As September gets going, the San Francisco Giants are in real danger of finishing their third consecutive season without a winning record. At 71-73, they're technically not out of the playoff race, but suffice it to say things have not gone as expected for a team that brought in Blake Snell, Matt Chapman, and Robbie Ray in the offseason.
Staring down another long winter, Giants fans can take comfort in the age-old saying: There's always next year. And as productive as their offseason was last year, the 2024-25 free agent crop is even stronger.
They've already crossed one item off their list and signed Matt Chapman to an extension worth $151 million over six years. San Francisco, however, must do more.
Every team looking to contend is going to at least inquire about Juan Soto. The Yankees outfielder is having the best year of his career in his free agent season and could fetch anything from $450 million to $600 million-plus in his next deal. Though the Phillies are favored to land Soto if the Yankees don't bring him back, the Giants should at least gauge his interest in coming to the bay. After all, they nearly landed the other power-hitting Yankees outfielder just two years ago in the famous “Arson Judge” debacle.
But that goes without saying. In the likely event Soto does not end up in the Bay Area, the Giants can be intentional with their spending. They should start by looking at a pair of current Baltimore Orioles.
Anthony Santander is the power hitter the Giants need
The Giants need a little more pop in their lineup and with Michael Conforto an impending free agent, Santander could be just the guy. Santander has 40 home runs, good for third in the majors behind only Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. As impossible as it may be to believe, the Giants haven't had a player hit even 30 homers in a season since Barry Bonds in 2004. They've won three World Series since then.
While it's far from exact, Spotrac pegs Santander's market value at around $17.9 million per year — actually less than what Conforto is making, and Santander is two years younger and having a better all-around season. On Monday, Santander became the first switch hitter since 2006 to reach 40 home runs in a season.
There's no use even calling Santander a lower-budget alternative to Soto as the two are on completely different levels, but he is a much cheaper way to give the lineup an influx of power.
With or without Blake Snell, the Giants should prioritize Corbin Burnes
Forget all the clichés for a minute about how you can't ever have too much pitching. Teams will be lining up to talk to Corbin Burnes this winter, and as it turns out, the Giants may have an edge. Burnes is originally from California and went to college at Saint Mary's, located in nearby Moraga. Perhaps he wants a return to familiar surroundings.
Burnes has already listed what he's looking for in his next team and the Giants have work to do to get there. First and foremost, he wants to play for a contender. The Giants are not there now, but if they can bring back Snell and add a couple big bats, that just might be enough.
Burnes doesn't just want to go to a team ready to win now. He wants a team set up well into the future. He told Will Sammon of The Athletic that he will also research each prospective organization's farm system. For what it's worth, Bleacher Report ranked the Giants' farm system as the 20th best in baseball in its midseason update after the 2024 draft. MLB.com ranked it 23rd. The Giants will have to sell to Burnes that part of the reason for their low ranking is that they've called up some of their best prospects in the last few years — the whole point of building a farm system to begin with.
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