Another offseason brought another missed opportunity for the San Francisco Giants to make a franchise-altering addition through MLB free agency. The franchise made its best pitch to superstar Shohei Ohtani, even offering him the same exact contract he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Despite their hard pursuit, it was another swing and a miss for the Giants. Ohtani joins Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa and Bryce Harper in a now quartet of “what could have been” players that San Francisco ultimately did not sign.

The frustration and disappointment is shared throughout the Giants organization and the Bay Area. Buster Posey, perhaps the best Giants player since Barry Bonds, was an integral part of San Francisco's approach for Ohtani.

Now part of the ownership group for the franchise he helped win three World Series titles, Posey said there wasn’t much more the Giants could have done to persuade Ohtani.

“I don’t think so,” Posey said, via Andrew Baggarly. “I really don’t. I’ve thought about it since the news came out. I really don’t think so. It’s different but similar to playing the game: I always wanted to feel when you’re done, win or lose, that you put it out there. I really feel like we did.”

Back to the drawing board

Giants' Farhan Zaidi cannot come away empty-handed in free agency

 

The Giants have tried their best, or at least have made it seem that way, to secure top-level talent in recent years. It hasn’t worked for them, but that doesn’t mean they can’t contend.

The three Giants teams that won three championships in five years were not stacked with superstars. San Francisco's 2021 team that won 107 games wasn’t either.

Related San Francisco Giants NewsArticle continues below
San Francisco Giants first baseman Wilmer Flores (41) is greeted by his teammates after hitting a grand slam against the Athletics during the third inning at Oracle Park.
Wilmer Flores ties Aaron Judge for RBI leader in huge night vs. Athletics
Diamondbacks news: Torey Lovullo hilariously gives it back to umps after getting tossed
Diamondbacks’ Torey Lovullo hilariously gives it back to umps after getting tossed
Diamondbacks Giants prediction, odds, pick, MLB odds
Diamondbacks vs. Giants prediction, odds, pick – 5/14/2025

The sting of knowing these stars don’t want to play in San Francisco doesn’t make things easy though.

“I also gave this analogy to somebody: Throughout my career, I would’ve rather had three broken-bat hits in a game than three lineouts at somebody,” Posey said. “For people to say, ‘Well, you did everything you could. You hit the ball on the nose.’ It’s like, yeah, but ultimately you want results. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the result and so, you know, we’ll keep pushing.”

The Giants did keep pushing, pivoting their attention to Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee. San Francisco secured his services, inking him to a six-year, $113 million contract on Tuesday.

In a way, that is a win for San Francisco. Lee was a consensus top-10 position player free agent and brings a big international name to the Giants. He's not Shohei Ohtani, but he is a potential star if his play from the KBO translates to the MLB.

Missing out on several superstars hasn’t stopped the Giants from going all in on the next one. As long as Farhan Zaidi is in charge of baseball operations in San Francisco, it's hard to imagine the franchise won’t be interested in every big name that hits the open market.

Try and try and try again, but the Giants just can’t seem to land that big fish. Maybe we'll get an explanation soon as to why they keep coming up short.

For now, the Giants and their fans are left wondering as their biggest rival snatches another MVP.