3 Giants Who Should Sit Out if Rob Manfred Institutes 50-Game Season
By Tyler Kemp
While the Giants have not made the playoffs since 2016, they are looking to snap their three-year streak in 2020. The first thing holding them back is the fact that no one in MLB knows what a possible season will look like. While commissioner Rob Manfred and the league office are floating around a 50-game season with prorated salaries, here are a few guys who should consider taking the year to hold out.
3. SP Johnny Cueto
As it stands for the 2020 season, Cueto is currently slated to make upwards of $21 million based on his contract. The pitcher would already be losing a portion of his money with the shortened season. If the league were to cut the season to 50 games, then the players who are the highest paid on their teams are hurt the most. Cueto is slated to be the second-highest paid player in San Fran -- he should simply take his full service time to next season and reap the benefits, taking more time to come back on his own from Tommy John surgery.
2. SP Jeff Samardzija
Samardzija is a notch under his fellow starter Cueto in the salary totem pole up San Francisco. Scheduled to make close to $20 million in 2020, Samardzija would also be feeling the pain of prorated salaries. If he and Cueto sat out this season, the organization would be short two arms in their starting rotation -- but they'd get to keep control of their copilots for 2021.
1. C Buster Posey
Posey has been a mainstay in San Fran for the last decade. The perennial All-Star has won championships in San Francisco, and is projected to make more than $22 million this season, the benchmark for the organization. Similar to Cueto and Samardzija, Posey is a star in his own right. Being that he is the highest-paid position player in the organization, sitting out could affect more pockets than just his own.