4 Giants most to blame for disappointing start to 2024 season

After several seasons of mediocrity, the San Francisco Giants became big spenders in the offseason. The team gave big contracts to Gold Glove winner Matt Chapman, Cy Young winner Blake Snell, Japanese outfielder Jung Hoo Lee, and power hitter Jorge Soler. The results so far have been mixed.

The team is 14-15 and has yet to win more than two games in a row. Chapman has been mediocre, Snell is on the IL, Hoo Lee has a sub-.700 OPS, and Soler is batting .216. Yet even with these players failing to meet expectations early on, the Giants still find themselves in second place in a competitive National League West. There is still plenty of time for San Francisco to assert itself in the National League, but these are the 4 Giants players most to blame for a disappointing start to the 2024 season.

Blake Snell

The 2023 NL Cy Young winner was nearly unhittable for the San Diego Padres last year, allowing an MLB-low 5.8 hits per nine innings. Blake Snell’s .256 batting average allowed on balls in play was always going to increase, but with opponents posting a .410 BABip in 2024, it is difficult to fault Snell for his early struggles. The lefty has an ERA of 11.57 ERA through 11 innings this year, though his expected ERA is a far more respectable 4.05.

Snell is currently on the IL with a left adductor strain and the ballclub will hope he can bounce back from his three early-season losses once he returns from the diamond.

Erik Miller and Landen Roup

The Giants have one of the best closers in the game in Camilo Doval — who led the Majors with 39 saves last season. But Doval has just five saves on the year in five opportunities. Doval’s lack of save chances originates from San Francisco’s bullpen struggles. Giants relievers have an ERA of 5.60 on the year, the worst in the Majors, leading to the club being tied for the second-lowest number of save opportunities (eight).

Two of the team’s biggest strugglers are rookies Erik Miller and Landen Roup. Miller carries a 5.54 ERA while Roup’s ERA sits at 6.17 on the year while both are allowing more than four walks per nine innings. They have a combined seven appearances with runs allowed, so their struggles are more than just one of two bad outings.

San Francisco’s focus in the off-season was signing big names, namely starting pitching and powerful bats. The club neglected the bullpen and that oversite has cost the Giants during the first month of the season.

Tom Murphy

Picking on a backup catcher feels like bullying, but few players in the Majors have played as poorly in the first month of the season as Tom Murphy. Murphy is known more for his offense than his defense, averaging 24 homers over 162 games during his nine-year career, yet has demonstrated little value in either category this year. The 32-year-old has just two hits in 27 at-bats to begin the campaign and is worth -4 defensive runs saved above average in 69 innings behind the dish. He also ranks in the 11th percentile among catchers in blocks above average and the 40th percentile in framing.

Teams expect their backup catchers to be average defenders while providing a little pop at the plate. Giants backup Tom Murphy has been far below the standard in both facets of the game this season, leading to a -0.5 WAR in just 10 games played — second-worst on the team.