SF Giants reportedly seen as bubble contender for pending superstar free agent

Many of the big-market clubs around baseball will be in the running for pending superstar free agent Juan Soto. Jon Heyman of The New York Post lists the SF Giants as among the outside contenders for the four-time All-Star outfielder.

SF Giants reportedly seen as bubble contender for pending superstar free agent

Heyman, like many around baseball, see a reunion with the New York Yankees as the most likely outcome. The New York Mets are seen as the biggest threat that could sway Soto away from the Yankees.

At the end of the day, it will likely be between those two teams bidding for the left-handed bat. Heyman does list the Giants, Toronto Blue Jays, and Los Angeles Dodgers as the next group of teams that could be in play.

The Giants did engage the San Diego Padres in a trade for Soto last winter, but those talks did not go far at all given that San Diego was unlikely to trade that type of player within the division.

With Buster Posey at the helm, the Giants are certainly in for an intriguing offseason. There is a good chance that he will be more aggressive than Farhan Zaidi in free agency. It does bear mentioning that Zaidi was aggressive but those investments did not always pay off. One of Posey's first tasks will likely be trying to sway Soto back to the West Coast, but that feels like a steep uphill battle if not an impossible task altogether.

Soto will be looking for one of the largest contracts in baseball history. After all, he is coming off of a season in which he slashed .280/.419/.569 (180 wRC+) with 41 home runs, 109 RBI, and 128 runs in 713 plate appearances during his age-25 season. This includes a 16.7 percent walk rate, 22.2 percent strikeout rate, and .281 ISO.

The power-hitting outfielder's next contract will lock him well into the 2030's. While joining San Francisco is unlikely, you can bet that his agent, Scott Boas, will be leveraging all interest to create a bidding war as he often does. So, while the rumors connecting Soto to various teams will continue, this is usually done by the agent to use the media to negotiate publicly.