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Giants president of baseball operations Buster\u00a0Posey speaks with reporters Tuesday during the Major League Baseball’s general managers meetings in Las Vegas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
John Locher\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Giants president of baseball operations Buster\u00a0Posey speaks with reporters Tuesday during the Major League Baseball’s general managers meetings in Las Vegas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
John Locher\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
The San Francisco Giants<\/a> just finished up what could be baseball\u2019s last major gathering in a very, very long time. The recently concluded general manager meetings in Las Vegas were the last official date on the baseball calendar before Dec. 1, which is when the current collective bargaining agreement expires and when the owners are expected to lockout the players.\u00a0<\/p>\n What happens after that, and when baseball might resume, will be anybody\u2019s guess.<\/p>\n So how do the 97-loss Giants look heading into this great unknown? Like a team that\u2019s still trying to figure things out.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Giants, along with all teams, face some urgency in the coming weeks as they try to assemble a roster before Dec. 1 that might resemble what they want their team to look like whenever baseball reopens its doors. There might be an abbreviated spring training, a shortened season\u00a0\u2014 again, no one knows. But whenever baseball restarts, teams will want to be ready.<\/p>\n The Giants obviously have some big needs. Those 97 losses weren\u2019t a fluke. The most glaring holes are on the pitching staff: both starting pitching and relief. (Quickly shutting down Randy Rodriguez in the Arizona Fall League in his comeback attempt from Tommy John surgery was a reminder of just how much help they need.)<\/p>\n Will the Giants make any significant moves in the next couple of weeks? Will they sacrifice any of their young prospects to make a deal? President of baseball operations\u00a0Buster Posey<\/a> said he\u2019s trying to pull off a balancing act.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re trying to thread the needle,\u201d he said, \u201cof having the big league team in the spot they can win but also understanding that some of our top players in our system are probably two or three years away.\u201d<\/p>\n The Giants will never, ever, ever say they\u2019re in a rebuilding mode. But we\u2019ll say it: They should be in rebuilding mode. It seems like the perfect time. They\u2019re coming off a terrible season, one that only improved slightly and became a tad more interesting when the team\u00a0\u2014 mostly due to injury\u00a0\u2014 went younger. No one knows what next season will look like, but it may end up being truncated and weird. Seems like a perfect opportunity to rebuild and give those young prospects serious playing time.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a>
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