Buster Posey says it was a 'gut feel' for SF Giants to not pursue Juan Soto

Juan Soto signed the richest contract in sports history with the New York Mets for 15 years and $765 million. The SF Giants were not heavily involved in talks with Soto, and Buster Posey attributed that to a "gut feel" he and his team had.

It would have been shocking for Soto to come to the Giants. Given the fact that it seemed like he wanted to stay on the East Coast to be closer to family, coming all the way out west would have been very surprising.

Plus, Soto clearly wanted to play for a winner and the Giants are not that right now. The Mets are a much more attractive destination considering they made it to the NLCS in 2024 and adding a star like Soto could help put them over the top.

Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area asked Posey about the Soto signing and why the Giants were not as involved in this superstar chase as they have been in the past. Posey's response was interesting.

Buster Posey trusted his gut on Juan Soto pursuit

"I think it's a gut feel as much as anything," Posey said. "That's a word that, I think as numbers-driven as we are today would be spurned a lot of times...There's certain cues that you pick up along the way that might not even be verbalized."

So there you have it, folks. Soto gave Buster a dirty look in the hallway during the Winter Meetings and that's when he knew they weren't going to land the Crown Jewel of Free Agency.

In all seriousness, it is good that Posey and the front office picked up on the fact that Soto was not interested in coming to the Giants early in the process. The fact that they identified that and quickly pivoted so they could sign shortstop Willy Adames before teams who missed out on Soto pursued him was a deft move.

Plus, for as good of a player Soto is, signing the star outfielder would not have fixed everything for the Giants. They need to build a solid core of players which is what they have done by locking up both Matt Chapman and Willy Adames to long-term deals. If they are able to add starting pitcher Corbin Burnes as well, the collective money in those three contracts combined would be less than Soto's deal.

Posey and the front office understand this, so it is clear that they are not interested in making a big splashy move just for the sake of it rather than making smart moves in areas of need that will improve the team.

Posey may be right that trusting one's gut has fallen out of favor in the analytics-driven world of baseball, but I would trust Posey's guts over any algorithm so let's hope he keeps on following his instincts as he continues in his role as president of baseball operations.