The Giants were never really in on Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He was always going to end up in New York or Los Angeles, and with the state of the Angels and Mets, it was really between the Yankees and Dodgers. A business-savvy signing of Shohei Ohtani tipped the scales in LA’s favor, so off Yamamoto went to Hollywood. With the Dodgers’ billion-dollar offseason well underway and a productive offseason for the defending National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks, that leaves the black-and-orange at a crossroads in a not-so-but-kind-of-maybe competitive NL West for 2024 and beyond.
The Giants have money to spend. About four years ago, I noticed how much money the Giants and Texas Rangers had in their pockets to go after some huge stars in free agency. These were teams that hadn’t done much in the playoffs in a while, so it seemed like an odd thing for me to point out. Then the Rangers signed Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, who just finished in second and third place, respectively, in the American League MVP vote to help the Rangers with the franchise’s first World Series. San Francisco, meanwhile, hasn’t had the same lucrative luck of signing baseball’s biggest stars. Aaron Judge slipped through their hands like Jon Heyman’s fingers slipped on his keyboard typing out the famed “Arson Judge” post. Then, a deal with Carlos Correa fell through due to a shady physical. They were also a sleeper pick for Ohtani but watched him go to a division rival on a bargain of a contract instead. The stereotypical fog of San Francisco has settled in a little thicker than usual in recent offseasons.
However, an interesting signing of Jung-Hoo Lee has brought some much-needed solace to an otherwise empty Oracle Park. One of the KBO’s greatest contact hitters in recent memory, Lee can lead off an otherwise middle-of-the-pack Giants lineup to provide some extra flare for Lou Seal and Co., courtesy of the cavernous Oracle outfield alleys. That might be the only spark the Giants need in 2024, who could put out a team that, for all intents and purposes, is not awful. That doesn’t mean that they’re at the same level as the Colorado Rockies; it just means that, if all goes right, it could be a fun team to watch next season. San Francisco has always been fueled by middle-of-the-road lineups that excel by doing the little things right. Their 2021 explosion of a season wasn’t propelled by stars, but rather an overall effort of good hitting and pitching. It could’ve been sustainable if it was sustainable, if you catch my drift.
And if you look at the 2010-2014 Giants, the only real star of those teams was Madison Bumgarner. The Giants just know how to construct good teams. They’ve only suffered sub-70-win seasons three times in the Wild Card era and once since 1997 (not counting 2020, of course), which is why they are a perfect example for my one of my favorite baseball mantras, “Good franchises win baseball games.” It would’ve been nice to see the Giants grab Yamamoto or even Ohtani, but they have a good roster with a good front office and a good future. Not great, but good, and for a lot of teams, that’s awesome. And guess what? THEY STILL HAVE MONEY TO SPEND!
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