What Will The San Francisco Giants Do?

The San Francisco Giants won yet another World Series in 2014 after sneeking in with the second wild card berth, but their offseason following the Championship season hasn't really gone as planned. First, they lost their Face of the Franchise in Allstar third baseman Pablo Sandoval to the Boston Red Sox. Then the Giants lost out in the bidding for ace pitcher Jon Lester. And most recently they lost out for the services of veteran third baseman Chase Headley. The Giants are now in a wait and see mode as the MLB offseason heads toward the Holidays. A source who works in the Giants front office told me this twitter messaging,"We are taking a patient approach now in filling our needs. We lost out on some very important targets, but we have others under our radar." The Giants' most glaring needs at this point are a third baseman and a starting pitcher. The Giants have discussed internally bringing in veteran infielder Asdrubal Cabrera to play third base. They have also toyed with the idea of signing veteran second baseman Rickie Weeks and teaching him third base. The Giants could get involved in the bidding for starting pitchers Max Scherzer and James Shields. The Giants met with Shields' agent at the winter meetings last week. The Giants have also had discussions with the Atlanta Braves for a blockbuster trade that would bring veteran third baseman Chris Johnson and allstar outfielder Justin Upton to San Francisco. They do have the prospects and resources to go after a starter like Cole Hamels or Cliff Lee. There are a number of options and routes the Giants could go to get their needs met and filled and get the team ready to defend their world championship in 2015, but whatever they do they will be patient in how they do it.                    Jared Pate               

Los Angeles Dodgers 2014 Winter Meetings

Los Angeles Dodgers 2014 Winter Meetings Moves

Theres no question about it the Dodgers have made the most moves at this years Winter Meetings. Here is a list of both additions and subtractions for Los Angeles.

Additions

Howie Kendrick   

Chris Hatcher                   

Jimmy Rollins                   

Brandon McCarthy               

Yasmani Grandal              

Joe Wieland                    

Zach Eflin

Enrique Hernandez

Austin Barnes

Subtractions

Matt Kemp

Dee Gordon

Dan Haren

Miguel Rojas

Tom Windle

Tim Federowicz

Cash was also exchanged both ways in different deals.

Heading into the offseason we all expected the Dodgers to deal one of their outfielders because of the loaded outfield and big contract they have. None of us including me expected to see this. After having an outstanding year in 2014, the dodgers made top headlines at the Winter Meetings. They sent Dee Gordon, Matt Kemp, and Dan Haren away as they added guys such as Howie Kendrick, Jimmy Rollins, Yasmani Grandal, and more. These deals all happening in 24 hours and shocked the entire baseball world. Now that the dust is starting to settle the Dodger roster starts to take shape. The dodgers also added a free agent pitcher in Brandon McCarthy. McCarthy has already been out west in Arizona so he knows the feel of how hard it is to win in that division. After all of these trades and signings my personal thoughts are the Dodgers are an improved team that wants to win now. As of after this year Uribe, Rollins, and Kendrick are all free agents for the Dodgers. With that being said it wouldn’t surprise me if the Dodgers get another pitcher such as a Cole Hamels. Los Angeles wants to win now and if they add another top pitcher they might win it all. After all this lineup is now one of baseball’s best. Not to forget about their stellar pitching staff. The one problem for the Dodgers is their bullpen. As we saw in the Division Series against St. Louis their bullpen couldn't get the job done. Chris Hatcher will help as he was acquired in the deal with Miami. One guy can’t fix their bullpen though that is why I believe the Dodgers aren’t done yet. Maybe another outfielder will go for a couple bullpen guys? In Hollywood anything is possible.

Chris Suddeth