The San Francisco Giants are reportedly aiming for the big-time this offseason; hoping to sign both Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

But the Giants reportedly had interest in another star pitcher, hoping to sign free agent Sonny Gray before the ex-Minnesota Twins pitcher signed with the St. Louis Cardinals, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic:

“Giants had interest in Sonny Gray, whose tenure with the A’s overlapped for two seasons with Farhan Zaidi and five with Bob Melvin. Gray, though, was intent on playing relatively close to his home in Nashville, which is about a 4 1/2-hour drive from St. Louis.”

The 34-year-old Gray also expressed his excitement about this new chapter of his career, saying that it's all going to be all business on his end once he starts to see action in a Cardinals jersey. Gray is coming off an excellent 2023 campaign that saw him finish runner up to New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in the American League Cy Young award voting.

In 32 starts for the Minnesota Twins that season, he went 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA and 2.83 FIP. His 154 ERA+ in 2023 is also the second-best in his career.

In the meantime, the Giants turn their attention back to the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes. The team has been longing for a genuine superstar free agent signing, especially after striking out on other big-time free agents in the past, including Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge. The Giants also came close to inking Carlos Correa.

The Giants have a projected payroll in the 2024 MLB season amounting to $148 million.