Do the San Francisco Giants have one of MLB's worst cores? ESPN's Kiley McDaniel ranked all 30 cores, with input from executives around the game, and the SF Giants ranked 28th. These cores include all players under team control through at least 2024 and include prospects. The Giants have no "elite" talent (5+ WAR) locked up, and only Logan Webb falls into the "above average" category (3-5 WAR). The Giants have several players in the "solid" category (2-3 WAR), including major leaguers such as Alex Cobb, Joey Bart, Camilo Doval, Thairo Estrada, Mike Yastrzemski, Austin Slater, and Anthony DeSclafani. Several prospects also fall into this category, including Marco Luciano, Kyle Harrison, Luis Matos, and Patrick Bailey.
But the Giants need to supplement their core through free agency. That much has become apparent this season. The Giants got star-level production out of Brandon Crawford, Buster Posey, and Brandon Belt last year, but no position player has come close to matching that production this year. Aaron Judge is a free agent this offseason and would be the best and simplest way for the Giants to add a player long-term who falls into the "elite" category. Judge will probably win the MVP this year, and he grew up a Giants fan.
Other players who would help the Giants build a better core include Trea Turner, Carlos Rodón (if the Giants extend him), Carlos Correa, Jacob deGrom, Edwin Díaz, and Brandon Nimmo.
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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.
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