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San Francisco Giants: Nine Free Agents To Pursue at Winter Meetings

Michael Saltzman|
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 06: Marwin Gonzalez #9 of the Houston Astros swings and watches the flight of his ball as he hits a three-run home run against the San Francisco Giants in the top of the ninth inning at AT&T Park on August 6, 2018 in San Francisco, California. The Astros won the game 3-1. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 06: Marwin Gonzalez #9 of the Houston Astros swings and watches the flight of his ball as he hits a three-run home run against the San Francisco Giants in the top of the ninth inning at AT&T Park on August 6, 2018 in San Francisco, California. The Astros won the game 3-1. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – AUGUST 06: Marwin Gonzalez #9 of the Houston Astros swings and watches the flight of his ball as he hits a three-run home run against the San Francisco Giants in the top of the ninth inning at AT&T Park on August 6, 2018 in San Francisco, California. The Astros won the game 3-1. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – AUGUST 06: Marwin Gonzalez #9 of the Houston Astros swings and watches the flight of his ball as he hits a three-run home run against the San Francisco Giants in the top of the ninth inning at AT&T Park on August 6, 2018 in San Francisco, California. The Astros won the game 3-1. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Marwin Gonzalez

Farhan Zaidi has made it clear that he values positional versatility and Marwin Gonzalez is certainly that. Gonzalez, in 2018, played every position except for pitcher and catcher.

Gonzalez posted a 2.5 WAR while hitting 16 home runs and posting a .733 OPS. While not earth shattering numbers, it is certainly an upgrade over the Giants lineup last season and his versatility would allow for the Giants to move him around the diamond as injuries occur of if the team ends up trading some of their veterans.

Much like other players in this article, Gonzalez had a much better 2017 than 2018. His 4.3 WAR and .907 OPS were career bests and showed just how good he could potentially be. Now it will be up to the Giants new front office to decide if that was an outlier, or if that potential can be who he is going forward.

Josh Harrison

Harrison is another player who would help the Giants mostly for his versatility. Another 2017 All-Star who struggled in 2018, Harrison’s OPS dropped more than 100 points last season. Going from a 3.3 WAR to a 0.3 WAR was also a huge drop.

Having played both corner outfield spots as well as second, third and even shortstop, Harrison is another player who may be worth taking a chance on as much for his Swiss Army Knife skill set as anything.

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Daniel Descalso

It is actually shocking that Descalso has never played for the Giants. The Redwood City native has played in the National League West for half of his career, playing for both the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks.

Once again, his ability to play all over the diamond will be his biggest asset. Knowing the National League West would certainly be another.

The 31 year old actually had his best season last year, posting a 1.1 WAR across 138 games while playing nearly every position.

That kind of versatility coming off the bench could be invaluable to the 2019 Giants.

Zaidi may not make any big splash this week. Very often, the Winter Meetings are not where big moves are made, but where big moves begin. Whether laying the groundwork for a trade, getting closer on a deal with an agent, or just seeing what the market is for players on your own team, a lot can happen behind the scenes that we won’t see until the new year.

Whether Zaidi makes moves or not in Las Vegas, these free agents should be on the top of their wish list for one reason or another.

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