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Free Agents the SF Giants should consider this offseason - not named Rodon, Judge, or Turner

By Codey Larsen |
Kansas City Royals v Seattle Mariners
Kansas City Royals v Seattle Mariners / Steph Chambers/GettyImages
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Every list you will find regarding the SF Giants free agent predictions include bringing back Carlos Rodón
and signing both Aaron Judge and Trea Turner. Let me save you the trouble and NOT include them in today's reading, it seems pretty obvious the Giants should be interested in bringing back their ace and two A++++ players. Along with free agents, I also included some trade candidates into the mix--including some way-out-there-but-fun names.

Free Agents the SF Giants should consider this offseason - not named Rodon, Judge, or Turner

Doing some napkin schematics, I came to the conclusion that the glaring needs for the Giants are as followed:

-Catcher depth--whether Joey Bart is The answer or not for 2023.

-Some combination of first and third base--sliding J.D. Davis into one of those positions, and assuming Evan Longoria is not brought back.

-Second base

-Retooling the outfield, and designated hitter

-Number one starter to go with Logan Webb

-Bullpen help

1. Catcher Depth

Whether or not you believe Bart will be the 2023 Opening Day starter is very dependent on how you see any catcher fit into the Giant's plans. Longtime Cub Willson Contreras, for example, is a guy who will be the most expensive free agent catcher, but could provide the offensive spark that the position lacked this past season. Sean Murphy from the Athletics could likely be had -- given the state of their franchise -- but it would come at a premium. Murphy had a 3.5 WAR last season, and still has three years of team control remaining.

Oakland Athletics v Tampa Bay Rays
Oakland Athletics v Tampa Bay Rays / Mike Carlson/GettyImages

Here is a wild card name: Would the Royals, who have a 23-year-old catching prospect of their own, be willing to move franchise staple Salvador Perez? He is owed $20M a year for the next three seasons, with a $13M club option for 2026. Perez played in 114 games last season; which is the fewest games he has played since 2012 (excluding the COVID year. Rather unlikely, sure, but seeing Perez in a San Francisco uniform would be quite interesting. Yan Gomes, who is owed $6M next year from the Cubs, and could be owed $6M in 2024 if Chicago decides to pick up the team option, could be an O.K. option via the trade market. Three names to consider that could fit under the Gomes category of an older, more experienced catcher to play with Bart from the free agent market: Curt Casali reunion, Christian Vazquez, and Tucker Barnhart.

Pittsburgh Pirates v San Diego Padres
Pittsburgh Pirates v San Diego Padres / Denis Poroy/GettyImages

Free Agents the SF Giants should consider this offseason - not named Rodon, Judge, or Turner

2. Addressing the infield

For this exercise, let's make the assumption that Brandon Crawford is the starting shortstop for the Giants for 2023, J.D. Davis is the starting third baseman, and Thairo Estrada is heavily in their plans as well. what do the Giants do to address other questions about the infield? At first base, plucking Josh Bell, might be an option, but after his subpar second half with the Padres (.192, 3 HR, 14 RBI in 53 games), could it make the Giants balk at that idea? Daniel Vogelbach is another option, for both first and designated hitter. After being traded to the Mets, he smashed 6 more home runs while batting .255, which helped his season batting average improve to .238. Lastly, there is Jose Abreu. The 2020 MVP will be 36 by the time Opening Day rolls around, but he was the most productive of the free agent first basemen crop. Abreu batted over .300, with 186 hits, with 15 of them for home runs.

Kansas City Royals v Chicago White Sox
Kansas City Royals v Chicago White Sox / Michael Reaves/GettyImages

Now for the second base position. Like the aforementioned-however-not-to-be-mentioned Trea Turner, would some of these shortstops be willing to switch to second for the short-term? Carlos Correa would be an interesting option that would most likely divide the fan base and also has been talked about at length, but what about Xander Bogaerts? or could the Giants even pry Dansby Swanson away from his hometown team? A cheaper, possibly shorter-term option could be Adam Frazier, who has brief experience playing in the NL West from his time with the Padres.

The search for outfielders

Before we hit the pitching market, let's dabble into another need; a rebirth of the outfield. One option, of course, is bringing back Joc Pederson. If they are looking to buy low, then old rivals Tommy Pham* (all awkwardness aside and enjoying the chaotic thought of a Pederson/Pham clubhouse) could likely be brought in to help patch up the holes in the outfield. Andrew Benintendi is another free agent the front office should consider. Benintendi, who is still only 28, hit over .300 for the Royals and Yankees, with a lot of potential power in that bat. He hit 20 home runs in 2017 and has not come close to replicating it since.

*Pham and the Red Sox share a mutual option for 2023.

If San Francisco wants to explore the trade market, I wrote down four names, plus a bonus fifth to ponder. The Cubs were rumored to be wanting to move on from Ian Happ in July, so one could guess he could be had for the right, and possibly pricey, offer. Cedric Mullins and Bryan Reynolds are two players who have been subject to various trade rumors over the past couple of years as well, and either player would help anchor an outfield that was very below average when it came to offensive production. Last, two way out there names. The first is Cody Bellinger, who has struggled mightily for the Dodgers the past couple of seasons. Bellinger is due for one more year of arbitration, so any type of acquisition would likely have to be done via trade, and the likelihood of a team trading their former MVP -- who is still 27 -- to their arch-rival, despite the player's struggles, seems slim to none. The last player I wrote down is a free agent after 2023 and was in trade rumors in July, so what would it take for the Giants to pull off a Shohei Ohtani trade? Not much needs to be said about Ohtani, even most non-traditional baseball fans know who he is, and making a move like this would help set the franchise forward.

Los Angeles Angels v New York Yankees
Los Angeles Angels v New York Yankees / Sarah Stier/GettyImages
Los Angeles Angels v Oakland Athletics
Los Angeles Angels v Oakland Athletics / Thearon W. Henderson/GettyImages

Free Agents the SF Giants should consider this offseason - not named Rodon, Judge, or Turner

3. Pitching, Pitching, Pitching...

You can include Ohtani amongst the pitchers the Giants should try and obtain this offseason, of course, but who else? Well, the trade market could be interesting. Would the Phillies -- after their magical postseason run -- even entertain moving Aaron Nola, who is due to be a free agent after 2023? The Giants should at least make a call. Dave Dombrowski might hang up or let it go to voice mail, but at least make an inquiry. The same with the Guardians' Shane Bieber. It might be a little too early for Bieber, who is not a free agent until after the 2024 season, but regardless, it would be worth a phone call. A few more trade suggestions. The Marlins have two interesting names to look for (or three if you think they'd think about moving from Sandy Alcantara). The first is 2021 All-Star Trevor Rogers. He will be 25 on Opening Day, coming off of a year where he had a big regression, pitching to an ERA of 5.47, compared to 2.64 in 2022. Rogers might be a little more expensive than say a rental you would get at the trade deadline, as he has four full seasons of control left. The other Marlin is Pablo Lopez. He was supposedly almost a Yankee at the most recent trade deadline, however, Miami decided to hang onto him. With two years left of control, would Miami be willing to entertain trade offers again for the 27-year-old? Lopez had career highs in basically every category in 2022 (games started, innings pitched, and strikeouts, most notably), which led to a 'higher' ERA of 3.75.

The final trade candidate comes from the American League. The Twins had another sublime season, Carlos Correa is likely not going to sign back, and the Guardians will be just as dominant in 2023 as they were this past season, would they be wise to move on from 32-year-old Sonny Gray? He has made at least 24 starts in a season and had an average ERA+ of 120 every year since 2017 (excluding the COVID year), is owed $12M -- assuming the Twins pick up one of the easiest team option choices in major league history -- and will be a free agent at the end of 2023. Gray would be a good fit alongside Webb, Wood, DeSclafani, and Cobb in the Giants rotation.

Free agent candidates include maybe two of the best right-handed pitchers in the game currently, Jacob deGrom or Justin Verlander. Noah Syndergaard or a proven champion in Nathan Eovaldi do not have the same sex appeal as the first two but still would help fill out the rotation nicely. One more under-the-radar pitcher to watch in free agency: Martin Perez. Nearly 200 innings in 2022, 169 strikeouts, and an ERA of 2.89, helped Perez make his first All-Star team, and maybe, just maybe a rouge Cy Young vote.

Philadelphia Phillies v New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies v New York Mets / Steven Ryan/GettyImages

Finally, let's look at some bullpen pieces. TAYLOR Rogers would be a nice option from the left side to compliment his brother. Speaking of lefties, Andrew Chaffin would be a nice get if the Tigers decide to sell the 32-year-old, OR if he is an outright free agent, depending on what he does with his $6.5M player option. A sexier, but more expensive player would be former Mets closer Edwin Diaz, who will be due for a massive payday this winter. Finally, Rafael Montero (1.3 WAR, 2.37 ERA, 68 IP) and Michael Fulmer (0.8 WAR, 3.39 ERA, 63 IP) are two guys who would also help fortify the 'pen with Camilo Doval.

After a champion is crowned and once the champagne dries it will be interesting to see who exactly the Giants go after in both the free agent and trade markets, but one thing is for sure: they cannot go into the night silently, especially after what the Padres and Dodgers have done constructing their rosters, and what they will continue to do this winter.

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