It’s more realistic to assume that the Giants are still at least a year away from challenging the Dodgers and Padres. They’ll shoot for .500 this year, then become big-market bullies in the offseason, making offers for Francisco Lindor, Javier Báez, Carlos Correa, Corey Seager and Trevor Story. If they sign all five, they’ll figure it out.
But the Giants still might contend this season. It’s not the likeliest scenario, but it’s a plausible one. It’s almost a cliché to mention all of the teams that contended a year sooner than expected, but the examples are all still relevant: the ’12 Nationals, ’15 Astros, ’15 Cubs, ’17 Twins, ’18 Braves, and the A’s in both 12 and ’18 all went from well under .500 to the postseason. Their eventual success was expected, just not that quickly. A team with a top-10 farm system can surprise like that, and the Giants have one.
That kind of team could use a little immediate help, then. While it’s fine to expect modest contributions from Bart in 2021 and more substantial ones after that, it might be advantageous to get someone who can help more in 2021. This is the part where I rattle off the names of players who might be absolutely untouchable, but if any of them were to be available, a prospect like Bart would be a part of the deal. We’re talking players like Andrew Benintendi, Joey Gallo, Sonny Gray, Matt Chapman or Ketel Marte.