The San Francisco Giants need a lot of help this winter, and it's not all likely to come in the form of free agent signings. Giants president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi even said that the SF Giants' stated goal of getting younger and more athletic isn't best brought about through free agency, necessarily. Free agents are, by definition, players who've been in the league for at least six seasons. With that said, who are some realistic trade targets for the San Francisco Giants?
The Diamondbacks have an abundance of young, talented, athletic outfielders. Their stable of outfield talent includes Daulton Varsho, Corbin Carroll, Jake McCarthy, and Alek Thomas. Thomas might be the odd man out in that scenario, and the SF Giants should have interest if any of those four are available. The Blue Jays have a surplus of catching talent, with Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk, and Gabriel Moreno. Jansen would be a nice target for the Giants, but it would complicate matters with Joey Bart. Ian Happ of the Chicago Cubs is a talented, athletic, switch-hitting outfielder who makes a ton of sense for the Giants, and he could be available because he's one year from free agency and plays for a rebuilding team. Shohei Ohtani is the mother of all trade candidates.
How are the SF Giants going to address their bullpen? Will they sign free agents, make trades, or both? Expect them to build their 'pen similarly to how they've built it the last few years: mostly minor moves. It didn't work in 2022, but the Giants' bullpen had the best ERA in baseball in 2021, so it's not like it's clearly a bad strategy. When is the earliest Aaron Judge will sign? Will Carlos Correa or Trea Turner sign before Judge? This offseason has been even slower than usual thus far, with zero major free agents signing to date. Expect at least one or two major moves in MLB before the Winter Meetings, but then things should really pick up (as they almost do) at the Winter Meetings in San Diego in early December.
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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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