SF Giants are reportedly "going after some big boys" in free agency

One report further confirmed that folks within the industry expect the SF Giants to be big spenders this offseason.

With the winter meetings starting in Las Vegas this week, there's a sense that baseball teams are ready to spend money. And according to one agent, the SF Giants are one of the leading contenders. "The Giants are ready to write checks," they told John Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle. "I think they’re going to go after some big boys."

That was the sense among the Giants fan base last winter, though not necessarily among agents. Last year, the Giants saw the big contracts of Buster Posey, Johnny Cueto, Brandon Belt, Kris Bryant, and Kevin Gausman come off the books, but the team didn't invest the savings back into player contracts.

Instead, they brought back Belt on a one-year qualifying offer, signed Carlos Rodon to a one-year deal plus a player option (Rodon has rejected said option), and brought in Alex Cobb on a two-year deal alongside the returning Anthony DeSclafani and Alex Wood. After Joc Pederson's one-year, $6M deal, the team payroll had actually dropped by $20M from the 107-win team in 2021.

But now the team insists they're ready to spend, even if Aaron Judge's wife running the NYC Marathon Sunday have convinced people he's staying with the Yankees. (Only the Yankees can negotiate with their slugger until Thursday.) Just like last year, there's a large group of free agent shortstops available, and like last year, it includes Carlos Correa. And once again, the Giants appear to be interested in Carlos Rodón.

Last year, when the Giants lost on (or didn't pursue) big free agents, team president Farhan Zaidi took a page out of the Trent Baalke playbook and took some flyers on injured players. Who can forget the 12-day Trevor Rosenthal Era? Or Matthew Boyd, who didn't throw a single pitch for the Giants before he was traded to Seattle?

But this time they're really, truly going to spend, assuming ownership has any money left after funding Herschel Walker's Senate campaign. They could conceivably add at any position, with holes in the outfield, first base, and third base. Also they need a pitcher to replace or just be Rodón.

For a few more days at least, SF Giants fan can dream about Aaron Judge. Just don't be shocked if the "big boys" turn out to be Dansby Swanson and Brandon Nimmo.