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

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.

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.

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.

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.