Possible Offseason Targets for San Francisco Giants: Eric Hosmer

KANSAS CITY, MO - OCTOBER 01: Eric Hosmer #35 of the Kansas City Royals hits a homerun against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at Kauffman Stadium on October 1, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Brian Davidson/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO - OCTOBER 01: Eric Hosmer #35 of the Kansas City Royals hits a homerun against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at Kauffman Stadium on October 1, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Brian Davidson/Getty Images)

Through the month of October we’ll look at several different targets this offseason that the San Francisco Giants could possibly pursue, continuing with Eric Hosmer.

Hosmer might be one of the most sought after free agents this offseason. He’s just 28-years-old and is coming off one of his best seasons in the big leagues.

In 2017 he played in all 162 games and hit .318 with 25 home runs, 98 runs scored and 94 RBI.

The home run total matches his career-high, which he reached in 2016.

He is a career .284 hitter through 7 major league seasons and almost 4,000 at-bats. Hosmer also has a career on-base-percentage of .342 after posting a career-high .385 in 2017.

Not only is Hosmer a solid hitter, but he’s won two Gold Gloves and plays extremely good defense. If the San Francisco Giants want to upgrade their defense in 2017, Hosmer can certainly help there.

The one obvious issue here is that the Giants already have a first baseman.

If a move were made to sign Hosmer, then I think the Giants would have to part ways with Belt.

Personally, I am fine with that, but I know some Giants fans love Belt.

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You could possibly experiment with moving Belt back to the outfield, but I’d rather not go down that road again.

Belt could be a very nice trade piece to help fill other holes on the roster.

As much as some of you like Belt, Hosmer would be a significant upgrade.

Hosmer will most likely be looking for a 5-year contract at about $16 million per year. That’s certainly do-able for the Giants, and would leave them a little room for a smaller move.

I think Hosmer would be a great addition to this team as he is a left-handed hitter with pop that plays great defense and is a leader in the clubhouse. When you look at it like that, I think Hosmer becomes a top priority this offseason.

Next: Possible Offseason Targets for San Francisco Giants: Billy Hamilton

With the World Series and October coming to and end this week, that will conclude our ‘possible targets’ articles. Check back with us throughout the offseason though as we look at who the Giants are actually rumored to be going after.