MLB insider reports that SF Giants are in a good position to land upper-tier arm

Could the SF Giants land one of the top starting pitchers in free agency? Jon Morosi of The MLB Network reports that they have been active with multiple free-agent starters and are in a good position to land one of the top arms on the market.

MLB insider reports that SF Giants are in a good position to land upper-tier arm

This would seemingly be in contrast to what Greg Johnson told John Shea of The San Francisco Standard and what Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic have reported this offseason.

Johnson said that they would be cautious in handing out a nine-figure contract to a pitcher. Cautious does not mean outright avoidance, but that these would be treated on a case-by-case basis. They have not done so since signing Johnny Cueto to a six-year, $130 pact in 2015. 

In that same offseason, the Giants also signed Jeff Samardzija to a five-year, $90 contract. They did not feel that they got the return on investment for either of those deals. In the years since then, they have been involved with several frontline starters, but either did not win the bidding or were not motivated to meet the asking price.

On the other hand, Baggarly reported that the Giants were targeting more moderately-priced free agents, which would preclude them from landing Tatsuya Imai of the NPB.

Morosi’s report strikes a different chord. The Giants have a need for at least two starters, and could raise the ceiling of the rotation by adding one of the top starters on the market. Pairing another frontline starter with Logan Webb would give them one of the most formidable duos in baseball and one that could carry them into the playoff picture.

Imai, Framber Valdez, Michael King, and Ranger Suárez are among the top remaining options in free agency. Dylan Cease set the bar high after signing with the Toronto Blue Jays on a seven-year, $210 million deal. There is a good chance that none of the remains pitchers in free agency come close to that number.

While the Blue Jays have been one of the most aggressive teams in free agency, they are almost certainly no longer in the market for a frontline starter. They have turned their attention to Kyle Tucker, per Robert Murray of FanSided.

For the Giants, adding one of the remaining starters would take them out of the comfort zone. However, they have plenty of space below the $244 million luxury tax threshold for 2026 to add a pitcher of that caliber.

It would come at more than just a financial cost. Suárez, King, and Valdez all rejected qualifying offers this offseason, so signing any of them would result in the loss of a draft pick and IFA capital. That is a price they have paid several times in the past couple of offseason, but the trade off is often worth it to bolster the front of the rotation.