Nugget from SF Giants insider suggests team may not be that hot on Zac Gallen

One name the SF Giants have been connected to this offseason is free agent pitcher Zac Gallen. However, a recent nugget of information from Giants insider Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area suggests the Giants may not be super hot on Gallen.

Some conflicting reports created confusion about Gallen's status, but he is still very much available in free agency. However, the fact that he rejected a qualifying offer could be a sticking point for the Giants.

SF Giants may not make big push for Zac Gallen

After the Winter Meetings in Orlando which were pretty quiet on the whole and especially quiet for the Giants, Pavlovic shared some thoughts and nuggets from things he heard at the meetings. One in particular regarding pitchers and qualifying offers stood out:

"I've heard they don't love the qualifying offer guys as well, which, obviously they'd be giving up draft picks after they gave up draft picks for Matt Chapman, Blake Snell, Willy Adames. They don't want to do that again."

For free agents who rejected a qualifying offer from their team, that means that if a team signs that player away from their club then they owe draft compensation to them. So if the Giants were to sign Gallen, because he rejected the qualifying offer from the Arizona Diamondbacks they would owe draft picks to Arizona.

President of baseball operations Buster Posey has been clear that he thinks internal talent is going to be necessary for the Giants if they want to have sustained success, and after giving up draft picks in recent seasons to sign free agents it makes sense that the Giants may not be keen to do that again.

It is also worth noting that Gallen is represented by Scott Boras who always seems to get the biggest deals possible for his clients which the Giants will certainly chafe at.

If it is true that the Giants want to stay away from pitchers who rejected a qualifying offer, that would mean they might be out on pitchers like Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez, and Michael King. Those are some of the best pitchers available on the market so if the Giants are not thrilled about them due to the qualifying offer they may decide to look elsewhere.

Of course, if the Giants got a good deal or had an agreement with a player who would really make them better then they would probably be able to overlook having to part with draft capital. However, for fans who want to see a splash this has to be a frustrating development.

We'll see if the Giants surprise us, but Pavlovic's reporting has suggested the Giants are not looking to make a big splash this offseason.