Posey getting the job done

In less than a year, Posey has completely remade the Giants. First, it was getting the Matt Chapman deal across the finish line when Zaidi was still in charge last summer. Whatever you may think of Chapman as a player doesn’t change the fact that Posey got it done when Zaidi could not.

Same could be said of the Willy Adames signing. Adames may not have lived up to his contract — yet — but it’s more proof that Posey can get deals over the finish line.

Now we have the Devers trade for, in the grand scheme of things, not a lot. The shine was fading on local boy Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks proved he can’t be a front-line starter. There were a couple of minor leaguers also thrown into the deal, but most importantly, hot-shot prospect Bryce Eldridge was not part of the deal.

Devers is in Year 3 of a 10-year deal he signed in 2023 and is still owed roughly $250 million but, at this point, that is an absolute bargain. Based on his annual salary of just over $31 million per year, Devers’ annual salary ranks 17th among Major League Baseball players. Here are some of the guys ahead of Devers on the list:

• Dodgers’ pitcher Blake Snell is seventh at more than $36 million. He’s currently injured.

• Angels’ outfielder Mike Trout is ninth at $35.5 million per year. He’s a shell of his former self.

• Angels’ third baseman Anthony Rendon is 10th at $35 million. He’s been an absolute bust in Anaheim.

• Twins’ shortstop Carlos Correa is 13th at $33.3 million and hasn’t quite approached the numbers he put up in Houston.

• Boston third baseman Alex Bregman is making as much as Yankees captain Aaron Judge, at $40 million per year, which ranks fourth. He is the guy who replaced Devers and has been injured for most the season.

So basically the Red Sox chose Bregman over Devers, the guy who was to be the face of the franchise just a couple years ago.

Maybe these moves pay off for the Giants. Maybe they don’t. But there is no denying Posey has gotten things done that Zaidi could not. Additionally, Posey is showing he isn’t afraid to take big swings to make the Giants a contender right now. Posey isn’t making trades with Seattle for backup catchers. He’s swinging for the fences.

There is still the question of where Devers will play. He has played third base since breaking into the big leagues in 2017. But when the team signed Bregman, Boston inserted the newcomer at third base and told Devers he was the new designated hitter. The team then ask him to play first base, at which point he balked.

Hopefully that was a case of Devers feeling like he was being jerked around instead of simply being a malcontent. It’ll be interesting to see where he plays for the Giants. Third base seems filled with a healthy Chapman. Will Devers be happy simply being a DH? Again, remains to be seen, but like most experts have said, the Giants will take the bat and figure out the rest.

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As the Giants’ trade talk and game was just getting started, the U.S. Open was just finishing up. And talk about a fantastic finish.

Journeyman J.J. Spaun, who had only won once on the PGA Tour and whose claim to fame was losing the Players Championship to Rory McIlroy in a playoff this past March.

Playing the brutal Oakmont Country Club course outside of Pittsburgh, it was a roller coaster of a ride for Spaun, who was in the lead and then out of the lead during the final round Sunday.

But as he walked up the 18th fairway, he needed just a par to win his first-ever major. Instead, he sent the crowd into a frenzy as he drained a 64-foot birdie putt to put the exclamation point on this year’s American championship.

***

The best part of the summer months, other than the MLB season taking center stage, is that there are all these tennis and golf major tournaments, many of which begin play early in the morning, which means I don’t have to watch the morning news and see the world fall apart.

Starting the end of this month is the Wimbledon tennis tournament, just about a month after the French Open conclusion. After the Wimbledon “fortnight,” a fancy way to say “two weeks,” comes the British Open, or just the “Open” if you’re a golf snob, beginning the Thursday after Sunday’s Wimbledon final.

That leaves the U.S. Open tennis tournament to cap the summer in late August-early September, which takes us right into the start of college football and the NFL seasons.

Nathan Mollat has been covering high school sports in San Mateo County for the San Mateo Daily Journal since 2001. He can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com.