January 16th, 2018 at 9:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka For true, dyed-in-the-wool Dodger fans, it is impossible not to keep a watchful eye on what their most hated rivals, the San Francisco Giants, are doing. In fact, it is imperative. As the old saying goes: “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”
Late Monday afternoon it was being widely reported (and later confirmed) that The Hated Ones had acquired 31-year-old perennial All-Star outfielder and 2013 National League MVP Andrew McCutchen from the Pittsburgh Pirates; this only one day after the rebuild-mode Bucs traded away 27-year-old highly coveted right-hander Gerrit Cole to the (uggh) World Series champion Houston Astros.
But while there is no disputing that the addition of McCutchen is a significant upgrade for a Giants outfield that was ranked the worst in all of baseball last season, the $14.5 million that the Giants will pay the Fort Meade, Florida native and Pirates 2005 first-round draft pick now has them roughly $7 million away from the 2018 Competitive Balance (luxury) Tax threshold. In other words, the Giants may have put themselves in a position where they might not be able to make any additional off-season free agent moves; this with spring training now less than a month away.
But wait, there’s more!
Although the addition of McCutchen’s nine-year MLB career .291 / .379 / .487 / .866 slash-line is a huge upgrade for the 2017 NL West last place Giants, his glove is anything but. In fact, according to MLB Trade Rumor’s Steve Adams, it is a downgrade from that of Denard Span, whom the Giants traded to the Tampa Bay Rays on December 20, 2017 to acquire 32-year-old All-Star third baseman Evan Longoria. Per Adams, McCutchen had a -45 mark in Defensive Runs Saved and a -14 Ultimate Zone Rating in 2017.
Although McCutchen’s career .291 batting average might be of concern for Dodgers fans, his .988 career fielding percentage probably won’t. (Video capture courtesy of MLB.com)
Worth noting is that the Giants also gave up 22-year-old third baseman Christian Arroyo, minor league left-hander Matt Krook, minor league right-hander Stephen Woods and cash considerations in the Longoria deal. As most Dodger fans know, Arroyo was the Giants first-round draft pick in 2013 and was thought to be a lock at the hot corner for many years to come. And while there is no argument that Longoria, a Downey, California native and former Cal State Long Beach Dirtbag, is among the best third basemen in the game, he had his third-worst offensive season in 2017 with an un-Longoria-like slash-line of .261 / .313 / .424 / .737.
Obviously, the Giants could still conceivably dump some of their projected $190(-ish) million 2018 payroll through trades, but now being within $7 million of the 2018 $197 million luxury tax threshold pretty much takes them out of the free agency game.
Darn.
Posted in 
In addition, the Giants payroll does not include the amount that MLB will allocate for player benefits (as defined in the CBA) which I believe is a minimum of $7+MM and could be closer to $12MM for 2018. AND it must still pay at least 8 more players as only 17 are under contract today. Even at ML min that is another $4.36MM. Poor Giants, in trouble with the Competitive Balance Tax while having one of the weakest minor league systems in MLB. (SNICKER)
Yeah, I think SF looks great with an aging overpriced roster.
I did think their trade for McCutchen was pretty good for them. One year $12M (Pirates sent $2.5M to SF) is nice payroll commitment for them, for what they hope is one last hoorah. Although, I don’t know anything about the guys they sent to Pitt.
The shot to the foot for them is long-term deals for:
Cueto, 31 yrs old, $21M/yr
Samardzija, 32 yrs old, $20M/yr
Melancon, 32 yrs old, $13m/yr
Longoria, 32 yrs old, $16M/yr
Long-term deals for Belt, Crawford, maybe even Posey and another year of Pence could also hurt them.
Good times.
Ron, I know it is off topic but have you heard any whispers about teams that might be interested in acquiring Matt Kemp?
There has to be some teams that need a former stud at DH or left field. I read Kemp is in great shape, much better than the last two years. And if Granderson is worth $5M for a year, Kemp has to worth at least that doesn’t he?
I am starting to think that if Dodgers can’t get rid of Kemp by opening day, he will make the team unless he just looks TERRIBLE. Why eat the whole $43M right away, better to wait and see what develops for awhile first.
Dodgers may have to wait out the FA market for LF’ers not named JD Martinez or Cain before any team will consider Kemp. Austin Jackson, Melky Cabrera, Jarod Dyson, et al. Or, Dodgers agree to take back a bad contract in return (Russell Martin, Alex Gordon, Ian Kennedy, Ryan Braun, ???)
The Dodgers have been very hush hush on their plans for Matt Kemp. That being said, they are blessed to have an abundance of outfield talent that is far better than him.
I agree that the best role for him moving forward would be as a DH. The obvious problem with this is, what AL team would be willing to take on the $43.5 million owed to him over the next two seasons just to DH?
The Giants might’ve made it tough on themselves but, as I always say, it’s pretty hard to predict this game.
Ad nauseam.