SF Giants: Five New Free-Agent Targets To Watch

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SF Giants, Dee Gordon, Dee Strange-Gordon

Dee Strange-Gordon has seen a considerable decline with the bat but has some intriguing defensive versatility and speed that could help the SF Giants. (Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports) /

SF Giants New Free-Agent Targets: CF/2B Dee Strange-Gordon

Dee Strange-Gordon will become a free agent after the Seattle Mariners declined a $14 million club option in his contract for the 2021 season. After a significant decline at the plate in 2020, Strange-Gordon is unlikely to find an everyday job on the open market, but he may be the perfect final player on the SF Giants bench.

Once one of the fastest players in baseball, Strange-Gordon still recorded sprint speeds in the 86th percentile last season, which easily would rank among the better times on the Giants roster. The Giants front-office has shown a tendency to target strong defensive and baserunning options, even when they lack a strong offensive track record (e.g. Yolmer Sanchez and Billy Hamilton).

Like Kolten Wong, Strange-Gordon has long derived his value from strong defensive ability at second base. Unlike Wong though, Strange-Gordon has played centerfield and left field quite competently at the big-league level. Before the Mariners traded Robinson Cano to the New York Mets, Strange-Gordon transitioned to centerfield smoothly before moving back to second following the trade.

With a plethora of powerful bats in the starting lineup and set to be on the Giants bench next season, an elite baserunning-lefthanded bat with the ability to play second base and centerfield would be the perfect piece to fill out the team’s 2021 roster.

While Wong is likely to earn a big-league deal that puts him in a position to be an everyday player, Strange-Gordon’s meager .200/.268/.213 triple-slash in 2020 is unlikely to convince any front-office to give him much more than a minor-league deal. If that’s the case, expect the Giants to be in the mix.

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Sadly for most baseball fans, this offseason appears destined to be slow, drawn-out, and disappointing. Teams will be penny-pinching and many good players will receive contracts far less valuable than they deserve. The SF Giants are well-positioned to take advantage, potentially targetting some players who’ve seen their club options declined.