Report Says San Francisco Giants Have 50/50 Shot of Signing One of Remaining Top Free Agents
According to a report from San Francisco Giants' reporter Susan Slusser, one source says that the team has a 50/50 shot of signing either Matt Chapman or Blake Snell in free agency.
The following comes from MLBTradeRumors but includes a link to Slusser's work (subscription required):
The Giants continue to explore the markets for Blake Snell and Matt Chapman as March draws near, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. One source tells Slusser there’s roughly a 50-50 chance that San Francisco comes away with one of those players.
Both of those players are Scott Boras clients so the situation of course requires that we talk about money. Both players were thought to want mega deals, but if they are getting antsy about not having a team this far into spring training, perhaps they'd be willing to take less, as Cody Bellinger just did with the Chicago Cubs.
With regards to Chapman, he's been connected to the Giants a lot of the offseason. They have a lot of youth in the infield and Chapman would provide offensive pop and a solid defender. Other 40 man roster infielders include JD Davis, Thairo Estrada, Tyler Fitzgerald, Wilmer Flores, Otto Lopez, Marco Luciano, Casey Schmitt, David Villar, LaMonte Wade Jr. and Brett Wisely.
The 30-year-old Chapman is a .240 career hitter with 155 homers. He's an All-Star and a four-time Gold Glove winner who has spent seven years with the Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays.
Signing Snell would represent an upgrade to a rotation that has already been battered early in camp and features lots of questions. Both Keaton Winn and Tristan Beck have dealt with arm problems and Robbie Ray is out until at least midseason. Jordan Hicks was signed this offseason but hasn't been a starter in several years.
Snell is coming off a year in which he went 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA for the San Diego Padres. He won his second Cy Young Award, having also won the AL Cy Young award in 2018 as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays.
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