After topping the National League West division in 2021 with a 107-55 record, the San Francisco Giants came crashing down in the 2022 MLB season, as they only managed to put together an 81-81 record and missed the MLB playoffs. Having a .500 season is not ideal for the Giants and it will never be for the storied baseball club, whose front office will have plenty of work to do in the offseason. The Giants are looking to add new faces to their roster for the 2023 MLB season. With huge names littering the market in free agency soon, here are three MLB free agents the Giants should be eyeing to sign.

3. Trea Turner

The Los Angeles Dodgers are without a doubt the biggest rivals of the Giants, and their rivalry could spill into the offseason as they both vie for the services of some of the key names in free agency, including Trea Turner. The shortstop is soon to become a free agent, as his current deal is set to expire. Turner is rumored to have a preference for teams on the East Coast, so the Giants are already out of the equation by that lone qualifier.

That being said, Turner will still be available in the offseason with the Dodgers unable to offer him a contract extension, thus far, so there should be no stopping the Giants from at least trying to kick the tires on their potential to acquire the star shortstop. The Giants still have Brandon Crawford in 2023, which would be the last year of his current deal, and it's not the worst of ideas for San Francisco to find his replacement as early as this coming offseason as the team's starting shortstop. Crawford is already 35 and will turn 36 in January.

Turner is just 29 and is coming off a fantastic 2022 campaign in which he slashed .298/.343/.466 with 21 home runs and 100 RBI — the most he's had in a season in his career. Considering that the Giants were just 27th in the big leagues in 2022 in terms of shortstop batting average (.219) and only 22nd in shortstop wRC+ (78) and the Dodgers were No. 1 and No. 2 overall in those departments, respectively, it's easy to see why Turner would be such a massive upgrade for San Francisco.

2. Jacob deGrom

There is a growing sense in San Francisco that Carlos Rodon will leave the Giants and test the waters of free agency. Rodon actually has a live contract with the Giants, as he signed a two-year deal with the team worth $44 million back in March 2022. However, he also has a player option for 2023, which doesn't like he is interested in picking up.

Speaking of which, Jacob deGrom also has an opt-out option for the 2023 season with the New York Mets. If he decides to come back to the Mets, New York will have a club option on him in 2024, which we're not sure if that's a favorable situation for deGrom.  Even though he will be 35 by the time the 2023 MLB season kicks off, there should be plenty of suitors lining up outside the door of deGrom, who went 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA and a 2.13 FIP along with a 0.746 WHIP across 11 starts in 2022. There are injury concerns for deGrom, but if anything, the Giants could just use this as a bargaining chip when negotiating with the four-time All-Star.

1. Aaron Judge

There will not be a bigger player, literally and figuratively, in the free agency period than Aaron Judge, who just had arguably the best individual season in the history of Major League Baseball. Judge is the dream of every general manager — as he should be. The Giants are expected to be among the most serious landing spot candidates for the hulking outfielder, who smashed 62 home runs in 2022 to set a new single-season record in American League history.

Via Randy Miller of NJ.com:

“Judge is believed to remain upset that the Yankees announced details of the extension, and a person close to him believes the Giants are Judge’s No. 1 choice and predicted, ‘It’s going to be looking good next season for the orange and black.'”

San Francisco is not without competition, for Aaron Judge's attention,  which is a huge understatement, but it's no secret that Judge grew up a Giants fan in California, so that familiarity with the organization on a personal and maybe sentimental level, could just be that tips the scales in favor of the Orange and Black — on top of the money, of course.

Apart from hitting 62 dingers in 2022, Aaron Judge also posted a .311 batting average, a .425 on-base percentage, and a .686 slugging percentage. He also had a ridiculous 1.111 OPS and an insane 211 OPS+.