SF Giants: Three Reasons Trevor Bauer Would Choose San Francisco

The rumor mill has been heating up for the SF Giants as a new rumor is connecting them to star pitching Trevor Bauer.

Trevor Bauer will have plenty of suitors as the offseason market develops, and the SF Giants look like a logical destination. While there are some compelling reasons not to sign the right-handed hurler, there are plenty of reasons for him to hope the front-office views him as a target.

Let’s go through the three biggest reasons why.

Three Reasons Trevor Bauer Would Choose The SF Giants
1. Money

For years, Bauer has stated that he would only be interested in signing one-year contracts as a free agent as it gives him the flexibility to pick and choose the best fit for him every year. If he is only interested in one-year contracts, then just about every team should be connected to him.

After all, with a one-year pact, teams do not have to sit through the painful end of a contract where a player’s skill has regressed and is only marginally productive.

However, his agent, Rachel Luba, has signaled that he is open to all types of deals this offseason. With the impending CBA negotiations hangning over the offseason, Bauer may prefer more long-term security.

Whether it is a one-year pact or a multi-year deal, the Giants could conceivably be players in the Bauer market because of money.

After factoring in arbitration raises and if Kevin Gausman accepts the qualifying offer, the SF Giants remain about well-below the Collective Bargaining Tax (CBT). Even if they limit spending this offseason, they have plenty of room to spend and maintain a lower payroll than they have in recent history.

As a result, they could be aggressive spenders this offseason, and at least one source suggests they will be. Though, San Francisco has been extremely stingy with free-agent spending since Farhan Zaidi took over as the president of baseball operations. Perhaps that could change this year.

With Bauer looking to get paid this offseason, the Giants are one of the few organizations that seem even somewhat open to the prospect of spending.

Three Reasons Trevor Bauer Would Choose The SF Giants
2. Home-Field Ballpark

For years, Oracle Park has been known as one of the more pitcher-friendly ballparks in baseball. Over the past decade, we have seen plenty of Giants hitters launch baseballs over 400 feet only to fall just shy of the warning track in right field for an out. The Giants have slightly adjusted the ballpark dimensions, but the park remains one of the most favorable to pitchers in the league.

Despite some recent hitter-friendly changes, the unforgiving wind off of the Bay and cold gametime temperatures depress the flight of the ball, and that bodes well for pitchers. The ballpark has consistently scared hitters away from signing with San Francisco, but it’s been one of the biggest selling points for free-agent pitchers.

Following a trade that sent him to the Cincinnati Reds in 2019, Bauer’s home ballpark, the Great American Ballpark, is one of the more hitter-friendly stadiums in baseball. To his credit, the right-handed hurler posted a sterling 2.18 ERA in five games at home in 2020. Still, Bauer is well aware of the science of baseball, should understand the benefits.

Particularly if Bauer is targetting a shorter-term deal this offseason, he will be trying to position himself for another free-agency market shortly. Playing those seasons at Oracle Park would be one of the best ways to ensure his future market is not suppressed by bad-luck from playing in particularly favorable hitting environments.

The ballpark does not make the pitcher, but what if you could improve your circumstances? That is a decision Bauer will have to consider, and one that might prove to be a nice selling point for San Francisco this offseason.