English Bulldog Puppies for Sale in San Francisco, CA

A former All-Star has been predicted to land with the San Francisco Giants this offseason.

In this story:

The 2024 winter will be the start of a new era for the San Francisco Giants.

Former star catcher Buster Posey has been hired as the team’s president of baseball operations, taking over for the fired Farhan Zaidi. A new general manager will be hired as well, as the entire front office is being changed.

Whoever is hired by Posey to oversee operations with him will have a few needs to address in free agency. Right now, there are only a handful of players who are locks for the lineup in 2025.

Tyler Fitzgerald has emerged as a versatile building block, logging a majority of his innings at shortstop. Joining him on the dirt at the hot corner will be Matt Chapman, who signed a six-year, $151 million extension in early September.

Heliot Ramos was named an All-Star and will be playing in the outfield. The franchise hopes Jung Hoo Lee can bounce back after a tough first season in the MLB that ended with a shoulder injury.

Patrick Bailey will likely be back as the starting catcher, but one position that is in desperate need of an upgrade is second base.

Marco Luciano has yet to pan out at shortstop and could factor into the mix at the keystone. But, if the Giants look for help outside of the organization, one player to keep an eye on is Gleyber Torres.

A two-time All-Star earlier in his career with the New York Yankees, his time in the Bronx feels like it is coming to an end. Erik Beaston of Bleacher Report believes that San Francisco is a good match for him in free agency.

“The San Francisco Giants need a second baseman and could always use the spark of offense that Torres provides when he is "on." Conversely, the seven-year man could use a change of scenery.

It is a mutually beneficial pairing, at least on paper, and one the Giants can likely make happen at a lower price than they would have had Torres hit the market a season or two ago,” the MLB expert wrote.

A lot went wrong for Torres in 2024. He was shaky in the field, leading second basemen with a career-high tying 18 errors. At the plate, his power numbers dropped and he struck out a ton.

But, he is still entering the prime of his career, turning 28 in December. A change of scenery could be exactly what he needs to get his career back on track.

The talent is certainly there. He was trending in the right direction down the stretch of 2024 and would be a sizable boost for the Giants’ lineup even if he doesn’t reach the All-Star level he did his first two seasons as a pro.

Published 13 Hours Ago

KENNETH TEAPE

Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.

San Francisco-based developer Wilson Meany and real estate investment firm Stockbridge Capital Group announced the completion and grand opening of Isle House, a waterfront residential tower and the first high-rise on San Francisco’s Treasure Island. Isle House, located at 39 Bruton St., has opened to its first residents.

Designed by David Baker Architects and rising 22 stories, the waterfront community features 250 apartments for lease, nine two-level live-work townhomes with private entries, 1,140 square feet of street-level retail and a central courtyard.

“It’s exciting to see Treasure Island achieve this important milestone that brings new housing options to San Francisco,” said Chris Meany, managing partner at Wilson Meany. ”We believe Isle House will quickly become a vibrant part of the community and serve as a blueprint for what living on Treasure Island represents.”

Treasure Island Community Development, a partnership between Wilson Meany, Stockbridge and Lennar Corporation, has been transforming the island into a sustainable and connected waterfront community. When completed, this transformation will feature 8,000 new homes, 300 acres of new parks, trails and open space, and a mix of restaurants, shops and cultural attractions.

Connect

Inside The Story

Wilson Meany

About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

Here are the three positions the San Francisco Giants should improve this offseason

It was another disappointing season for the San Francisco Giants, as the third straight season they were mediocre in the National League.

The Giants are heading into a very important offseason with new leadership at the top, as Buster Posey took over as the President of Baseball Operations. This offseason will be very telling for the future of the organization, as San Francisco certainly has some needs.

For the last couple of winters, the Giants have been trying to lure a star player to come be the face of the franchise. Despite some large offers, San Francisco has ultimately come up short. However, things might change for them, as they were able to lock up third baseman Matt Chapman to a long-term contract extension, as he is a great starting point for the franchise.

Even though Chapman got a nice big contract to be a leader for the team, there is still a lot of work to be done.

Here are three offseason priorities for the Giants heading into the winter.

First Base

The lineup was certainly an issue for San Francisco this season, and first base was one of the positions of weakness. In 2024, the Giants used mostly a combination of Wilmer Flores and LaMonte Wade Jr. at first base, as they were utilized in a platoon based on the opposing pitcher.

This combination didn’t do nearly as well as San Francisco needed them to, as they combined for just 12 home runs this season. First base is generally a power hitting position, and the Giants didn’t get the production needed.

This winter, upgrading here is a must for the franchise, as they won’t be able to compete with the other teams in the National League West using a platoon at first base.

Starting Pitcher

This offseason, another need for the Giants will be at starting pitcher. San Francisco was able to sign Blake Snell late in the free agency process to a very team-friendly deal. However, with an opt-out clause and after a solid season, he will almost certainly be testing free agency again.

Keeping Snell should certainly be on the table for the Giants, as they would then have a nice 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation for years to come with him and Logan Webb. However, if Snell leaves, finding a replacement will be important.

Outfield

Aside from Heliot Ramos, San Francisco should have some openings in the outfield and some opportunities to improve in that area. Adding a star would be a welcome addition, and it will be interesting to monitor if they try to get into the Juan Soto sweepstakes.

Since they have quite a bit of needs, investing a ton in Soto might not be the best move for the Giants, as they have a lot of areas to fill. Adding two outfielders that can hit would certainly help improve a lineup that was lackluster in 2024.

Published 18 Hours Ago

One of California’s highest-profile wine companies will soon have a new owner. The Duckhorn Portfolio, which includes brands like Duckhorn, Sonoma-Cutrer and Kosta Browne, will be acquired by private equity firm Butterfly Equity in an all-cash deal that values the business at $1.95 billion, according to a press release.

The acquisition will transform the Duckhorn Portfolio, one of the few publicly traded California wineries, into a privately held company. Representatives of the Duckhorn Portfolio declined to comment.

This would be the first wine company for Beverly Hills’ Butterfly Equity, which was founded in 2016 and specializes in what it called the “‘seed-to-fork’ food ecosystem.” Its other holdings include Mexican restaurant chain Qdoba, vitamin brand MaryRuth Organics and carrot supplier Bolthouse Fresh Foods.

Duckhorn, whose flagship St. Helena winery is one of the best-known names in Napa Valley, has been through many ownership changes in recent years. Founded in 1976 by Dan and Margaret Duckhorn, it became known for favoring Merlot, a grape variety that many of their counterparts in Napa Valley relegated to a minor component of a Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend.

The business grew gradually as the Duckhorns acquired hundreds of acres of vineyard and launched a series of spinoff brands, all water fowl-themed: Goldeneye, Paraduxx, Migration, Decoy and Canvasback. In 2007, Dan and Margaret Duckhorn, by then divorced, sold their business to private equity firm GI Partners for a reported $250 million. Another private equity firm, TSG Consumer Partners, purchased the business for a reported $600 million in 2016.

With this private equity backing, Duckhorn began to acquire well-known California wineries. In 2017, it bought San Benito County’s acclaimed Calera Vineyards, followed by Sonoma County Pinot Noir juggernaut Kosta Browne and Chardonnay sensation Sonoma-Cutrer. Meanwhile, in 2021, the company pulled off an initial public offering — rare in the U.S. wine industry, where wineries and the stock market have historically been poor bedfellows. Its ticker symbol is NAPA.

Unlike other publicly traded wine companies — like Santa Rosa’s Vintage Wine Estates, which announced bankruptcy and mass layoffs this summer — the Duckhorn Portfolio has reported some positive news during its time on the stock market. Its most recent financial results show net sales in the fourth quarter of 2024 at $107.4 million, a year-over-year increase of 7.3%, largely driven by strong Sonoma-Cutrer sales. Its stock jumped 101% on Monday morning following the announcement of the acquisition, according to Yahoo Finance.

Duckhorn stockholders will now receive $11.10 per share in cash, which Butterfly Equity said was equivalent to a 65.3% premium on the average share price of Duckhorn’s stock during the past 90 trading days. It is lower, however, than its $15 initial stock price.

The deal now enters into a 45-day “go shop” period, during which Duckhorn can entertain other acquisition offers.

Reach Esther Mobley: emobley@sfchronicle.com

Oct 7, 2024

Senior Wine Critic

Esther Mobley joined the San Francisco Chronicle in 2015 to cover California wine, beer and spirits. She reports on the business of the state’s $55 billion wine industry; reviews Bay Area wineries, wines and bars; and writes about the effects of climate change on vineyards.

Previously Esther was an assistant editor at Wine Spectator magazine in New York. She has worked harvest seasons at wineries in Napa Valley and Argentina. She was the 2019 Feature Writer of the Year in the Louis Roederer International Wine Writers’ Awards, and her work has been recognized by organizations including the California News Publishers Association, the Society for Features Journalism and the Association of Food Journalists.

The San Francisco Giants have to make a decision on their future general manager.

In this story:

The San Francisco Giants made an impressive move when they hired Buster Posey to be their new President of Baseball Operations.

While Posey doesn't have experience as a President of Baseball Ops., he's been around the Giants organization for much of his professional career. He should understand what the team is looking for to improve in the future.

When he spent his playing career with San Francisco, they were consistently one of the best teams in Major League Baseball.

Getting back to the top of the baseball world won't be easy, but the Giants might have the best man to complete that task.

San Francisco has yet to announce a new general manager, which will be a tough decision from their perspective. However, with the offseason approaching much quicker than it may seem, it's a move they should look to make in the next week or two.

Some names have been rumored over the past few days, mostly those who've been around the Giants organization in some capacity.

On Sunday, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle hinted at two more, writing that Thad Levine and Billy Owens are names to monitor.

"One possible candidate who makes perfect sense is Thad Levine, who severed ties with the Twins on Friday, a GM who has skills negotiating in free agency and trades and built solid relationships with agents. Levine was runner-up last year for the Red Sox’s top job that went to Craig Breslow. Posey could potentially bring in both Levine and Oakland’s Billy Owens... The Giants’ payroll would be far north of what Levine and Owens are accustomed to, but they’ve nicely succeeded in their respective markets and could be a perfect match under Posey."

As he wrote, the most important factor in this is that San Francisco's payroll would be higher than what they're used to.

They've both put together decent teams throughout their careers, but they've had financial challenges. If the Giants are willing to spend the type of money that many expect them to, there wouldn't be many worries on that end from a general manager's perspective.

San Francisco hasn't exactly been a hotbed for free agents in recent offseasons, which is a bit concerning.

However, there are a few factors to that, and ultimately, winning solves most of them. If the Giants find a way to start winning games at an elite level again, they'll have guys who want to play for them.

If they continue to struggle, they shouldn't expect much change. The GM decision could affect that.

Published Oct 7, 2024

JON CONAHAN

Jon Conahan has been covering all major sports since 2019. He is a 2022 graduate of the Bellisario School of Journalism at Penn State University and previously played D1 baseball.