The MLB offseason has calmed down a bit with the big superstars off the board. The San Francisco Giants have made a few signings, including South Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee, but they might not be done.
Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi joined Tim Kawakami on the Audacy podcast “The TK Show” and revealed what San Francisco’s next moves might be this offseason.
“I think all organizations are kind of taking a breath, trying to evaluate what they have internally, trying to evaluate their younger options versus what might be available in free agency,” Zaidi said (4:20 in player above). “Some trade conversations are picking up, including for us, and again, I think that’s at a point where some things are on the board but even from a trade standpoint, it’s difficult when there are so many free agents still out there.
“I think people view themselves as having multiple options and it makes it a little bit harder to get things done on the trade front. But I do think the next couple of weeks we should see a lot more activity as we come out of the holidays. The industry as a whole still has a lot of work to do.”
The Giants are one of many teams that still have a few boxes to check off on their offseason wishlist. Zaidi said that the Giants are “definitely evaluating” the trade market and detailed the two positions that San Francisco is looking to upgrade.
“We’ve talked about wanting to add shortstop depth,” he said. “We’re really excited about Luciano and hope he takes that job and runs with it but bringing in somebody else, maybe with some multi-positional flexibility, maybe somebody who has options where we can have those guys in competition and one of them can continue to get at-bats at Triple-A. That’s something we’re looking at.”
Top prospect Marco Luciano made his MLB last season going 9-for-39 in his limited time with the big club. He hit .223 with 15 home runs and 40 RBI in 74 games between Double-A and Triple-A as well. Bringing in another infielder to shore up the shortstop position wouldn’t be a bad idea.
The Giants are also looking to upgrade their pitching staff.
Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery highlight the list of remaining starting pitchers on the free-agent market, with guys like Marcus Stroman and James Paxton also available.
Ultimately, a trade may be the better option for the Giants for pitching or infield help.
“We’re also looking at the starting pitching market,” Zaidi continued. “In both of those areas, I think there’s a lot that can come about by trade as well. I think even by virtue of our needs it makes sense to pursue both avenues.”