The San Francsico Giants have signed a corner outfielder with power and a lefty starter who recently pitched in the Bay Area. If you read that a week ago, you might've thought the Giants had landed Aaron Judge and re-signed Carlos Rodón. But in reality, the SF Giants have signed Mitch Haniger and Sean Manaea so far this offseason. While both signings are fine in a vacuum, Giants fans are growing more and more restless as the huge offseason they expected hasn't materialized. Judge returned to the Yankees on a nine-year, $360 million deal while Rodón remains unsigned. Does the signing of Manaea take the Giants out of the running for Rodón? Is it possible that he is their only significant addition to the starting rotation?
Would signing Carlos Correa to the contract he is expected to command be such a good idea? Correa has a history of back issues and was involved in the 2017 cheating scandal. He also has never hit 30+ home runs in a season. All of that said, Correa has been healthy for three straight seasons, is only 28 years old so would come with roughly five more prime years, and is well liked in clubhouses despite the cheating scandal. As for him not hitting a ton of homers, that's not the best way to evaluate offensive impact. A metric such as wRC+ or OPS+ does a better job, and by those numbers, Correa is one of the best-hitting shortstops in baseball. He had a down year defensively in 2022 but has otherwise been great in his career. Defensive metrics are best taken in multiple-season samples.
Should the SF Giants consider trading for Rafael Devers or Ramón Laureano? Do they even have the prospects to pull off a move for the type of player of Devers' caliber? Not sure where the notion that they don't have the pieces is coming from (probably Juan Soto), but they absolutely have the pieces for a one-year rental of a good player. Soto was an exception because of his combination of age, talent, and multiple years of team control. Those kinds of players are rarely traded, and that's why the return was so massive. Should the Giants be more aggressive in free agency? They absolutely should at this point, and their lack of aggressiveness cost them last offseason and could do so again this year. But it's only December 12th, and some top options remain. While fan angst is understandable, it's too early to judge the 2022 offseason.
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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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