The SF Giants free agent class has largely been a disappointment thus far

The SF Giants invested a lot of money this offseason to improve their roster. While it is still very early in the season, they have not seen a great return on their investment to begin 2024.

The SF Giants free agent class has largely been a disappointment thus far

The Giants knew they had to shake things up this offseason. When they missed out on Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, they pivoted and signed a number of solid and intriguing players. Thus far, none can be called a complete disaster, but the new faces have not quite lived up to the high expectations many had for them.

Starting Pitcher Blake Snell

Let's start with the bad news and work our way towards the good. By far, Blake Snell has been the most disappointing free agent signing. The Giants landed Snell very late in the process in the middle of Spring Training. They gave him a lot of money on a short-term deal with the hope that he could replicate his Cy Young season from last year. So far, that has not been the case.

He has struggled on the mound and now finds himself on the injured list. One can only hope that he can get healthy soon, but the fear is that this injury could set back the progress he was making with each start. It is too early to press the emergency button, but it is natural to fear that this could end up being a bad signing if Snell cannot get things going when he returns.

Designated Hitter Jorge Soler

Jorge Soler has not been terrible by any means. He has just not provided the goods in the big spots so far. He already has 5 home runs on the year, but most of those have been solo shots. Plus, it just seems like when he comes up in a big spot he has been incapable of getting that big hit to break the game wide open. To be fair, no one on the team has been able to get those big hits with consistency, but Soler was signed for that very reason.

It stands to reason that over a full season, things will even out and Soler will start to hit his stride at the plate. Eventually he will start to hit homers with runners on base and be able to put a crooked number up on the board with regularity.

Catcher Tom Murphy

The Giants signed Tom Murphy thinking he could be an above average catcher for the team and give Patrick Bailey a break now and then. He has a reputation as a bat-first catcher, but so far that bat has just not shown up.

Murphy only has 3 hits in 30 at-bats thus far. He did get his first home run of the year at Fenway Park this week, but his bat has still remained cold for much of the year. This is not a major disappointment given the fact that Bailey has really impressed with the bat thus far. However, the Giants signed Murphy because he can hit and that has just not happened thus far.

Those were the biggest disappointments thus far, but now let's turn to the free agent signings who have not been disappointments but are not exactly exceeding expectations either.

Starting Pitcher Jordan Hicks

So far, Jordan Hicks has looked like the steal of the offseason. The Giants signed him to a 4 year, $44 million deal this offseason with the promise that they would let him be a starter and he has shined in the role so far.

As of this writing, he has an ERA of 1.59 and a WHIP of 0.912 in 34 innings pitched. Those 34 innings have come in 6 starts so he is averaging nearly 6 innings per start which is impressive for a guy who had spent his career in the bullpen prior to this year.

Of course, it is still very early in the season. There are still very real questions about how his arm will hold up as he racks up 100-plus innings on the mound. There is definitely the potential for arm fatigue or some bumps later on down the road.

However, the early returns have been phenomenal, and he has been great to watch on the mound. His high velocity stuff is impressive and his secondary pitches have looked strong as well for the most part. It is early, but so far Hicks has been the crown jewel of the team's free agent signings and it is not particularly close.

It is a long season, though. By the end of the year we may be talking about Blake Snell being a Cy Young candidate and how Jordan Hicks fizzled out after the All-Star break. We will have to wait until the end of the year to fully appraise the team's free agent signings.