Some say the San Francisco Giants' tendency to give out short-term deals and deals with opt outs puts the team in a lose-lose situation. But that seems to miss the fact that, if the player has a good enough season to opt out, it means the SF Giants got good production for a year without having to take on the risk of a long-term commitment. There are certainly downsides to this approach, but it's clearly not a lose-lose.
With that being said, how are the Giants looking next offseason? Who are their pure free agents, who has opt outs, and who's guaranteed to be back? Joc Pederson, Brandon Crawford, Alex Wood, Jakob Junis, John Brebbia, and Scott Alexander are the SF Giants' pure free agents. Michael Conforto, Ross Stripling, and Sean Manea can opt out of one more season with the Giants. And the SF Giants hold a $10 million club option with a $2 million buyout on Alex Cobb.
The Giants are likely to be in need of a shortstop next offseason. Brandon Crawford is entering the last year of his deal, and the free agent market is pretty bleak. That's why it stings that the team didn't ultimately come away with one of the many star shortstops who were available the last two winters. The Giants will also likely be looking for an outfielder, and don't rule out a reunion with Conforto. The Giants seem hesitant to give long-term deals to pitchers, but they appear more willing to give multi-year deals position players.
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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.
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