Stop me if you've heard this before: the San Francisco Giants are in on another big-ticket free agent. Though they were already rumored to be in the mix for Japanese pitching sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Giants' interest was all but confirmed after the team met with the coveted free agent on Sunday, according to Buster Olney.
Almost every big market franchise has shown their hand in the race for Yamamoto, with the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers among other teams who are courting the 25-year-old.
After missing out on Shohei Ohtani, the Giants are likely to put all of their eggs in the Yamamoto basket in hopes of finally securing a major free agent acquisition under Farhan Zaidi. The Giants' president of baseball operations was unsuccessful in his pursuit of Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper and Carlos Correa and is certainly feeling the pressure of putting a star on the roster.
Yamamoto would certainly be that star given his track record in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, considered by many to be the second-best professional baseball league in the world.
In 172 NPB appearances, Yamamoto posted a 70-29 record with a 1.82 ERA and 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings. He won Pacific League MVP and pitcher of the year honors in each of the last three seasons, with a trio of Golden Glove Awards to boot.
Do the Giants really have a shot?
Giants fans are probably tired of missing out on all the top talent in the MLB, but they can’t be upset with the way San Francisco's front office has approached the last few offseasons. Zaidi and crew have tried to lure several superstars to the Bay Area, but for one reason or another finished as a runner-up each time.
With the Giants bringing in Bob Melvin as their new manager, the expectation will be postseason baseball from 2024 on. It would be a lot easier for San Francisco to secure playoff berths over the next few seasons if Yoshinobu Yamamoto was at the top of its rotation.
The Giants made the right offers to some of those aforementioned stars so it won’t be a money issue that loses them Yamamoto's services, though he is expected to sign for north of $300 million. San Francisco isn’t guaranteed his signature even if it offers him the biggest contract, which would raise even more questions as to why these star-free agents continue to deny the Giants.
Perhaps the reality is that San Francisco isn’t a nice enough area to live in or the Giants simply haven’t shown enough prowess since winning three titles in the early 2010s to be seriously considered by these players. Whatever the case may be, Farhan Zaidi and the Giants have to feel like they are being Punk'd if Yamamoto signs elsewhere.
San Francisco can go all in all it wants, but as it currently stands they simply can’t offer the same sort of exposure and ability to win titles than teams like the Dodgers and Yankees. Maybe the Giants shock the world and finally land that superstar player, but it would be another Groundhog Day if they didn’t.
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