The Opener: Giants, Lefty Relievers, Posting Windows

Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. Giants 40-man roster moves incoming:

The Giants signed right-handers Adrian Houser and Jason Foley to major league deals yesterday, and in doing so created in a logjam on their 40-man roster. San Francisco’s roster was already at capacity before those signings, so they’ll need to make a pair of corresponding moves in order to finalize those additions. Those transactions could be simply designating two other players for assignment, but it’s also possible that the Giants could look to work out a trade of some kind that clears 40-man roster space.

2. Market for lefties heating up:

While the bullpen market has been buzzing virtually the entire offseason, the market for specifically left-handed relief pitching had been a bit quieter until recently. As of early last week, Gregory Soto was most notable lefty to sign, but that dam has broken. Hoby Milner and Tyler Alexander signed late last week, and things picked up further yesterday with a trio of agreements: Caleb Thielbar returned to the Cubs after a strong rebound season, Drew Pomeranz signed with the Angels, and the Reds landed Caleb Ferguson. With that group off the board, the most notable lefties still on the market include Sean Newcomb, Taylor Rogers, Justin Wilson and Danny Coulombe.

3. Posting windows for Song, Murakami nearing their end:

When international players are posted for MLB teams, they’re given a limited window during which to sign. That window lasts 30 days for players coming over from the KBO, while NPB players have 45 days. Two such players are having their windows draw to a close in the next few days: KBO infielder Sung Mun Song, who will need to sign by December 21 at 4pm CT, and NPB slugger Munetaka Murakami, who will need to sign by December 22 at 4pm CT.

Murakami is by far the more well-known player, heralded for his youth and prodigious power despite concerns about his contact ability. He should land a healthy multi-year deal in free agency, though his camp has kept things very quiet to this point. Song hasn’t garnered as much fanfare but is coming off a pair of terrific seasons, wherein he combined to his .327/.397/.524 with a 10.5% walk rate and just a 14.3% strikeout rate.