POTENTIAL FREE AGENT TARGETS: RUMORS & BUZZ around the Giants OFFSEASON

POTENTIAL FREE AGENT TARGETS: RUMORS & BUZZ around the Giants OFFSEASON

free agent wish list. Who I want, who I don’t, and why or why not. That’s all coming up on Locked on Giants. You are Locked On Giants, your daily San Francisco Giants podcast, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. Hello and welcome to Locked On Giants, part of the Locked On Network, where it’s your team every single day. My name is Alan South. On the show, we provide daily episodes Monday through Friday talking about the San Francisco Giants in a way that combines passion, analytics with the eye test, and a little bit of fun. I’m from the Bay Area, but I live in Sacramento now, and I host a show at Sack Town Sports 11:40, the Allen style show, 10 a.m., 2 p.m. Be sure to check that out, as well as MCing Sacramento Rivercats games. All in all, I’m lucky enough to cover a team I’ve been a fan of all my life. Today, we are talking about free agent wish list. I’m going to tell you who I want on the Giants, who I don’t and why I want them, and why I don’t want them. And we got some updates based on what has happened so far in free agency. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Download the app today. Okay, so keep in mind as we get going here and it’s a beautiful Friday. So if you are listening or watching this over the weekend, something could have changed, but this is as of a Friday afternoon, I haven’t seen a ton so far as far as moves being made. One thing that I did see, just to let you know, uh that the Giants will be looking for a new pitching coach. JP Martinez, who had hoped to stay, is now Atlanta’s bullpen coach. So, the Atlanta Braves announced additions to the coaching staff. That’s from Alex Pavlovich. So, the Giants will be looking for a new pitching coach. Just wanted to give you that update. But besides that, it’s been kind of quiet on that front. It got uh hot early with the Justin Dean acquisition, the recent World Series champ, but nothing yet. Like I said yesterday, this isn’t the same as an NBA free agency. you’re not going to see a ton of stuff happen immediately, but we will start to see some big dominoes fall and we’re going to talk about those dominoes right now. Starting with the free agent pitchers and like I said, okay, this is more so about simply free agents. I’m not talking about trades right now, okay? I’m not talking about trades. So, we can talk about trades and we will at a later date. This is specifically free agents. So, uh some of you that I’ve seen comments and saying I’d rather make trades. We’re going to talk about trades, but free agency is kicking off. So, we’re going to talk about free agents to start. When it comes to pitchers, uh I do feel the opposite of how the Giants have told us they’ve felt and told the public maybe they don’t actually feel like that, but that’s what they’ve been saying because I feel like the Giants are contradicting themselves a bit. They continue to tell us that they want to focus on pitching and defense, then do it, but it’s going to cost you. To me, it’s similar to when you go out and you go get sushi or barbecue is really expensive nowadays as well. It’s going to be good and it’s going to cost you when you go to a good restaurant and if you say, “Hey, I’m a foodie, right? I like good food.” If you like good food, then it’s going to cost you because you’re going to have to go to a nice restaurant and nice restaurants cost a lot of money. So, that’s where I’m at with the Giants and how they’re approaching this pitching thing versus how I think they should be approaching this this pitching thing. So, uh, the pitching class, free agent class, is definitely seasoned with vets. All right. Realistically, this is how I think that the Giants should go about it. You You have Webb, obviously. You have Rey. I would go get Iaga, who I said yesterday, and then you have RP. And then that last spot, that fit starter, you could go Verlander again if you want and there are a couple other guys that are floating around. I mean, Sherzer is there. Or you trust the process and you trust your young players. You have Birdong, you have McDonald, you have Tidwell, who Tidwell hasn’t pitched yet, but McDonald looked good. Bird Song. We’ll see if he can figure out those issues that he had in the in the season. It really wasn’t that much uh that deep into the season, but it was deep enough and he got uh moved on out here with me in Sacramento. So, that’s that’s what I would do. I would go get Imaga. That that’s what I think is the most realistic thing. You get him on a smaller deal than some of these big boys. Now, this is different to my wish list. We’re going to talk about the wish list later in the show, but this is, I think, a very realistic approach with RP coming back. What we saw from McDonald, I’m still optimistic that Tidwell could work out or Bird Song could figure it out. So, you have that. The other piece of this is obviously you got to go get Tyler Rogers. That goes without being said. He is, you know, I think he’s my age. I think he’s 35. He’s been around for a little bit. He knows the uh the Giants organization. I think it’s pretty simple there. you go get him and you feel good about that long relief that he can provide and just that depth piece that he can be for the Giants. So, you go get him and then the the real question comes down to closer, right? I’m really torn on the closer thing. The Giants have had some good luck and some that you thought it was good luck and didn’t end up working out. Enter Camilo Dval. Randy Rodriguez is going to be out unfortunately. So, it really comes down to how badly do they want to embrace this idea of uh the the pitching and defense because if you want to make sure that you have a closer and we saw how it didn’t work out at the end of the season as they tried out other guys and just piece meal and paperier-mâch the shade and duct taped. I don’t even know if it was as good to duck duct tape uh it together. Then you go out and get somebody. You go get your Edwin Diaz. You pay him that money and you say, “Now we have a closer.” And when Randy Rodriguez comes back next season or whatever that is, look how it works now going back to when the Giants won that that World Series, that was just the start of it. But the whole thing with the Royals was they had that seven, eight, and and nine guy and they would just shut the door on you. That’s the norm. these days, everybody is throwing a 100 miles per hour. So, you have to have a setup guy. Obviously, Tyler Rogers is a specific case and what he does, but you have to have a bunch of flamethrowers. That’s just what it is. Specifically, when you get deeper into the season, anybody coming out the bullpen is is throwing hard. And it’s not just about throwing hard. You got to locate. But going and getting Edwin Diaz doesn’t mean that you don’t care about Randy Rodriguez. Doesn’t mean any of that. Look at Mason Miller. I mean, Mason Miller ended up being a setup type guy or a late relief guy for the Padres’s. Mason Miller one of the best closers in the league and and they and they gave up uh one of the best prospects in the game, the Padres’s did, to go get him. Now, I think things flipped around a bit, but that’s kind of the point. It’s more fluid than back in the day, hey, we’re going to go with Brian Wilson. Now, if you brought in Edwin Diaz, obviously he’d be your closer. But my point is that doesn’t mean that you uh you don’t care about Randy Rodriguez or any of the other guys that you have brought up in the system. But as far as I’m concerned, if this is who you want to be and if you’re going to be in a lot of close games, you might need to pay for a closer. So, uh that’s how I would approach the the pitcher situation. On the other side, we will talk about position players. And this is where it gets interesting. Don’t move. More locked on Giants coming up. This episode is brought to you by Prize Picks. You and I make decisions every day, but on Prize Picks, being right can get you paid. Don’t miss any of the excitement of this sports season. Whether you’re following the NFL, NBA, or both, there’s no better time to jump in on the action. If you haven’t tried it yet, Price Fix is the simplest way to play. Just pick more or less on at least two player stats and if you get them right, you win. 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They actually pioneered the original performance denim, blending technical innovation with everyday clothing that looks sharp and feels incredible. Simply put, Der makes the world’s most comfortable pants without sacrificing style. Once you try them, they’ll be your go-to pair. Trust me. And if you’re in San Francisco, check out Der store at 567 Hay Street. Pick up a pair for yourself or grab one as an amazing holiday gift. Mention my promo code locked on SF in store to get 15% off your first order or shop online at shopdoer.com/locktonsf for the same 15% off. shopder.com due.com/lockonssf your new favorite jeans are waiting. Okay, now it is time for the free agents and specifically it’s going to be the outfield free agents just to be honest with you. There are a couple infielders uh roaming around but I don’t see how the Giants would get there. I looked at Palano. I looked at a couple other guys but I think that they’re going to rock and roll with Casey Schmidt. I’m going to focus on the on the outfielders. All right. I understand that some people, and I saw you in the comments, so I appreciate it. I understand that some people don’t want to pay that ridiculous Kyle Tucker 400 million 10-year price tag. It’s more than that, but 10-year price tag. But it does get a little dry after that. The two Yankees, Cody Bellinger and Trent Gisham, to be honest, both seasons, in my opinion, and I might sound like a hater, were aided from playing at Yankee Stadium. But I also think the reality is I’m not sure that Cody Bellinger is worth a six-year commitment, especially when you do have some prospects that you feel good about, right? The the Bo Davidson’s, guys that we’ve talked about that are on the way. I just don’t think you need to give uh Cody Bellinger six years and I don’t think the Giants want to do that. So, I’d meet somewhere in the middle. Someone yesterday brought up Harrison Bader. And it’s funny because I’ve always said if there are any Pokemon fans out there, I’m showing my my millennialness, but Harrison Bader to me was the best case scenario for Drew Gilbert to be completely honest with you. the Charmeleon or Charizard to Drew Gilbert’s Charmander or Raichu if you’re talking about Pikachu. So, I would definitely bring in Bader. Both Trent Gisham and Harrison Bader project at 2 years 30 million. Trent Gisham hit 34 home runs. That is not a typo. 34 home runs. And I’m gonna tell you this much again, might sound like a hater, but there is no chance Trent Gisham is hitting 34 home runs at Oracle, right? Or at with Oracle as his home field. In fact, his second highest home run total is half of what he did this season. It’s 17. And that was three going on four years ago. So, I think he had a really good power season. And maybe he could do that again, but he’s not doing that at Oracle Park. Trent Gisham also had a couple weird situations as far as playing hard, for lack of a better better term. There was a situation where he let a ball, you know, he didn’t really run to a ground ball that was hit to him and the player got a a double out of it, so Aaron Boone had to speak on that. So, no thank you. I just I I don’t want to be I don’t think I want to be a part of that and have to deal with that. Even though it’s only a couple a couple years. The other part of this too is that Trent Gisham, I’ve always looked at him as a really good outfielder. He’s slipped a little bit and uh he probably is going to get moved to left field sooner rather than later. Elliot Ramos to me, I think he’s obviously going to be a better left fielder than Elliot Ramos, but hitting wise, I’m just not buying what Trent Gisham did. And if you’re into the old school, the old school metrics and the new school metrics, he hit 235. That’s what uh Trent Gisham did. He had 74 RBI’s, only three stolen bases. He had an OPS of 811, slugging 464, OBP 348. So again, he did that with 34 home runs. 34 home runs. And the reason I bring that up is getting back to uh getting back to Harrison Bader, you can look at what he did and he is just who he is. He’s a grinder that’s going to give you what he’s got. His OPS was at 796, right? So really wasn’t that far behind Trent Gishams, even though Trent Gisham had 34 home runs. So I would go with Harrison Bader. I would say this, either go big or go home. If it were me, I would go get Kyle Tucker and say, “We’re going to lock this down for the next 10 years.” And the the jury and the book that’s out on Kyle Tucker is that he’s not great at anything or he he’s obviously elite, but he doesn’t have one tool that sets him apart. His bat speed, I was reading his bat speed is the issue because when you sign guys to these crazy deals, their bat speed is the thing that is going to decline. So, you’re going to sign Kyle Tucker and his bat speed where it’s starting from is not that high. So, throughout the years, it’s clearly going to drop because Father Times undefeated. So, when you sign these guys to these crazy deals, you want that bat speed just out of this galaxy because as it starts to drop, you’re still going to get a lot back for it. He’s on a burner, if you will. He can’t really play center. So, I don’t necessarily want to do the Kyle Tucker thing, but I would rather do the Kyle Tucker thing than spend six years on Cody Bellinger. And I completely flipped from yesterday. I think yesterday I said that I was interested in Cody Bellinger. But looking at what Harrison Bader did, he’s going to have a really good market because he played well. And I don’t necessarily want Trent Gisham, but at least you can get out of it, right? Even if Trent Gisham doesn’t work out, it’s two years, 30 million, you can get out of it if Bo Davidson or whoever it is starts to ball out. You can’t do that with Cody Bellinger six years. And again, no, obviously you can’t do that with Kyle Tucker, but the idea is that you wouldn’t really have to, right, or that it it would work out. So, just going back to the guys that we’ve talked about, you got Bo Davidson who’s ready to come up. They believe he’s going to be ready in 2027. and Dakota Jordan, who they believe is going to be ready to come up in 2027. They’re 22, 23 years old. They’re not young. And I’m not saying either of them will be as good as Cody Bellinger and the former MVP and Kyle Tucker who is about to make $400 million. I’m not saying that. I’m just saying uh if you do feel good about these guys, maybe that’s the direction to go. So, I would go get kind of a placeholder, if you will, in Harrison Bader. And maybe Drew Gilbert can learn a thing or two from Harrison Bader or Trent Gisham. Even though I like Harrison Bader more, and again, we’re only focusing on free agents right now. You can clearly do something in the trade market, too. And I would and I would wait it out because you have so many guys. I just think that somebody is going to hit Rainor Arius, who I don’t even know if we’ve talked about yet. He’s only 19, but he’s due to make it to the big leagues in 2028. We haven’t even talked about him, and he’s the number eight prospect. So, one of these dudes is going to have to work out. I promise you. Then you drop down to the to the 20s and you got Carlos Gutierrez, Trevor Cohen. One of these guys is going to work out. I don’t know if any of them are going to be as good at Cody as Cody Bellinger, but I’m willing to take that chance. Right. So, I don’t even know if that’s the I if that’s the correct way to approach it. I just feel like you either spend a ton on Kyle Tucker, which I don’t necessarily want to do, or you just go get a placeholder. I I would say at least I would at least I wouldn’t be able to complain with the Giants to say they didn’t go allin. If you get Cody Bellinger and just kind of halfway do it because if I’m saying if they went and got Kyle Tucker, if you went and got Cody Bellinger, that’s not really going all into me. and now you uh you got him at a ballpark that’s not the same as as Yankee Stadium, but you have him for six years. I would either say, “Hey, we’re just going to go Kyle Tucker and if Bo Davidson ends up being a stud, we’ll they can fight it out in left field and and and center field with Dakota as well and Jung Hi.” We’ll figure that out later. But Kyle Tucker, we wanted to lock down one spot. You either do that or you go get a placeholder. I think that’s how I would approach it and that that’s just my opinion on it. So those are the guys that I’ve seen and like I said, I just think the the infielders are going to roll with Casey Schmidt. So no no as far as I know and again trades are separate than free agents. So I didn’t really think it was a it was a good use of time to go over uh the infielders at this point in time. One more segment with you. Okay. So I’ve given you the position players. I’ve given you the pictures. Now, let’s cook up my free agent wish list as well as my free agent realistic list, if you will. Don’t move. More Lockdown Giants coming up. The NBA is back and there’s no better place to get in on the action than FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Even if you miss the start of a game or want to ride the hot hand, FanDuel has live bets on everything from who will score next to fourth quarter comebacks. Plus, you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. It keeps every game exciting, especially when your team’s making that late push. Right now, FanDuel is giving new customers $300 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. So, head to fanduel.com to sign up and play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. last segment with you on this beautiful beautiful Friday. So I have created two lists and I have some amounts of money which will make it very clear what is a wish list a dream list and what is realistic. Okay. So uh let’s have some fun here and start with the free agent dream list. Dylan Cece. All right. It looks like his annual salary is going to break down to 31 million a year. All right. And by the way, the Dodgers spent 1.2 billion this past offseason. I just wanted to make that clear before we uh I feel like I’m talking to my parents and I’m about to ask for a new bat. Hey, by the way, Johnny just got a bat that was $500. So, this bat for 350 is not that bad. So, Dylan CE at 31 million a year. Tyler Rodgers at 15 million a year, Edwin Diaz at 22 million a year, and then if you did go get Cody Bellinger, I know I said I wouldn’t do it, but I just don’t think I can do the Kyle Tucker 400 million thing. So, that would come out to 458 million, which would be close to, but not even half of what the Dodgers spent all off season, last offseason. So 458 million based on uh the money that would be obviously committed to them. I just gave you what they would be making yearly. So that is the the dream list if there were no trades and let’s just do everything through free agency. Here is the realistic dream free agent list. You got Shota Imaga at 24 million a year, Tyler Rogers at 15 million a year and Harrison Bader at 15 million a year. That grand total comes up to $120 million, which is should be a drop in the bucket, you know, for the Bay Area. them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them crab sandwiches expensive enough so that honestly feels too realistic and I think a lot of people maybe would say man that uh that that just doesn’t really get it done for me so if you wanted to add something else going back to the mantra that they keep on telling us the Giants if you want to meet in the middle somewhere between my dream and my wish list and my realistic wish list if you wanted to meet in the middle you could add Edwin Diaz to the realistic one and that would take you over 200 million committed uh to uh those those group of players. But I think a lot of fans would say, “Hey, that’s a pretty solid off season.” The closer thing to me, the more I continue to think and talk about it, the more it sounds like it might be worth uh investing in. Now, when a a closer isn’t on their game, almost like a kicker in football in a way, it feels like, man, we’re paying this guy all this money. But if you think you’re going to be in a bunch of close games, that matters. If you were in a if you were in, let’s say, uh, the Reds, Great American Ballpark, they call it Great American Small Park, right? and you know we’re going to be banging the ball around every single game anyway, yeah, you probably would still uh want a closer, but if you specifically know that your hitting is going to be uh your I guess third priority and first priority in whatever order is defense and pitching, your 1A, 1B, defense and pitching. I’m just not sure how you cannot have a solidified closer. That’s what I’m struggling with. and the person that I spoke to that knows a little bit about the the Dodgers, uh, he just he’s been around, he played for the he played for the Dodgers and the Dodgers organization. And the fact that he said he has a feeling that they’re going to get Edwin Diaz, that that just has me what what do you know or what do you mean by that, if you will? But yeah, the more that they discuss this and the more that they bring up how they want to focus on defense, you cannot go through, imagine, imagine the torture seasons and the championship seasons without Brian Wilson. Now, they didn’t have Brian Wilson the whole time towards the end. You had your boy Sergio Romo as well, but imagine them trying to do that without a solidified closer. And I know you can figure it out throughout the season, but right now they don’t even really have any prospects. That’s what the the issue is for me. So, in that regard, I think it might be worth going out and uh getting somebody that you know you can lock down. And yeah, it’s a gamble and you’ve been burned on closers before, either by uh either by just performance or by injury. But if this is going to be your calling card, you have to have a closer. You have to have a closer. Now, you can trade for one. Again, this is just free agent. So, if you think, hey, we can find somebody that can give us Edwin Diaz type performance, but we don’t have to pay them 22 million a year, okay, then go get them. But the Giants have kind of gotten away with it. And the reality is they haven’t gotten away with it. Getting away with it means that you’ve been having playoff runs without somebody solidified as your closer, and they haven’t. So, they haven’t been getting away with anything. I’m going to take that back. They haven’t been getting away with it. So, since you haven’t been getting away with it, maybe it’s time to try something else. Right? Maybe it’s time to just go into the season saying, “We have a closer. We have a guy that we know all we got to do is be up two, three runs.” And obviously they’re going to blow games. Any everybody does, but we have a guy up 2-1 3-1. We feel good. We’re going to get the lights flashing and the trumpets playing, whatever it is to lock this bad boy down. So, if I were the Giants, it’s really hard for me to, for lack of a better term, take them seriously about this pitching thing. It unless they it doesn’t have to be through free agency, but unless they trade or grab somebody that they can go into the season saying, “This is our guy. This is our closer.” So, those are my two free agent lists. My dream wish list, Dylan CE, Tyler Rodgers, Edwin Diaz, and Cody Bellinger. Or it ain’t my money, just go get Kyle Tucker. It’s just way it’s just so much money. It really is my realistic wish list. Shota Iaga, Tyler Rogers again, Harrison Bader, and maybe just add Edwin Diaz to that too. So again, this is if you are not talking about trades at all. That’s what I would do. We’ll see if you are listening to this or watching this during the weekend. Maybe something else broke and we will talk about it on Monday because we are here Monday through Friday. Probably the only Giants podcast, Giants show that is doing something Monday through Friday. So, we appreciate you and all of your support. Have a great weekend and we will talk to you on Monday. Be sure to follow me on social media at the_styles filestyles with an I. We will talk to you then and until Monday, peace.

Free agency is officially underway, and the Buster Posey-led Giants are setting the tone for their first full offseason under new leadership. From big-ticket names like Kyle Tucker and Dylan Cease to more realistic fits like Harrison Bader and Shota Imanaga, we’re breaking down how San Francisco’s front office might actually approach this market — and whether their “pitching and defense” mantra still holds up. Will they finally make a bold move, or are we headed for another conservative winter? Plus, what a realistic “dream” free agent class would look like — and why it might cost half of what the Dodgers just spent.

0:00 FA Targets – Pitchers
10:30 FA Targets – Position Players
17:27 FA Targets Wish List

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