Everyone knew the San Francisco Giants would extend a $19.65 million qualifying offer to Carlos Rodón. But almost no one was talking about Joc Pederson as a possibility. The Giants have been the most aggressive team in baseball with qualifying offers the last few years—as evidenced by the fact that Kevin Gausman (2020) and Brandon Belt (2021) are the last two players in the sport to accept the offer. Joc Pederson very possibly will be the third SF Giants player in three years to accept the qualifying offer.
Are there any downsides? Only if the roughly $20 million stops the Giants from doing something else they might've done that would've helped them more. Pederson is a good but imperfect player. He crushes right-handed pitching but struggles against lefties. He was one of the worst defenders in baseball in 2022, but hasn't been quite that bad historically. Offering Pederson nearly $20M on a one-year deal is aggressive by the SF Giants, but it's not insane. Reports indicate that he has received interest from teams on a possible three-year deal, and that his value may be helped significantly by the league's ban on defensive shifts, which goes into effect next season.
Elsewhere in hot stove news, Aaron Judge is officially on the open market. He's free to sign with any team, and the San Francisco Giants make as much sense as any. At what point does his potential contract become too much? And is a 7-, 8-, or 9-year deal too much for Judge, who will be 31 in year one of any new contract? If the Giants don't land Judge, who is the next most likely? There's not necessarily a huge drop-off with the new best free agents, Carlos Correa and Trea Turner. Those players also have youth on their side more so than Judge.
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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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