Report: Giants add catching depth, prepare for big arb class originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
LAS VEGAS — In terms of expectations, the Giants find themselves in an unfamiliar spot. After several quieter offseasons, they were perhaps the most talked about team at the GM Meetings at the Conrad resort on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip.
Can they pry Aaron Judge from the Yankees? Will they make a play for Carlos Correa? What about Trea Turner? Or, what about Judge and a shortstop, one rival exec asked one night as he stood in the lobby.
“They’re going to do something big,” he said. “I expect them to sign a player to a nine-figure deal.”
Expectations are sky-high and Judge talk will dominate the landscape until he signs. If you are behind, here’s a story about how the Giants have the wherewithal to make it happen. Here’s why the shortstop market is intriguing to a team with Brandon Crawford. And here’s what Brian Cashman said about his team’s best player, who officially hit the open market on Thursday afternoon.
There will be plenty of other, smaller moves this offseason, though. Not everything that’s said in Vegas has to stay there, so here are some notes from three days in a casino where the only thing more expensive than this year’s free agent class was the coffee at the lobby Starbucks:
— The Giants used 66 players this season, so there was a lot of work to be done on the 40-man roster before the start of free agency. They cleared out several spots on Wednesday:
On Thursday, the Giants also claimed catcher Meibrys Viloria and right-hander Drew Strotman from the Rangers. When you add in all the players who had to come off the 60-day IL — most notably Anthony DeSclafani and Alex Wood — the 40-man roster is currently full. The Giants like it that way, although guys will be DFA’d as bigger moves are made.
Of the additions, Diaz might be the most interesting. The former Marlin hit 23 homers in Triple-A and would have been called up late in the year if not for an injury.
The Giants have been telling rival teams that they’re in search of backup catching help, so, even with all the upcoming roster churn, one of Nuñez or Viloria should be in camp to compete with Austin Wynns. Both newcomers are left-handed hitters, something the staff has been trying to add behind Joey Bart.
— If you for some reason peruse the MLB.com transactions wire on a daily basis, you might have seen lefty reliever Scott Alexander show up as a…