Giants 2020 Win Total Prediction
The San Francisco Giants have a new manager in Gabe Kapler, who will oversee the continued rebuild under President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi. After winning 77 games a year ago, will the Giants struggle to collect 70 victories in 2020?
Giants Win Total Odds
According to oddsmakers from online sportsbook Sportsbook.com, the Giants’ win total for 2020 has been set at 70, with the juice shaded to the under. The over is currently carrying odds of 11/10, while the under is juiced at 5/7.
Giants Offseason Moves
The Giants weren’t expected to be aggressive this offseason and they weren’t, as Zaidi continues to focus on a rebuild while still paying aging veterans Buster Posey, Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford. The team did not re-sign long-time ace Madison Bumgarner, who signed a free agent deal with division rival Arizona, but they did bring back fan favorites Hunter Pence and Pablo Sandoval. They also added former Diamondback Wilmer Flores and veteran pitcher Drew Smyly. The best move was a creative one, as the Giants acquired Zack Cozart and Will Wilson from the Angels in exchange for left-hander Garrett Williams. The Angels got out of Cozart’s contract, while the Giants landed Wilson, a former first-rounder that is now one of their top prospects.
Giants Win Total Prediction
The Giants are likely to fall short of their win total, although it’ll be close. Gone are Bumgarner and closer Will Smith, the latter signing a free agent deal with the Braves this winter. The rotation now centers on Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija, a pair of veterans that were signed by the previous front office regime when they were attempting to win one more title with the Posey-Belt-Crawford-Bumgarner-Joe Panik core. While both are interesting bounce back candidates, it’ll be shocking if both stayed healthy. The rest of the rotation is comprised of Tyler Anderson, Kevin Gausman and Smyly/Tyler Beede. Yikes.
Meanwhile, the offense is filled with aging players like Posey, Crawford, Pence and Longoria, as well as guys like Mike Yastrzemski and Alex Dickerson, who surprised last year but are still unknowns. Flores is a fine player but it was confusing that Zaidi blocked a young promising player like Mauricio Dubon in the process, although the prevailing thought might be that once Crawford falters, Flores will play shortstop and he’ll team with Dubon up the middle.
However it shakes out, losses will pile up this season in San Francisco. You also have to factor in how much Kapler’s personality and managing style will grate on the veteran players. He wore out his welcome quickly in Philadelphia.
2020 MLB Win Total Prediction: San Francisco Giants UNDER 70