Giants general manager Zack Minasian, on Thursday, was given a chance to respond to reporting from The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly that San Francisco isn’t expected to match the bidding for Japanese star pitcher Tatsuya Imai.
Although MLB tampering rules don’t allow Minasian to comment about specific free agents, the San Francisco GM appeared on KNBR’s “Murph and Markus” and provided some insight into the front office’s free agency approach.
“I think it’s obviously very well-known — our activity on other players who have come over from those countries, and we’re going to continue to be active with players who have a chance to make the team better,” Minasian explained. “Now, I think it’s on us as a front office to make good decisions, and we’re going to continue to push ourselves to do that.”
The Giants are willing and able to sign international stars. In 2024, San Francisco signed KBO star Jung Hoo Lee to a six-year, $113 million contract.
“We have an ownership group that’s always been extremely supportive,” Minasian noted. “I think a lot of those things as far as contract-wise, payroll-wise; it’s always been player specific. And that’s, as a baseball operations group, we have to take that responsibility of any particular player we’re signing – is this a good decision or not?
“So, continuing to go through that and feel those things out, but continuing to look at really all avenues of continuing to bring in talent.”
While Minasian’s comments do not indicate that the Giants are closed off to signing an international star like Imai, it appears that they will be very thorough in weighing his talent against other available options this offseason.
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