To all the boys I’ve loved before

A look at how the 2023 Giants diaspora are doing in 2024 as Joey Bart rolls into town

Old friends, or spurned ones? It’s part of the business of baseball that familiar faces become unfamiliar ones. The business of life as well. People come and go. Fandom like any other relationship comes with its doubts, fretful wonderings, and insecurities.

A month in with these San Francisco Giants and all these new players—it’s only natural to check-in on those that were. Like searching up an old elementary school friend, or an ex-romantic partner on social media to see what they were up to: Curiosity, nostalgia, the natural inclination to imagine what could’ve been, and of course, the need for sweet vindication. Bullet dodged, I knew that one was a bad egg.

Sean Manaea took the mound against the Giants on Wednesday with more than just a new jersey—the locks lost, the face free. He proceeded to stumble his way through 4 ⅔ scoreless innings. He did not pitch well, and he pitched as well as anyone could, leaving the mound with his ex-team bageled on the scoreboard.

Manaea opted out of his contract with San Francisco after an impressive September display as a starter. His return back to Oracle was bittersweet. His moody display on the bench after being pulled, even gently knocking his forehead against the dugout railing, probably had something to do with the fact that he was an out away from being the pitcher-of-record and in-line for the win — but I like to imagine that it was a manifestation of his inner torment. His regret about leaving, his longing to return—some things can’t be undone. The hair is his penance. The hair is a metaphor!

This is what we must tell ourselves rather than admit our own faults in the relationship. Should San Francisco have given back Manaea’s starting role sooner than September? Would that have convinced him to stay? Did we want him to stay? In December, would we have chosen him over Robbie Ray, or Blake Snell? Not bloody likely!

So as fans, how we feel about the player isn’t particularly complicated: we can miss the Manaea mane and be pleased (Wednesday excluded) that he’s doing well. In four of his five starts he’s limited opposing bats to two-runs or fewer. His 3.33 ERA (3.44 FIP) inflated by a 6-run bust against Kansas City. His K/9 rate is similar to his rate in 2023 (near 10) while his walk-rate (as we saw) is elevated. The difference maker in his first 5 starts has been his ability to keep the baseball in the park. It plagued him early in 2023, contributing to his relegation to a bullpen role. Last season he had surrendered five homers in his first five appearances (3 starts) —so far he’s only allowed one.

Ross Stripling and Manaea seemed tied at the shoelaces last April. Both new arms in the orange-and-the-black, both supposedly key pieces in San Francisco’s impenetrable pitching depth, and both kept tripped over themselves early. Strip never did recover from his first start in New York in which he allowed 3 homers. Fans are still shell-shocked from the shoe-scraping sinker that Salvador Perez golfed over the wall in April for a game-tying 3-run blow in an eventual loss to Kansas City.

That was and wasn’t Stipling’s fault, but we never got over it, and because of it, no one said boo when he was traded to the Oakland A’s for cash and outfielder Jonah Cox. The East Bay air has served him well … to a certain degree. He’s 0-5 in his first five starts with a 5.34 ERA (which, don’t get me wrong isn’t great) but those results belie his process. A 3.88 xERA and 3.36 FIP are so far much improved from last year’s totals with 0.63 HR/9 (2 homes in 28.2 IP) being the most salient.

Whether you’re dealing or not, to be on the mound at all is a gift. Anthony DeSclafani, dealt with Mitch Haniger, to the Mariners for Robbie Ray in early January was subsequently passed on to the Twins with three others for Jorge Polanco at the end of that month. At the season’s eve, he was placed on 60-day IL then shut down for the season after surgery to repair his throwing arm’s flexor tendon. Giant to Mariner to Twin to a non-starter in months. It feels cruel to say, but San Francisco came out on top there: a Cy Young arm in return for a dead one.

To be fair, no arm in that transaction is presently throwing, so things could certainly shake out differently in due time. The only one involved in that deal making any type of waves at the moment is Haniger.

Over 23 games (86 AB) he’s hit 3 homers and drove in 14 runs—not blindingly good numbers, but significant since both are exactly half of what he did in 61 games (211 AB) as a Giant. Haniger is happy to be back in Seattle, and the Giants, I’m sure, are happy that he’s there instead of continuing to complicate an outfield desperate to simplify after last year.

Michael Conforto is off to a hot start as the everyday left-fielder, the platoon of Austin Slater and Mike Yastrzemski are limping along. Yaz has shown some signs of life at the plate and Slater is trying a new Civil War general look with his face. An infield single, picked off at second at a hinge in the game—I’m not sure if it’s working. But I’m not filled with regret yet—the longest tenured Giant deserves a little bit of leeway. Besides, swap Haniger for Slater in that trade and nothing changes. A lateral move, and not one invested in the future given the young, corner outfield depth San Francisco has waiting in the wings.

But these have just been flings so far, as well as no-brainers. Those players had neither the history with the Giants as these next few, nor were they axed so unceremoniously with such little return.

The relationship with J.D. Davis ended about as poorly as any, with the front office looking as miserly and as manipulative as they come. First, squeezed for chump change in arbitration dealings that he eventually won, but because of a loophole was not owed the full 6.9 million when he was effectively terminated after signing Matt Chapman.

Davis cleared waivers, signed with the Oakland Athletics, and started the season in the East Bay with a righteous and vengeful swing, going 8-for-23 during a 6-game hitting streak. The A’s could give him (like they could give Stripling, or Alex Wood, sporting a 6.59 ERA over 6 starts) what the Giants could not: a starting job. In 14 games (before a groin injury landed him on the IL on April 14th) Davis had made at third, first and DH while occupying anywhere from the 2-to-6 spot in their batting order.

As messy as the Davis thing was, the Giants are better off with Chapman at the hot corner. Davis is cheaper, yes—but it ain’t my money.

As much as he improved defensively last year, there’s no comparison with the insight and instinct Chapman has at third. It’s a skill that smooths over any wrinkles of frustration made at the plate, while Davis doesn’t have that luxury. His excellence at third regressed in the second half, and continues to do so (-1.4 Def on Fangraphs), while his offensive production slumped to .196/.255/.373 (55 PA) before his injury. Chapman is currently on a different trajectory with a 6-game hitting streak going into Friday’s game as well as five doubles in his past 9 games.

The overall offensive performance from LaMonte Wade Jr. makes the Davis departure even more clear. There was just no room for him. Though regrettable, especially given the way things ended, Davis as the odd-man out (at least a month into the season) appears to have been the right call.

Brandon Crawford, another reluctant victim of the “business” side of baseball, another ex accrued. He didn’t want to go, he didn’t want to say good-bye, nor did he have expectations or demands—and there’s certainly an argument to be made that he had done enough to have his say in the matter. Instead he got a cold shoulder, a vague expression, the opportunity to try-out as a non-roster invitee like everyone else.

Crawford knew playing is better than not playing, and the Cardinals offered that…sort-of, as a back-up shortstop. What he’s gotten so far in terms of on-field play has been scraps. But 5 appearances and 4 starts, his 15 PA and 1 hit (a single on March 29th) are more than Brandon Belt can claim in 2024. His role with the Cardinals is to support Masyn Winn—a far cry from his heyday, and a month into the season, I’m still wrestling with how I feel about Craw in different colors. The head says it was probably for the best, but the heart is torn. Was 5 games and 15 trips to the plate in one month really too much to stomach? Instead of signing Nick Ahmed as a back-up plan to Marco Luciano, shouldn’t they have just followed through with starting Luciano no matter what his spring looked like while keeping Crawford on as a mentor/contingency plan?

That was never going to happen. As Bryan Murphy pointed out, throwing position players into the deep end isn’t the club’s style. They prefer to pull proven and predictable veterans with no strings attached. Crawford is as knotted up as a marionette, while “practical” is the word for Nick Ahmed.

For a ground-ball inducing staff, he’s been a godsend as one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball. There’s no greater and odder thrill than watching him scoop-and-release a grounder with hands as quick as a magician’s, and his pool noodle arm lobbing the baseball across the diamond to nab the runner by a half-step. He’s goofy, and he’s good at what the Giants need him to be good at.

As expected, his offense hasn’t been amazing, but he’s outperformed himself and the league in high-leverage situations which have helped the Giants win ball games. That’s an undeniable plus. Not all infield singles are created equal. His numbers will regress in those situations but that eventual drop can’t discount the results he’s already produced for the club.

Maybe the ideal shortstop set-up for the fans was one that would never have happened: Crawford as back-up to Ahmed. Crawford gets his mentorship role, gets to stay in San Francisco and isn’t burdened with the pressure of the starting job. In inevitable scenarios when a late-inning power bat is needed, Melvin wouldn’t have to sacrifice defense when swapping Ahmed for Soler (like last Sunday). Of course, when (or if) Luciano was ready to be called up, Zaidi and Melvin would have the hard conversation with Ahmed, or the hard conversation with Crawford. But I guess that’s been the front office’s operating procedure during this whole affair with our shortstop: avoid the hard conversation. No relationship thrives in those conditions.

And where does Joey Bart thrive? Apparently in Pittsburgh.

The enigma of Bart continues to confound. As a back-up backstop for Henry Davis with the Pirates, the Giant’s 2018 first-round pick in 7 games and 28 PA, hit .304/ .429 /.739 with 3 homers. Coming up with these one-off offensive streaks have never been the problem for Bart, rather its been sustaining them. Still, that kind of production from a back-up catcher that was on your Opening Day roster is hard to ignore. A direct comparison to Tom Murphy, the man the Giants chose to keep says it all. Murphy’s slash line in 10 games and 31 PA is .074/.194/.111 with as many automatic strike-threes called on him as RBIs.

It’s early, and let’s not forget Murphy logged an .873 OPS and 140 wRC+ (47 G, 159 PA) in 2023. Numbers like that warrant the deal he got, but we’ve seen little of that so far, while Bart appears quite taken to his new environs. If he takes off in Pittsburgh (as much as a back-up catcher can “take-off”), it’s going to sting.

Should the Giants call givesies-backsies and pretend like the whole thing never happened? If only it was that simple—but context always seemed important to Bart, and to say he was jerked around these past two seasons with Farhan and Gabe Kapler is an understatement. Maybe things would’ve been different under Melvin, but if I were to crack that inscrutable visage of his and guess what was going on behind the mask, I’d think he was a little bit relieved to be released. Free from the shadow of Buster Poesy he was brought up under, able to shirk the heavy weight of being a franchise’s first-round pick. Looking back over his tenure in San Francisico, he was never one to “rise to the occasion.” Really, how it all played out was in the name: Bart and BART. He just never seemed to be operating the way we wanted him to.

By the end of last year it seemed best to call it. The two had grown apart. The relationship had run its course. The club and its fans moved on to Patrick Bailey, and now, Bart has finally moved on to—he’s better for it. The breakup, at least between player and fans, was mutual.

But that doesn’t mean he’s not gonna try a clobber the ball this weekend.