Opening Day is finally here! The San Francisco Giants take on the Padres today in a game that really counts, and Logan Webb will be on the mound. That's no surprise, but it doesn't mean the SF Giants' official Opening Day roster didn't have a few surprises. Most surprisingly, perhaps, is the fact that Joey Bart made the team. Bart is out of options and can't be sent to the minors, so the Giants elected to carry him, along with their two main catchers Patrick Bailey and Tom Murphy, rather than designating Bart for assignment. Pretty soon the Giants will have to make a move because they can't carry three catchers (and 14 position players) for long.

Other noteworthy decisions included the fact that Nick Ahmed made the Giants and was added to the roster. He's in the Opening Day lineup and playing shortstop. Marco Luciano was optioned to Sacramento. Luis Matos was more of a snub, as he was also optioned by the SF Giants with Austin Slater apparently healthy enough to start the season. This move will be unpopular with some fans, but rest assured that Matos and Luciano should get tons of opportunities this year and the Giants are by no means giving up on either one. It's all about protecting inventory in this case, and Slater and Yastrzemski are underrated big leaguers.

On the pitching side, a few players will be making their major league debuts if they get into a game. Left-handed reliever Erik Miller joins the Giants' staff as the second lefty in the 'pen after Taylor Rogers. Landen Roupp also made the Giants thanks to a killer breaking ball that could make him a real weapon. Blake Snell is on the roster even though he won't start in the Giants' series against the Padres. And Michael Conforto is starting in left, becoming the SF Giants' 18th consecutive different Opening Day left fielder, with a 19th likely next year.

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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

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Opening Day is around the corner with the new-look San Francisco Giants set to take on the San Diego Padres just two short days from now. The Giants will enter Petco Park with a new manager and several new faces, although they will be without co-ace Blake Snell who signed late and won't be with the team from the jump.

The SF Giants and Padres had very different offseasons, with the Pads subtracting Juan Soto just by way of example, while the Giants spent more than any other team outside of the Dodgers on a number of players including Jung Hoo Lee, Snell, Matt Chapman, Jordan Hicks, Jorge Soler, and others. The Giants also traded for 2021 Cy Young winner Robbie Ray.

What are the expectations for the Giants and Padres this season? What are the expectations in this opening four-game series? The SF Giants' pitching is slightly suspect coming out of the gates without Snell, but still the teams look relatively evenly matched and it should be a good and entertaining start to the 2024 campaign for both teams.

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The San Francisco Giants' 2024 season kicks off this Thursday, yet there are still several burning questions ahead of Opening Day. Most notably, perhaps, is the question of whether Nick Ahmed or Marco Luciano will crack the roster as the Opening Day shortstop for the Giants. Ahmed has been great for the SF Giants all spring, but Luciano has come on very strong as camp has wound down. The Giants could add Ahmed to the roster and option Luciano. It's possible Ahmed could opt out of his SF Giants deal if he doesn't make the Opening Day squad. That might make optioning Luciano more likely, otherwise going with Luciano and having Ahmed in Triple-A could be appealing as well.

Another key situation is what will happen with Luis Matos. Matos came into camp for the Giants having put on over 10 pounds of muscle in the offseason, and he's had a torrid spring. A lot of fans understandably want Matos on the Opening Day team, but the Giants' outfield is crowded. Austin Slater's elbow, however, could open the door for Matos. Slater had surgery in October but has been limited this spring and has trouble bouncing back after games. If he can't start the season with the Giants, Matos will get a real shot right out of the gates (in a limited role to start).

Finally, there are several open spots up for grabs on the pitching staff, particularly with Blake Snell, Alex Cobb, and Robbie Ray out to start the season. Snell and Cobb should be back not too long from now, but they won't start the season with the Giants. Juan Sanchez appears likely to make the team as the Giants' second lefty reliever. Keaton Winn, Mason Black, and Landen Roupp appear to be the most likely candidates to round out the San Francisco Giants' Opening Day pitching staff.

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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

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#SFGiants #FirstListen

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It's no secret that the San Francisco Giants' on-field product has been subpar to the point of bordering on boring in recent seasons. However, the same could be said about the Giants' in-game entertainment experience at Oracle Park. The SF Giants have been featuring essentially the same program during games since 2010. The Giants continue to play either Don't Stop Believin' or Lights during every game. There's the 'Kiss Cam.' While still moderately entertaining, there certainly hasn't been major change or innovation. Until now.

The Giants have significantly upgraded the in-game experience at Oracle Park entering the 2024 season, finally adding LED lights that are essentially capable of putting on light shows during games. Many other teams have been utilizing this technology for years, while the Giants lagged behind and seemed stuck in their ways, insistent on reliving the early 2010s for all eternity. It's a new era of Giants baseball now, and the improved lights will also be paired with a much-needed and much-improved sound system that will enhance the experience for both fans and players, per the Giants' press release. Which speaks to the players not being happy with how quiet/unintelligible the sound system was at Oracle.

Paired with the Giants' huge offseason, these upgrades should go hand-in-hand with a far more entertaining product on the field. A better team plus a better in-game experience at the ballpark should help make games far more entertaining to attend, and hopefully will contribute in bringing people back to the ballpark. These changes, both on the field and off, were far overdue for the San Francisco Giants. But better late than never. Now, there's reason to get excited about the Giants and attending Oracle Park again.

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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On X: https://x.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

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The 2024 MLB Season is here and Locked On has the most comprehensive MLB Season preview for you. Who wins each division? You’ll hear from every MLB host on our network debating who take the top spots in the AL East, AL Central, AL West, NL East, NL Central and NL West. Will we see the Baltimore Orioles, the Minnesota Twin, the Houston Astros, the Atlanta Braves, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Los Angeles Dodgers repeat their 2023 success?

Blake Snell to the San Francisco Giants is official. Snell passed his physical and the deal was announced by the SF Giants on Tuesday night, capping a monster offseason for the orange and black. How exactly were the Giants able to land Snell to such a team-friendly deal? What made the SF Giants' Snell's choice in the end?

And how does the Giants' signing of Blake Snell impact the NL West? Just a few weeks ago, the Locked On hosts from the NL West got together and Millard Thomas of Locked On D-backs said the Giants could possibly be a last-place team. Now, Millard questions whether the Giants may actually be the second-best team in the division.

Ben from Locked On Giants and Millard from Locked On D-backs compare Blake Snell to other pitchers in the NL West, including Logan Webb, Zac Gallen, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and many others. How does Snell compare? Coming off a Cy Young award, is the new Giants ace the best pitcher in the division? Listen to find out.

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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

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#SFGiants #FirstListen

The San Francisco Giants needed to have a huge offseason, and they've done it. Capped by the reported addition of reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell—which is pending a physical—the Giants have made numerous meaningful improvements that vault them firmly into the mix for a playoff berth and make them a potentially scary team to have to face in October.

Blake Snell is second in MLB in ERA and strikeout rate since 2022 (min. 300 innings). He's a power lefty with a mid-90s fastball that he pairs with a devastating curveball, a changeup, and a slider. Blake Snell and Logan Webb give the SF Giants one of the best 1-2 punches in baseball. The SF Giants have shot well past the first luxury tax threshold with this signing, so they're exceeding the tax for the first time since 2017. The Giants' luxury tax payroll ranks sixth in MLB, per RosterResource.

In totality, with Snell, Jung Hoo Lee, Matt Chapman, Jorge Soler, Jordan Hicks, and Tom Murphy, the SF Giants have easily had an 'A' offseason. It's pretty remarkable how good their offseason looks considering they missed out on their two top targets in Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, both of whom signed with the rival Dodgers. Outside of the Dodgers and Braves, the National League should be quite a battle when it comes to the three wild card spots. But with all of their moves combined, the SF Giants appear to have as good of a shot as anyone of playing postseason baseball, and if they make it there, they could be a very scary opponent.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

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🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On X: https://x.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

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Blake Snell will be wearing orange and black in 2024. The San Francisco Giants and Blake Snell have agreed to a two-year, $62 million deal with an opt out after the 2024 season, according to multiple reports. The Giants now have the reigning Cy Young Award winner in Snell atop their rotation, followed by last year's runner-up, Logan Webb.

The Giants have been linked to Snell all offseason, and a deal finally came together tonight. Blake Snell's two-year guarantee is far lower than anyone would have predicted when the offseason began, and the SF Giants are the beneficiaries of patience. The Giants also signed Platinum Glover Matt Chapman to a somewhat similar deal just a couple of weeks ago.

Since the start of the 2022 season, among all pitchers with at least 300 innings pitched, Blake Snell is second in ERA and second in strikeout percentage. He also has the highest walk rate in the major leagues over that span, but the Giants will live with the walks if it comes with elite run prevention.

In totality, the San Francisco Giants have had a monster offseason capped off with the signing of Snell. More details on the Giants' offseason and signing of Snell on tomorrow's full-length edition of the Locked On Giants podcast.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)