3 New Year’s resolutions for the SF Giants in 2024

3 New Year’s resolutions for the SF Giants in 2024

1. Get faster and more athletic

This has been a point of emphasis for Farhan Zaidi and the SF Giants the last two offseasons. Last offseason, the Giants did not accomplish this goal. Their signings of Michael Conforto and Mitch Haniger made the team slower and less athletic.

The signing of Jung Hoo Lee should help to achieve this end. They are hoping that Lee will be a guy who can get on base a lot as a leadoff man and an everyday center fielder. He certainly showed impressive defensive skills in his time in the KBO.

However, as a whole, the Giants are still a slow team. They stole the fewest number of bases last season and it wasn’t even close.

Plus, their lack of range in the outfield made them a much weaker defensive team as well.

The Arizona Diamondbacks showed last season just how valuable it is to have young, speedy outfielders who can seemingly track anything down in the outfield.

The Giants could address this need by signing Cody Bellinger who is a solid defensive outfielder, but he could command a lengthy, sizable, and risky deal in free agency.

Harrison Bader is also available in free agency at a much more affordable price, but his offensive limits likely prevent him from being an everyday starter even though he is a great defender and is fast.

Matt Chapman is another option. He would make the Giants better defensively, but he is also a really solid baserunner and would give them more speed on the bases which is something the Giants have been missing as of late.

There are also younger players currently in the roster who could make the Giants more athletic. Luis Matos and Tyler Fitzgerald are two players who come to mind who showed their athletic skills last year.

The Giants will not become the fastest and most athletic team overnight, but they can make meaningful steps in the right direction if they play their cards right in 2024.