Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi identified a pair of areas the team could look to address this offseason. Speaking with reporters at the GM Meetings, he acknowledged that “center field is going to be a priority” (link via John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle). Zaidi added the club could look for depth at shortstop.
A desire for center field help is natural, considering Zaidi has already spoken of a goal of becoming more athletic in the outfield. Bringing in a center fielder is the most direct way of doing that, as it’d allow new skipper Bob Melvin to keep Mike Yastrzemski in a corner. Rookie Luis Matos had below-average defensive marks in his first 438 innings at the position.
Cody Bellinger is the prize of the center field market. Players like Harrison Bader, Michael A. Taylor and Kevin Kiermaier are glove-first options who’d improve the defense — albeit with a significantly lower offensive ceiling than Bellinger provides — at a much lower price.
Zaire’s stance on shortstop walks back comments from last month a little bit. At the time, the front office leader said that 22-year-old Marco Luciano would get “the chance to be the everyday guy.” While Zaidi reiterated the organization is hopeful that Luciano seizes the job, he acknowledged yesterday “it makes sense for us to have some insurance.”
That could point more towards a depth addition than a rebound flier on Tim Anderson or Amed Rosario. It’s a thin free agent class, with Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Nick Ahmed and Kevin Newman among available glove-first options. Longtime shortstop Brandon Crawford is also a free agent and indicated this week that he is still deciding whether to continue his career.
Meanwhile, Jon Heyman of the New York Post writes that the Giants are considering an upgrade at third base. J.D. Davis played reasonably well in 2023, hitting .248/.325/.413 across 546 plate appearances. Statcast credited him with above-average defense at the hot corner, although Defensive Runs Saved was far more bearish.
Matt Chapman has ties to Melvin from their time in Oakland. He’d be a marked upgrade over Davis with the glove. Free agency’s top third baseman may not be that much better than Davis offensively, however. Chapman struggled down the stretch and finished the season with a .240/.330/.424 slash through 581 plate appearances for the Blue Jays.
Please trade for Myles Straw ! Guardians fan here lol
Came here to say this myself lol
Giants have all that money to throw around and nobody wants it
Bet?
A “Giant” overpay coming now
Well, Chapman would certainly fills that description. Giants should stay far away from Chapman and his huge swing and miss. And his likely bloated contract.
It’s too early in the hot stove season to say that.
For this year.
Giants are gonna sign Bellinger and Nola. They will win 80 games.
Haha!! Yup that’s all they’re going to do….I need that crystal ball you have though, might be able to make a few bucks
They won’t sign either and they’ll win 82 games. I wanted them to sign Bellinger last year for his defense. Anything he did offensively would have been a bonus. And what a bonus it ended up being. Kudos to him for the resurrection.
Take Grisham!
Adames from the brewers is available I’m sure. They’ll probably want another reliever I’m sure
How sure sure are you?
I’m sure as I’m sure your dirty
Why is it that top tier free agents do not want to play for SF? LA, SD do not have that problem…
Culmination of things surely but as a somewhat local I can help! They haven’t had much winning since the dynastic run in 10,12,14, coupled with a front office/manager combo that was not tantalizing to free agents (platoons, perceived lack of confidence in players, manager who was seen slightly as a diva could’ve let to a toxic clubhouse) not to mention the city itself is in dire straits comparatively speaking to those good times for giants fans also. But with players like ohtani and others lack of competitiveness in recent years has got to take the cake. The dodgers are an attractive place because they are Uber competitive, San Diego throws money at players and has a great climate. They all have the same mostly high taxes.
That’s been my take as a giants fan and hearing rumblings over the years, but Correa accepted the money , people never really thought judge would. They likely missed the best opportunity with Harper , could try for ohtani and soto but it’s not lined up great. But also dodged bullets with Correa and Stanton deals so it’s not all bad in terms of perception on us fans part. Some good some bad , better than all bad.
Adames for a reliever… and what two other players?
Correa was willing to play for them.
The city is a dump. Nobody wants to go there unless it’s a huge over pay. While the dodgers have a winning culture, stars go to LA and San Diego is just a better place to live than either of them.
*glosses over common large city issues to fit the narrative in their head*
What bunk. Lay of Fox News.
Simm I feel for ya man, maybe go visit the great city of San Francisco instead of reading propaganda by the right.
The city is awesome, so is the ballpark.
North Beach, The Marina, the hills that reach the stars, great architecture and S.F. Still has great music venues, dive bars and the food. Blue collar, white collar.
Anybody complaining about the Giants doesn’t live here or appreciate 3 World Series in the last 14 years, it’s remarkable! Warriors incredible run too.
49ers so close last few years.
Hey to each his own just don’t let headlines and politics ruin your outlook on life. Great folks everywhere in the US.
There’s also tents and homeless everywhere too, sign of the times.
Enjoy yourself
Go Giants
Ps I’m happy to see Kapler gone.
Hope we get Nola, Mullins and a few other pieces.
I was there 1.5 years ago and it’s only gotten worse since:
Simm — Such a boring, worn and untrue narrative.
Because $25 million a year only makes you upper middle class.
Bellinger .197 for four years, has one good year gets $$$, then goes back to .197. Let the kids play.
If the Giants ‘play the kids ‘ they’ll lose 90 games next year. They introduced 13 rookie players to the big leagues last season and none of them can hit
@chump
Then why didn’t they lose 90 – or to be charitable, the pro-rated amount of 90 for when the kids were called up – in ’23, then?
Auto correct got you at the beginning of the third paragraph.
The author must have had a traumatizing trip up the Congo.
Fourth paragraph.
Soto and Darvish for some prospects? Move someone to center field or take Grisham in the trade as well.
While I think Soto is perfect for the Giants I doubt the Padres make that trade tbh
If I listed all the players you would have to trade to make that happen you would then say no thanks.
Just get rid of Yaz. He sucks
Keep the bad takes coming Gumster.
You do realize Yaz was better than every other Giants outfielder combined last year?
Not a high bar
Still the bar, making getting rid of him a dumb take.
Not saying he’s the right player for either job, but I could totally see Zaidi being in Kiner-Falefa as a two-in-one CF-SS.
Fitzgerald is already that guy.
Really don’t see the need for a shortstop unless there’s a trade in the works..
Farhan Zaidi LOL
He’s taken a once respected and proud franchise and ran it into the ground.
He’s entering his 6th season and has only fielded a team with a winning record once
The Giants are a mess. And it will be a mess for several more years.
If he did in NY, Boston, ATL or Boston what he’s done in SF he would have been fired last season
He’s still employed because Bay Area baseball writers are Soft. And as we all know their fan base is the ‘low baseball information’ variety. They only watch Giants games and read the local Shills that write about the team
So, there is no pressure for ownership to make the necessary changes to create a winning culture
No one cares about your trash takes.
This really isnt a trash take. This is pretty much true.
Didn’t he win executive of the year two years ago? The two season before he took over they were a combined 52 games under 500. They won a division title and have hovered around 500. Not saying I’m a fan just it’s not as dire as many make it
Yes it is couldn’t seal the deal on any big FA
Judge a Bay Area guy or Semien a San Fransisco kid not walking out with contracts were bad
@steeler
If you truly believe the Giants can’t seal the deal on big FAs, then please use a better examples. Semien would’ve been nice, but 7/$175mm was a pretty massive overpay for a player on the wrong side of 30. And Judge is an even worse example, because the Giants never had a shot.
Here, I’ll let Judge tell you for himself: “That ($360mm offer from the Yankees” was enough for me. If all I was doing was chasing money, I could’ve gone to another team who had a higher offer. But New York is where I wanted to finish my career.”
When Wilmer Flores is your top bat, it’s the GM’s fault.
@cleaver
This is a very reductive and weak take. Wilmer had a ridiculously good year, he would’ve been a top hitter on almost any team.
It’s fair to want more, but who would you have realistically signed without the benefit of hindsight last offseason that would’ve been a better hitter? So no Judge who was never leaving NY, and no resurgent Cody Bellinger that fit the Haniger/Conforto high risk/high reward mold.
It’s funny yankees, because almost everything you say is wrong. And I get why you’re on here making aggressive, hot garbage takes, I do.
Bay Area sports writers aren’t not soft. The local radio also reams on Farhan… pretty much every single day.
The rookies didn’t hit in ‘23? They’re freakin rookies.
@chumpy
“If he did in NY, Boston, ATL or Boston”
When did Boston get two teams? And why didn’t you include LA on that list? They’re a big market, winning team. I can’t figure out why you’d conveniently leave them out…
KK to the Giants. Takes a short term deal and leaves a lot of money to sign others. Giants played Dodgers enough to know about Bellinger. Cashman will give Bellinger/Borass another Rodon deal.
RJNarvick — No to Kiermeir but I agree, Bellinger is head for the Yankees.
With the D-Backs fresh off of a World Series Appearance and being in that division w/ LA and SD the Giants have become Irrelevant. You could add Trout and Ohtani to that roster and They’d finish 4th in the NL West.
The Roster is just BAD. A bunch of 1.5 WAR guys and Risk Averse front office leader in Zaidi that is addicted to bargain bin shopping .
I think they’ll try and spend this winter. But a Franchise w/that kind of losing culture in a City that is a unattractive as SF is a tough sell.
Personally, I liked SF…..10 years ago. But today the city is crime ridden. Dope addicts in the streets. There is Human Feces all over on the street
They actually have a POOP MAP so people can attempt to not step in it.
arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=b6fab7209126…
Oh gawd a San Francisco City tracking human shitt map
Where on the map are you located ?
He’s under the troll bridge.
just curious but what are champy ankees. And why are there 27 of them. And what’s an ankee ? I just struggle to understand the username. Is it borrowed from Ton Ygwynn19. Never un Der stood these use rnames. But they are humo rous. Keep them com ing
@TheBull
Yes, we’ve all seen the poop map by now. It’s a convenient scapegoat for the “SF BAD” or “GO WOKE GO BROKE” crowds, but in reality doesn’t tell us anything that we don’t already know about big cities (plus, Chicago and NY have one as well). Any large city will have factors that make them unattractive if you look for them.
And while the Dodgers will be the Dodgers, the DBacks won 84 games and the Padres 82. The Dbacks may have made the WS, but the Padres looked good in 2022 only to miss the playoffs in 2023. It’s unlikely both will regress, but the NL West is not the three-headed monster you make them out to be.
So yes, SF has work to do if it wants to contend, but any team would be happy to have Webb, Doval, Estrada, the Rogers brothers, and would be happy to roll the dice on any of Bailey, Harrison, Luciano, and Matos (amongst others). Yaz, Wilmer and Wade were all also above average, and you can do worse than Slater for OF depth (just ask the Padres). The team has financial flexibility, so let’s give them a chance before pretending a poop map is standing in the way of them signing players.
100% certain you could make a “poop map” for any major US City. San Jose, CA has over 1,000,000 people, is widely recognized as one of the safest cities per capita in the US, and I have to step over poop on my way to work sometimes. It’s almost as if this is just a big city problem and not uniquely a San Francisco problem.
We could level various indictments against whatever culture war boogey man you like but in the end this is a baseball forum and this garbage is really boring compared to what we actually come here for.
Also the Giants are going to get Yamamoto and Lee if there is any hope for the present.
DAN — I think you laid that out perfectly.
A rare moment of clarity I apologize. I will not let it happen again.
SS Jorge Mateo will be pushed out of Baltimore soon. San Francisco has a history of acquiring good players that teams move on from. I think CF Harrison Bader will fit well too.
Mateo is bad
What more does Luciano have to do to have this job handed to him. It’s time. Let’s freaking go.
Check in with the Orioles about Urias or Mateo. The dream is Ohtani, but there’s still depth moves to be made.
Yaz & Flores to Seattle for Woo & Moore
Who says no ???
Seattle says no before even the Giants even finish saying “Moore”. Woo still has his team control in tact. Yaz and Flores combined (2 years each, including Flores’ team option) don’t even add up to Woo’s control. And that is before factoring in that Woo looked the part, and is still young, while Yaz and Flores are each over 30.
Both Seattle and San Francisco because Woo has great upside and Giants have no need for Dylan Moore. Why give up two useful productive players for a dice roll, even an attractive one? Woo still has control issues (7 HBP this past season plus 3.2 walks per 9 innings.) and the Giants have a bunch of really good young arms.
But I agree Woo is an attractive arm.
Wow,that SS FA market is brutal but if they’re looking for insurance, you could bring in Enrique Hernandez who can play SS and OF. WAA is average so it wouldn’t be terrible to bring him on at his market value of $4.5M
Old York — Giants and Cardinals are compatible trade partners: Tommy Edman for one of the Giants young arms.
Just because a manager puts Hernandez at SS doesn’t necessarily make him a SS. He’s not very good defensively at all.
I’m not a Giants expert…who the heck is Zaire?
The reference to “Zaire” is likely an iPhone autocorrect.
Yeah I was gonna say, who was in the Congo asking for opinions on US baseball matters?
Who is Zaire?
@gravel, not really. The city is a dump. I live about 60 miles out of the city. I used to take my four boys three to 5 times a year, you can do the math on what sort of revenue that is. Now I will not take my younger daughters pr my two teen sons to SF. I go to one game a year usually with my older adult son and we don’t stay I. The city at all after. It’s simply not a safe place to be with your children even during the day. Not like it was when I was growing up and not even like it was 10 years ago when I would take all my sons multiple times a year. I am not alone anyone of my neighbors would tell you the same. Those of us that live and work in the South Bay or better parts of the east bay avoid the city at all cost, same goes for Oakland. We could go into why, but this isn’t the place really and the fact remains regardless of the why it is going to hurt revenues even if, sorry when the A’s leave for Vegas.
What a garbage take. I’ve lived here in SF for 30 years, and it’s the same as its always been. The Tenderloin and Mid-Market have always had issues, but outside of that it’s a safe city.
You clearly do not live in San Francisco.
Crawford must realize he is DONE DONE DONE!!!!!!
Belly will be a costly flop sure he may bat .250 hit 20 HR’s with Giants but years after he will not be worth much return on that salary he is going to command this off season.
The Giants should just sign the Padres pitching staff from last year. Snell, Wacha, Lugo, and a flyer on TA or Amed Rosario for up the middle seems plausible. Plus Bader/Soler, or Bellinger . That is if they remembered to bring pens to their contract meetings this year…
This website is run by garbage leftist propagandists that censor comments.
Wow. Where the hell did that come from?
In my opinion Giants targets should be Ohtani, and a starting pitcher. Don’t trust bellignger to be consistent and as far as free agents go no other center fielder better than Yaz overall. And I know that Yaz is not a good defender in CF. And yes Bad Belli from LA is still better than Yaz but…..$