Scooter

Gennett

Gennett was looking for a $5 million offer over the winter, but the best one he received was for $1.5 million plus $500,000 in incentives, and it came from a team that already had an everyday second baseman. ″(Teams) didn’t come anywhere near what I thought was respectful and what I thought is right,” Gennett said. “They made the decision pretty easy for me.” If he sticks to his guns, it sounds like Gennett almost surely isn’t going to play this season. The 30-year-old tore a muscle in his groin during spring training last year, came back too soon and went on to bat just .226/.245/.323 with an ugly 41/2 K/BB ratio over 139 plate appearances for the Reds and Giants.

Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reported the Cubs’ interest in Gennett on Monday. He’s reportedly working out for a couple of teams this week, so a decision should soon follow. His value couldn’t be any lower after a disastrous 2019, so he makes sense as a buy-low candidate for a number of teams.

Gennett had a nightmare 2019 season, first missing time with a severe right groin strain before struggling with a .226/.245/.323 batting line over 139 plate appearances between the Reds and Giants. Still, he was a very productive hitter between 2017-2018 and makes sense for a team who has been reluctant to make any major investments this winter.

Gennett has struggled to the tune of a .226/.245/.323 batting line with just two home runs in 139 plate appearances this season between the Reds and Giants. He averaged an .859 OPS and 25 home runs between the 2017-2018 campaigns. Mauricio Dubon will apparently take over as the primary second baseman in San Francisco for the stretch run.

Gennett has been a little better for the Giants than he was for the Reds, but he’s still struggling mightily, having hit .231/.250/.331 with an incredible 39/2 K/BB ratio in 136 plate appearances. He has almost as many strikeouts as total bases (43) this season.

Gennett plated the Giants’ only run of the game when he lined a Merrill Kelly delivery through the right side of the infield in the sixth inning, scoring the runner on third. He also doubled off Kelly in the contest, picking up his third straight multi-hit game in the process. The 29-year-old got off to a rough start after missing the first three months of the season with a groin tear but he’s performed better since joining the Giants at the trade deadline, hitting .288 with two homers and six RBI in 16 games. His fantasy value was tanked with the deal from the Reds to the Giants but Gennett could at least provide a solid batting average over the season’s final few weeks.

Panik served as the Giants’ everyday second baseman for many years, but he was batting just .235/.310/.317 with three home runs through 388 plate appearances this season. He makes a lot of contact and is a World Series champ, but a lack of power continues to hold him back from a real breakout. July 31 trade deadline acquisition Scooter Gennett has filled the starting job at second base in San Francisco.

The Giants simply had nothing going offensively, managing only seven hits combined in the shutout loss. No Giants’ batter reached base more than one and starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija accounted for their lone extra-base hit of the contest.

Gennett has not only his first homer as a member of the Giants -- he was acquired by San Francisco at the trade deadline on Wednesday -- but his first homer overall. It was a two-run shot off of Jon Gray in the first inning, and he’s driven in seven runs in his 24 games. Gennett will be a free agent at the end of the year, so the 29-year-old will be hoping to play well to secure a decent contract this offseason. If he hits like he did in 2018 he just might, but that’s a tall ask based on what we’ve seen this summer.

The Giants have gotten nothing from the second base position this season, so Gennett is worth a cheap flier even though he’s also been a zero at the plate when healthy. The veteran infielder is set to hit free agency this offseason.