The cheers have quieted and the confetti has been swept away, but the 2014 season will never be forgotten.
The San Francisco Giants defeated the Kansas City Royals to win their third World Series title in five years. In the modern era, with free agency and so much parity in the game, the Giants are a baseball dynasty.
The 2014 season was filled with an incredible number of highs and lows, but in the end, it was the Giants who prevailed. Now that the euphoria of the Giants' victory parade has subsided, though, it's time to look at how this team will shape up for 2015.
San Francisco has five key free agents, and it is unrealistic to believe that it can retain all of them. These players include Pablo Sandoval, Michael Morse, Jake Peavy, Ryan Vogelsong and Sergio Romo. All played important roles in the Giants' success this past season.
Giants general manager Brian Sabean will have a tough task ahead of him this winter. He will attempt to field another championship-caliber team, with limited funds available at his disposal.
In 2014, the Giants opened the season with a payroll of approximately $149 million. That grew to over $150 million over the course of the season.
San Francisco has already committed roughly $127 million for the upcoming season, but that's for only 12 players. In addition, this includes Marco Scutaro, who may never play again.
Fresh off the exciting and financially lucrative postseason, the Giants' ownership group will undoubtedly allow Sabean to grow the payroll above the $150 million mark. Just how much more is the major question.
Even a $25 million increase, which is a realistic figure, may not enable Sabean the flexibility to build a roster as solid as the one San Francisco had in the 2014 postseason.
Let's take a look at the key free agents the Giants must consider and estimate the odds of each player returning to San Francisco.
All stats are courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.
All salary data is courtesy of BaseballProspectus.com.
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