Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi met with the media yesterday and addressed a wide range of topics. In addition to downplaying the club’s need for receiver help, he touched on some of the team’s free agent decisions.
Nothing has become more important to the organization in recent weeks than the agreement with carlos correa that fell Correa’s camp quickly turned to the Mets after the Giants raised concerns about the star shortstop’s physique and backed out of his $350MM deal. Of course, New York’s doctors raised similar concerns, and Correa’s $315MM deal with the Mets fell through as well.
Zaidi noted that San Francisco briefly touched base with Correa’s camp after his physical with the Mets was called (link via Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area). The Giants’ baseball operations leader indicated that Correa was not very interested in reopening talks with San Francisco at the time, saying that Correa’s group “they had other things they were more focused on.Zaidi had made a similar point a couple of weeks ago, indicating the team was unlikely to become deeply involved with the Boras Corporation again and then focus on reaching a deal with the Mets. That never came to fruition, and Correa eventually returned to the Twins with a six-year, $200 million guarantee.
While the Giants’ offseason is largely defined by near misses in aaron judge and Correa, San Francisco was certainly not idle. They fell short of the star player they had been looking for, but brought in a number of quality regulars and role players. That was especially true in the gardens, where Joc Pederson returned via qualifying offer and Mitch Hanger Y Miguel Conforto he signed multi-year free agent deals.
That solidified the outfield, and Haniger and Conforto were expected to flank mike yastrzemski either austin slater on most days. Pederson will be the primary designated hitter if everyone is healthy. Mount Wade Jr. He’s gotten a decent amount of runs in the corner outfield the past two seasons, but now he seems poised to be the man at first base, at least as the strong end of a platoon setup.
Wade, a left-handed hitter, owns a .235/.318/.434 line in 632 plate appearances since the Giants acquired him from the Twins during the 2020-21 offseason. He has been lousy in 75 appearances against left-handed pitching (.119/.178/.149), but he has a .251/.336/.473 quality line with 26 home runs and 22 doubles in 557 trips while maintaining the team’s lead. platoon. That makes him a logical partner for right-handed hitters like wilmer flores, JD Davis Y david villareach of which could rotate through the corner infield.
The desire to lean on Wade at first base influenced San Francisco’s decision to watch brandon belt joining the Blue Jays in free agency, accused Zaidi (link pavlovic). Zaidi suggested that the team keep in touch with Belt, but did not specify if the club made an official offer. After parts of 12 seasons in San Francisco, the veteran first baseman joined the Blue Jays in a $9.3MM deal earlier this week.
A free agent San Francisco did sign is a reliever luke jackson. The longtime Braves right-hander didn’t pitch in 2022 thanks to Tommy John surgery in April. He clocked up a rough rig year, but San Francisco still added it with a two-year, $11.5MM warranty. With the typical rehab for Tommy John taking approximately 14 months, Jackson is not expected to be ready for the start of next season. Zaidi acknowledged that he could open the year on the 60-day disabled list, which would keep him out of action until at least the end of May (link via Evan Webeck of the San Jose Mercury News). That doesn’t suggest any kind of mishap, as Zaidi said Jackson is “very good in his rehabilitation.”
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