It’s up in the air whether the Giants are in for a big-spending offseason, though it appears arguably the game’s top soon-to-be free agent would be open to playing for them. Astros right-hander Gerrit Cole has interest in the Giants, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. While Cole’s brother-in-law, shortstop Brandon Crawford, plays for the Giants, Schulman notes he’s not the source of this information. A Cole signing, which could require a commitment in the neighborhood of $200MM, would give a San Francisco team that could lose pending free agent Madison Bumgarner a much-needed ace. Considering the cost, it would also be somewhat of an out-of-character transaction for Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi. Back when Zaidi was the general manager of the ultra-rich Dodgers, they never even inked anyone to a nine-figure guarantee. However, in Zaidi’s first offseason with the Giants last winter, they did make an effort to reel in free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper. The Giants reportedly discussed a decade-long pact with Harper before he signed a 13-year, $330MM contract with the Phillies.
Here’s more on a couple other NL teams…
- Retired right-hander and current YES Network announcer David Cone told Joel Sherman of the New York Post he’s interested in becoming a major league manager or pitching coach, though he’s not “actively campaigning” for a job. Specifically, Cone would like to take over for the fired Mickey Callaway as the manager of the Mets, with whom Cone starred from 1987-1992 and finished his playing career in 2003. “If someone asks you for an interview with the Yankees or Mets, it is simple, you say, ‘yes,’” said Cone, who did have a phone conversation with general manager Brian Cashman in regards to the Yankees’ then-vacant managerial position in 2017. That was not a formal interview, though, and the role ultimately went to Aaron Boone. Cone has since remained in the YES booth, where he regularly incorporates analytics into his work. The 56-year-old’s modern approach to the game could potentially put him on teams’ radars, though his lack of coaching and front office experience may give clubs pause. As of now, there’s no indication any team is considering Cone for one of his desired roles.
- Rockies reliever Bryan Shaw just wrapped up his second straight disappointing season, but there was “some deadline interest” in him over the summer, Thomas Harding of MLB.com writes. Just as no trade came together then, it seems doubtful to happen going forward. For one, Shaw has logged a brutal 5.61 ERA/5.07 FIP with 7.96 K/9 and 4.05 BB/9 in his two-season, 126 2/3-inning Rockies tenure. He’s owed another $9MM in 2020 on top of it, and there’s an incentive in his deal that could turn a $9MM club option for 2021 into a guarantee. That’ll happen if Shaw appears in 40 games next year and finishes the season healthy. The 31-year-old racked up 70 appearances in 2019, so it would take a drastic fall in usage to prevent his ’21 option from vesting.