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What needs should the SF Giants prioritize this offseason?

By Jeff Young |
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For a team that finished with a 79-83 record, the SF Giants have a lot of work to do this winter. Unfortunately, free agency may not offer much help, so they might need to turn to the trade market. Nevertheless, the front office needs to improve the roster, so what do they prioritize?

What needs should the SF Giants prioritize this offseason?

Signing Shohei Ohtani would fix a lot of things for the Giants, so they should just go out and do exactly that. There, my work is done. Somebody should hire me to run their front office! I will run it exactly like my fantasy football team, which is to say, straight into the ground.

They will have a handful of pending free agents this winter. There is a case to be made that none of them will be back. Plus, the Giants have six players eligible for arbitration, headlined by Thairo Estrada and Mike Yastrzemski. Michael Conforto, Sean Manaea, and Ross Stripling all have opt-out clauses to consider, whereas the Giants hold a team option on Alex Cobb.

Exercising Cobb's team option is an easy call. However, Conforto, Manaea, and Stripling will have to think about those opt-out clauses. None of the three performed well enough to earn a raise through another trip in free agency, but in the case of Manaea, he could secure more guaranteed money by landing another multi-year deal. Stripling has already confirmed that he will opt in.

This will all be settled before free agency begins. When it does, the Giants will have a handful of boxes to check.

1. New manager

Obviously. In a minor surprise, the Giants parted ways with Gabe Kapler before the end of the season. Kapler managed the Giants for four seasons and had one year remaining on his deal. After two straight disappointing seasons, the front office felt that a change was needed.

As soon as the news was announced, a former Giants player and longtime manager was speculated as a potential fit. However, no other names have risen to the surface just yet. Team president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has indicated that he would like to have a new manager in place before free agency begins, so a lot of the leg work for that will occur this month.

What needs should the SF Giants prioritize this offseason?

2. Shortstop/Infield

The Giants struggled to get any meaningful production from their shortstops in 2023. Brandon Crawford spent time on the injured list, but they cycled through Casey Schmitt, Johan Camargo, and Paul DeJong. Marco Luciano made some loud contact at the end of the season, so he should have the inside track for a lot of playing time.

Nevertheless, they should bring in some competition and depth. Free agency does not have a lot of options with Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Amed Rosario possibly being the best player currently listed as shortstop, but he will likely move off of that position sooner rather than later.

The Giants could go in a few different directions with the infield. J.D. Davis struggled badly in the second half of the year, so maybe they look at that position as an opportunity to upgrade. Or, they look at first base with the intent of moving LaMonte Wade Jr. to more of a DH role. There is some flexibility, but Thairo Estrada is one of the few players penciled into next season's lineup.

What needs should the SF Giants prioritize this offseason?

3. Starting pitching

On the surface, the starting pitching was just fine. Giants starters posted a 4.10 ERA in 2023, which was the 10th-best mark in baseball. However, anyone who watched the Giants this season knows that those numbers are a bit skewed.

Logan Webb and Alex Cobb did a nice job anchoring the rotation, but they really did not have a consistent starter outside of those two. Oftentimes, they relied on an opener, which explains why the rotation ERA was so low because even if he threw one inning, it still counts as a starter.

The Giants should really try to fortify the rotation this winter. Sonny Gray would be an excellent fit for a lot of reasons, but he will likely have a qualifying offer attached to his name. The Giants have not signed a player who rejected a qualifying offer since Jeff Samardzija in December of 2015.

Kyle Harrison debuted this season and will likely assume a larger role next year. The same could be said for Keaton Winn and Tristan Beck. Still, they should add a little more stability to a rotation that did not have any outside if the first two pitchers each turn through the rotation.

What needs should the SF Giants prioritize this offseason?

4. High-leverage relievers

The Giants intended to shore up the bullpen by signing Taylor Rogers and Luke Jackson last winter. Rogers had a 3.83 ERA in 60 appearances, whereas Jackson tallied a 2.97 ERA in 33 outings this season. Solid numbers for both, but they were both a peg or two below Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval in my totally subjective confidence meter.

What the Giants should be looking for is someone who can challenge Tyler Rogers for innings in the eighth inning. That was not necessarily the case with Taylor Rogers or Jackson this past season even if they had solid numbers.

The good news is finding bullpen arms when you already have a closer and a set-up man is low-hanging fruit. However, identifying effective relievers might be one of the hardest parts of roster building. You know exactly what a good reliever looks like, but the volatility of the position makes it hard to pick a reliever who will come through in the season you need it.

There are plenty of options available as is the case with most offseasons. Former Giants pitcher Matt Moore is coming off of two, straight strong seasons out of the bullpen. He will be in demand, but there is a ceiling as to how much he could command. He might be an option or it just might be in the Giants' best interest to add a handful of relievers on minor-league deals but include a camp invite.

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