SF Giants Among Seven Teams “Making The Biggest Push” For Starters

The SF Giants are among the seven most aggressive teams in their pursuit of starting pitching, per a report.

According to a report by Mark Feinsand of MLB Network, the SF Giants are one of seven teams “making the biggest push” to sign starting pitchers at this point in the offseason. Feinsand lists the Giants, Mets, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Rays, White Sox, and Padres as the top-tier group and adds that the Twins, Marlins, and Reds are expected to join the frenzy as well.

While most of the teams have obvious needs in their rotations and have been aggressive spenders recently, the Rays are an interesting exception. Tampa Bay, of course, has been rumored to be looking to offload payroll and is considering trading ace starter Blake Snell. Granted, signing a veteran starter might make the front office more comfortable trading Snell for a more unproven prospect package a team like the Giants could offer.

The Blue Jays, Mets, and Giants have emerged as the most likely heavy spenders this offseason and have been tied to the biggest names on the free-agent market. Earlier this week, all three were mentioned as potential landing spots for Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant as well. The White Sox and Padres were two of the most exciting young teams in baseball this season and while neither have been discussed as obvious spenders this offseason, they have both been two of the most aggressive franchises in baseball on the free agency market over the last few years.

Trevor Bauer is almost assured to be the most expensive starter in this year’s free-agent market, but there are plenty of reasons the Giants should look elsewhere. If they do, Jose Quintana, Masahiro Tanaka, and Jake Odorizzi highlight the next tier of arms. San Francisco was already connected to Odorizzi in a previous report earlier in the offseason.

There has been a lot of speculation about the SF Giants this offseason. While they have yet to make any big acquisitions, the team has been one of the most aggressive in reaching out to free agents and appears poised to make a move as the dominoes start to fall. Given the impending non-tender deadline, the hot stove will likely heat up over the next couple of weeks.