Ten Big Losers from the Winter Meetings

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4. San Francisco Giants

For the same reason the Los Angeles Dodgers are losers, the San Francisco Giants are Winter Meetings losers as well. While the Giants didn’t lose the caliber of player the Dodgers did, they also weren’t able to get that caliber of player either. It appeared likely that Greinke would sign with either the Giants or the Dodgers, but both teams were shocked by his decision to sign with the Diamondbacks. The Giants obviously benefited from the Dodgers not retaining Greinke but now they find themselves in a division that is even better than it was last week.

In response to the Diamondbacks signing Greinke, the Giants agreed to a five-year contract with much-maligned starter Jeff Samardzija. While he comes at a much discounted price to Greinke, Samardzija really isn’t much of a consolation prize for a team that just watched their division rival likely surpass them in terms of talent level. Following the signing of Samardzija right before the start of the Winter Meetings, the Giants did absolutely nothing at the meetings. Rather than make some moves to improve their team further, the Giants stood pat and watched Arizona trade for Shelby Miller and get even better. The Giants now find themselves as the third best team in a suddenly really good National League West.