a 3.24 ERA (second-best in the NL) while hitting .304 (.889 OPS) with 18 home runs and 56 RBI.

The Giants also had the second-oldest MLB roster by average age (28.5 years) last season, per ESPN.com, so it's possible players take a dip in their individual performances in 2022 as they advance in their careers.

Still, Kapler just led a 107-win team, and the Giants should likely be competitive deep into the season at worst in 2022. At any rate, he appears to be the person for the job as San Francisco looks to string together another prosperous era in the Bay Area.

Johnny Cueto's six-year run with the San Francisco Giants has likely come to an end. 

Per MLB Network's Jon Heyman, the Giants declined the 35-year-old's $22 million option for the 2022 season on Friday. 

Coming off a surprising performance in 2021, the Giants have a lot of major roster decisions to make this offseason. Brandon Belt, Kris Bryant, Kevin Gausman, Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood and Scott Kazmir are all unrestricted free agents.

All of those questions likely made it easier for the Giants to turn down Cueto's salary. However, they could still bring him back, potentially at a reduced price, next season. 

Even though the Giants were on the fringes of playoff contention in 2020 with an expanded field, their 29-31 record didn't seem to indicate they were trending in the right direction after winning 77 games in 2019. 

Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi told NBC Sports Bay Area's pregame show (h/t Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area) in August 2020 there were going to be a number of factors considered before the team would decide whether to make any trades.

"We're trying to evaluate our team, and there are maybe areas where as an organization we have some surpluses, where we have some needs," he said. "Not every trade is going to necessarily be a trade of a 'rental' or some of the typical types of trade scenarios that you get." 

Well, the 2021 season turned out to be a massive success in the Bay Area. The Giants won the NL West for the first time in nine years with a 107-55 record. Cueto was effective enough with a 4.09 ERA through 21 starts, but he missed the final month of the season and the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with an elbow injury. 

Heading into free agency at 35 (he'll be 36 in February) leaves a lot of uncertainty for the Dominican. He also has to prove he can stay healthy over the course of a full season after appearing in just 46 games over the past four years combined. 

Cueto will likely be able to pitch in the back of a rotation for many teams seeking help at the position. His innings should be carefully managed because of his limited workload in recent years, but there's some upside left in him as a No. 4 or 5 option.

As a two-time All-Star and one-time World Series champion with a career ERA of 3.45, it stands to reason that Cueto will garner at least some interest on the free-agent market.

Buster Posey is riding off into the sunset after a fantastic 12-year career with the San Francisco Giants. 

Before he walks away from the organization as a player for good, Posey did say one final goodbye to Giants fans in a message released on Friday:

It came as a surprise to many on Wednesday when Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reported Posey was going to announce his retirement.  

After sitting out the 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Posey turned in one of the best years of his career in 2021. The 34-year-old hit .304/.390/.499 with 18 homers and 56 RBI in 113 games. 

The Giants were one of the biggest surprises in Major League Baseball in 2021. They won a franchise-record 107 games during the regular season and their first National League West title since 2012. 

During a press conference on Thursday, Posey explained he was walking away because of the physical toll that comes with playing catcher and a desire to spend more time with his family. 

"I want to do more stuff from February to November with family," Posey told reporters. "Physically, it's much harder now. It's hard to enjoy it as much when there is physical pain that you're dealing with."

Posey played a significant role in San Francisco's run of success during the previous decade. He was selected No. 5 overall by the Giants in the 2008 MLB draft. 

Over the course of Posey's 12 seasons in the big leagues, he won three World Series titles, the 2012 NL MVP and 2010 NL Rookie of the Year award. The Florida State alum was named to the All-Star team seven times, won four Silver Slugger awards and a Gold Glove in 2016.    

After announcing his retirement from Major League Baseball, longtime San Franciso Giants catcher Buster Posey explained his decision to hang up the cleats while meeting with reporters Thursday. 

"I kind of went into this last season feeling like it might be my last," Posey said. "... I think it really allowed me to, not that you don't give it your all, but really, really empty the tank this year like I never have before."

The Giants planned to exercise Posey's $22 million club option for the 2022 season before he made his announcement. The 34-year-old signed an eight-year, $159 million extension with San Francisco in March 2013.

Posey struggled at points after signing that contract. He underwent hip surgery in 2018 and sat out the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season to care for his newly adopted newborn twins. 

There were questions about whether he would return for the 2021 season after sitting out in 2020, but Posey told reporters that he decided to play another year "to prove to myself that I can still play this game at the highest level," per 95.7 The Game.

The 2021 campaign was one of his best, too, as he hit .304/.390/.499 with 56 RBI and 18 home runs in 113 games as the Giants captured their first National League West title in nine years. 

Given his success in 2021, many thought Posey would return for the 2022 campaign. However, while speaking with reporters Thursday, the 2012 NL MVP said it was hard to enjoy playing baseball when dealing with a lot of pain from ankle and hip injuries, per Grant Lodes of KRON4 News. He added that he also wants to be able to spend more time with his family. 

Posey goes down as one of the best catchers in MLB history, and many are already discussing whether he should make the Hall of Fame. The Georgia native won NL Rookie of the Year in 2010, NL MVP in 2012 and a Gold Glove in 2016. He is also a seven-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger, three-time World Series champion and a batting title winner. 

Seven of nine players who have caught at least 1,000 games, recorded 1,500 hits and finished with a career OPS+ of 120 are in the Hall of Fame, per FanGraphs. The only two that aren't currently enshrined in Cooperstown are Posey and Jorge Posada, who ended his career in 2011.

It's hard not to include Posey in the Hall of Fame conversation, especially when talking about catchers. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.    

Buster Posey is a San Francisco Giants legend, but his time with the team and in Major League Baseball is apparently coming to an end.

Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reported Posey plans to announce his retirement Thursday.

This comes after Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported in August the Giants intended to bring him back and were "more likely" to sign him to a new multiyear deal than simply exercising the $22 million club option on his contract for 2022.

Posey's MLB career started in 2009, and he finishes with a slash line of .302/.372/.460 to go with 158 home runs and 729 RBI.

He will forever be a Giants icon with an incredible resume that includes three World Series titles, a National League MVP, a NL Rookie of the Year, four Silver Sluggers, a Gold Glove, a batting title and seven All-Star selections.

Despite that track record, he was somewhat of a question mark coming into the 2021 campaign.

After all, Posey struggled in 2019 compared to his elevated standards when he slashed .257/.320/.368 with seven home runs and 38 RBI and then opted out of the shortened 2020 campaign.

That put plenty of pressure on the 2021 season when he looked to rediscover his old form as one of the best overall players in the league and secure his hefty option year on his deal. He responded in kind as an All-Star who slashed .304/.390/.499 with 18 home runs and 56 RBI.

Posey was a veteran leader for a Giants team that was among the best in the league throughout the season while surpassing expectations as the National League West champions.

The showing figured to be perfect timing for the veteran with the contract status looming, but he will instead head into retirement.

The 34-year-old was a generational talent who hit for average, provided power, managed star-studded pitching staffs and delivered key October hits during a Hall of Fame-caliber career.

Baseball's all-time home run king is still a valuable name in the sports memorabilia world.

Sports Collectors Digest announced Barry Bonds' 500th home run ball sold for $303,277 at the company's fall premier auction. The announcement revealed it "led memorabilia sales," although a 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner card sold for more than $1.1 million.

Though Bonds was linked to performance-enhancing drugs during his career, he is also arguably the greatest hitter in Major League Baseball history.

He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 through 1992 before joining the San Francisco Giants for the rest of his career, which lasted through 2007. He finished his career with a record 762 home runs and also set the single-season mark when he launched 73 long balls in 2001.

Bonds won seven MVPs during an illustrious career that also featured eight Gold Gloves, two batting titles, 12 Silver Sluggers and 14 All-Star selections.

He hit his 500th home run during the 2001 season against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The San Francisco Giants have made it a priority to bring back veteran catcher Buster Posey for a 13th season, Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said Monday, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).

The Giants plan to exercise Posey's $22 million club option for the 2022 season, provided the 34-year-old wants to continue playing. 

"He is, in our estimation, the best catcher in baseball this year," Zaidi said. "Obviously want to have conversations with Buster and continue to have internal conversations about that, but having him on this team next year is a high priority."

Posey signed an eight-year, $159 million extension in March 2013. The contract was the second-largest signed by a catcher at the time. At points during his current deal, it didn't seem like San Francisco would be interested in picking up his 2022 option. 

The former MVP underwent hip surgery in 2019 and sat out the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season to care for his newly adopted newborn twins. 

However, Posey looked rejuvenated during the 2021 campaign, which was his best since 2017. He hit .304/.390/.499, with 56 RBI and 18 home runs in 113 games as San Francisco captured the National League West title for the first time since the 2012 season. 

Despite his success this year, the three-time World Series champion wouldn't commit to returning for the 2022 campaign following San Francisco's Game 5 National League Division Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

"I'm definitely just going to take some time with my wife, talk to her and be able to be a full-time dad of four kids for the first time in a while," he said, per NBC Sports Bay Area. "Yeah, just kind of take it slowly and see how things progress."

If Posey decides to retire this winter, the Giants will rely on Curt Casali and the No. 16-ranked prospect in baseball Joey Bart during the 2022 season. 

Casali appeared in 77 games for San Francisco this season, hitting .210/.313/.350 with five home runs and 26 RBI. The 32-year-old will be entering his ninth season in 2022. 

Bart, meanwhile, has limited experience at the big league level. In 35 career games across two seasons, the 24-year-old slashed .239/.291/.321 with eight RBI and no home runs. 

Bart spent most of the 2021 season in Triple-A, hitting .294/.358/.472 with 10 home runs and 46 RBI in 67 games.