With the 2024 baseball season now full and the offseason kicking off, the trade is presently buzzing on the common managers conferences in San Antonio. New Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey spoke with members of the media and mentioned the membership is on the lookout for a shortstop, per Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle on X. Posey talked about that Tyler Fitzgerald carried out effectively in 2024 however can play different positions. Prospect Marco Luciano is seemingly ticketed for an outfield function for now, with the membership hoping that may assist him concentrate on taking a step ahead on the plate.
It’s a bit stunning to see Posey be so frank in discussing a membership want, as membership executives are usually extra cagy and imprecise of their statements, but it surely’s not a shock that he has recognized this a part of the roster as a goal.
Brandon Crawford was a fixture at shortstop for the Giants from 2010 to via 2023, however his efficiency tailed off on the finish of that stretch and the Giants didn’t carry him again for 2024. Whereas Crawford acquired a bench job with the Cardinals this 12 months, the Giants didn’t discover an instantaneous substitute for him.
The aforementioned Fitzgerald acquired a lot of the taking part in time there this 12 months and carried out effectively on the plate. His 31.7% strikeout fee was on the excessive facet however he hit 15 house runs in simply 341 plate appearances, resulting in a .280/.334/.497 batting line and 132 wRC+.
His protection was one other story, nevertheless, because the superior metrics weren’t eager on his work at quick. Outs Above Common gave him a grade of -4 for his 594 innings on the spot whereas Defensive Runs Saved had him at -6. As Posey talked about, Fitzgerald performed different positions, spending a while within the outfield in addition to on the three non-shortstop infield spots. Each OAA and DRS have been extra keen on his work at these different positions, so there’s logic in having him get ran into a daily gig elsewhere or an excellent utility function.
As for Luciano, he has been thought-about a possible long-term answer at quick for some time now however hasn’t cemented himself on the large league degree. He has hit simply .217/.286/.304 within the majors thus far, in a small pattern of simply 126 plate appearances. His Triple-A efficiency hasn’t been nice both, with a .243/.370/.386 line and 95 wRC+ at that degree over the previous two seasons.
His glovework has additionally been a problem and this isn’t the primary time that the membership has talked about shifting him off shortstop. In September, supervisor Bob Melvin talked about Luciano getting extra work at second base to complete the season, which was adopted by then-president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi speaking about Luciano getting some work within the outfield.
It appears the group now plans to stay with that latter path. Luciano doesn’t but have any official sport motion within the outfield, majors or minors, so there could also be a studying curve for some time. However given how demanding the shortstop place could be, it’s potential that lining up on the grass might assist him unlock his offensive potential in some unspecified time in the future.
He hit effectively via the decrease ranges of the minors and up via Double-A, spending loads of time on prime prospect lists throughout that rise. Baseball America thought-about him the #12 prospect in the entire league as just lately as 2021, giving him a 60 grade for his hitting and a 70 for his energy on the 20-80 scouting scale. Getting Luciano again on monitor within the batter’s field is understandably a precedence for the Giants, even when he gained’t be within the shortstop place.
With the membership viewing each Fitzgerald and Luciano as ticketed for different spots, pursuing an exterior shortstop candidate is a logical offseason objective. The free agent market has one clear prime candidate in Willy Adames. There’s additionally Ha-Seong Kim, however he just lately underwent shoulder surgical procedure and has an unsure return timeline. Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller just lately gave a imprecise “Could, June, July” reply about Kim getting again on the sphere.
The Giants might signal Kim after which hold Fitzgerald at quick till the shoulder difficulty is resolved, however signing Adames is a extra simple answer. Taking part in for the Rays and Brewers, Adames already has 150 profession house runs, a .248/.322/.444 batting line and 109 wRC+. He simply completed a season whereby he stole 21 bases, hit 32 lengthy balls and slashed .251/.331/.462 for a 119 wRC+.
Defensively, Adames has obtained robust evaluations in his profession however is coming off a down 12 months. He was credited with 10 fielding errors in 2024, regardless of having solely seven over 2022 and 2023 mixed. His -16 DRS for the 12 months was dreadful however he’s nonetheless at +4 in his profession, even when factoring that in. OAA had him at precisely league common this 12 months however had him at +16 in 2023 and +10 the 12 months earlier than that.
It could be odd for Adames to abruptly expertise a steep drop in his fielding talents on the age of 28, so maybe golf equipment will view his 2024 glovework as an odd aberration. Both method, Adames is the clear prime shortstop accessible and MLBTR just lately predicted him for a six-year, $160MM contract as a part of our annual High 50 Free Brokers put up. All 4 contributors to that put up predicted Adames would certainly signal with the Giants, which doesn’t essentially imply it’s a slam dunk to occur. Nevertheless, it does replicate that Adames and the Giants are a logical pairing, for the explanations laid out above.
The Giants have made more moderen headlines for the highest free brokers they didn’t signal versus those they did. They’ve been linked to large names like Aaron Decide, Carlos Correa and Bryce Harper in previous offseasons and reportedly made some robust provides. Most notably, the membership and Correa agreed to a 13-year, $350MM deal two years in the past, which might have solved their shortstop state of affairs at the moment. However the deal acquired scuttled by the medicals and Correa ultimately signed with the Twins.
As such, the biggest free agent contract the Giants have given out up to now 5 years was to Jung Hoo Lee. He acquired a $113MM assure over six years however was an distinctive case as he was coming over to North America on the younger age of 25. Other than that, in the identical five-year window, the Giants haven’t given a free agent greater than the 4 years they gave Jordan Hicks and haven’t given a assure bigger than the $62MM to Blake Snell. The latter deal didn’t even play out in full as Snell opted out after one 12 months.
However maybe Posey has a objective of flipping that narrative. He just lately spoke about getting the Giants again into the “memory-making enterprise” and was reportedly instrumental in getting third baseman Matt Chapman to signal a six-year, $151MM extension, a reasonably comparable pact to the deal projected for Adames.
RosterResource initiatives the Giants for a payroll of $155MM subsequent 12 months, greater than $50MM south of the 2024 spending. Assuming they’re keen to run the same payroll subsequent 12 months, there’s loads of room to signal Adames and pursue different targets as effectively.
There’s additionally the commerce marketplace for Posey to discover, although it’s unclear if there’s a greater possibility than Adames accessible. Bo Bichette of the Blue Jays has been in loads of rumors however that membership’s common supervisor Ross Atkins just lately threw chilly water on the likelihood and Bichette is coming off the worst season of his profession anyway. He missed time attributable to damage and hit simply .225/.277/.322 for a wRC+ of 71, after hitting .299/.340/.487 for a 126 wRC+ in earlier seasons. A deal now can be an enormous sell-low transfer for the Jays whereas the Giants can be taking an enormous gamble on a bounceback. Bichette can also be only one 12 months away from free company and would solely be a short-term answer, except the Giants needed to pursue a trade-and-extend path, although that might solely add to the draw back if Bichette can’t fairly get again on monitor. Bichette additionally has mediocre defensive grades for his profession, making it truthful to marvel how for much longer he can stick at quick. Nico Hoerner was one other theoretical commerce risk however he just lately underwent flexor tendon surgical procedure and has an unsure path ahead.
Posey is just simply starting his first offseason as a prime entrance workplace govt, so maybe he’ll take a while exploring his choices earlier than making a choice. However for now, he has proven some refreshing candor in laying out one clear precedence for the winter forward.