Which Royal Should the San Francisco Giants Target Most?

Looking towards the offseason, the Kansas City Royals have three potential free agents the San Francisco Giants could look to sign for immediate help.

At the end of the 2017 season Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer will all become free agents. It’s highly unlikely the Kansas City Royals will be able to re-sign all three of them. At the most, I think they bring back one — most like Hosmer.

The San Francisco Giants could be in play for all three of these guys.

The least likely is Hosmer. He seems to be the fan favorite in Kansas City, and he’s the youngest of the group. The Royals will do everything they can to re-sign him.

Plus, the Giants have a first baseman in Brandon Belt. If the Giants seriously wanted Hosmer, they would have to find a suitor for Belt.

The more likely signings would be Cain or Moustakas.

The San Francisco Giants definitely have a need at third base. Moustakas will turn 29 in September and will be coming off a career season. The price for him could be pretty high.

He’s hitting .284 with a career-high 35 home runs through 444 at-bats. That’s some serious pop, which the Giants desperately need.

My guess is that Moose gets five years and close to $100 million. That’s similar to what Pablo Sandoval got from the Boston Red Sox a few years ago.

Certainly the Giants, or whoever signs Moose, will be hoping for better production than what Panda gave the Red Sox.

Moose struggled through his first four years as a major league player after being a first round pick in 2007. But he seemed to find his groove in 2015, helping the Royals win the World Series. He was limited to just 27 games in 2016, but seems to have come back strong for his free agent season.

Expecting 40-plus home run seasons from Moose is a bit unrealistic, but I think signing him would give the Giants an above average third baseman for several years.

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As for Cain, he’s been the most consistent of the group, but is also the oldest at 31 and will be 32 for most of next season.

It’s dangerous giving a speed guy that much money late in his career, but he’s also a power threat. He’s hit double-digit home runs twice, including in 2017. He’s also stolen double-digit bases six years in a row with 23 in 2017 through 119 games.

He’s also hit .287 or higher in five straight years, while playing exceptional defense.

I think Cain could get three-to-four years and between $50 and $75 million depending on the years.

If the San Francisco Giants really want to turn this team into a contender in 2018, both Cain and Moose are needed.

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However, I think the Giants will only target one of them, and Moose may be the more likely option. It will be an interesting offseason to see where these Royals end up, and how much the San Francisco Giants get involved.