Fansided

Ranking the MLB managerial openings

By Joshua Sadlock

Joe Maddon, Chicago Cubs. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
Joe Maddon, Chicago Cubs. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) /
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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 29: Manager Bruce Bochy #15 of the San Francisco Giants walks out of the dugout before his last game as Giants manager, the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park on September 29, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 29: Manager Bruce Bochy #15 of the San Francisco Giants walks out of the dugout before his last game as Giants manager, the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park on September 29, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

5. San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants didn’t do their future manager a huge favor by remaining on the fringes of playoff contention this season and refusing to cash in big trade chips Will Smith and Madison Bumgarner for prospects. The Giants came from 35-47 to pull themselves back over .500 by the trade deadline before ultimately running out of gas and finishing 77-85. In hindsight, it should have been obvious that the Giants were riding an incredibly lucky hot streak, but you can’t blame management too much for deciding to go for it in Bruce Bochy and Bumgarner’s last seasons in San Francisco.

Attempting to stay in win-now mode for a full decade left the Giants with a very weak farm system, but things are trending in the right direction. San Francisco has four top-100 prospects, including Joey Bart and Heliot Ramos who are both in the top 50. Both reached Double-A this year. The Giants have plenty of high-upside prospects at the lower levels of their system. It’s still a work in progress, but much better than it was two years ago.

The next manager of the Giants isn’t walking into a perfect situation, however. San Francisco played like a 90-loss team most of the season, save a stretch of a few weeks in July where they won a dozen coin-flip games. The Giants were 22-32 in August and September and were outscored by nearly 100 runs on the season. They’re also still on the hook for paying close to $60 million for Evan Longoria, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija next season.

The Giants are an organization built on stability with a smart ownership group. The new manager will be given ample time to build a winner. San Francisco has had only three managers since 1993, so there won’t be an instant hot seat for whoever takes over. All that being said, the Giants aren’t nearly as close to being ready to win as some other teams with openings, so this new manager may only serve as a stopgap before the playoff window swings fully open again.

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