Locked On Giants – Daily Podcast On The San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants need a lot of help this winter, and it's not all likely to come in the form of free agent signings. Giants president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi even said that the SF Giants' stated goal of getting younger and more athletic isn't best brought about through free agency, necessarily. Free agents are, by definition, players who've been in the league for at least six seasons. With that said, who are some realistic trade targets for the San Francisco Giants?

The Diamondbacks have an abundance of young, talented, athletic outfielders. Their stable of outfield talent includes Daulton Varsho, Corbin Carroll, Jake McCarthy, and Alek Thomas. Thomas might be the odd man out in that scenario, and the SF Giants should have interest if any of those four are available. The Blue Jays have a surplus of catching talent, with Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk, and Gabriel Moreno. Jansen would be a nice target for the Giants, but it would complicate matters with Joey Bart. Ian Happ of the Chicago Cubs is a talented, athletic, switch-hitting outfielder who makes a ton of sense for the Giants, and he could be available because he's one year from free agency and plays for a rebuilding team. Shohei Ohtani is the mother of all trade candidates.

How are the SF Giants going to address their bullpen? Will they sign free agents, make trades, or both? Expect them to build their 'pen similarly to how they've built it the last few years: mostly minor moves. It didn't work in 2022, but the Giants' bullpen had the best ERA in baseball in 2021, so it's not like it's clearly a bad strategy. When is the earliest Aaron Judge will sign? Will Carlos Correa or Trea Turner sign before Judge? This offseason has been even slower than usual thus far, with zero major free agents signing to date. Expect at least one or two major moves in MLB before the Winter Meetings, but then things should really pick up (as they almost do) at the Winter Meetings in San Diego in early December.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

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.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

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BetOnline

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Joc Pederson is back! Pederson accepted the San Francisco Giants' $19.65 million qualifying offer yesterday, which officially means he'll wear the orange and black again in 2023. The Giants surprised many in the industry when they gave Joc the QO, but it really shouldn't have come as a huge surprise if we look at their recent history. They gave qualifying offers to Kevin Gausman and Brandon Belt in the last couple of years as well, moves that also surprised those outside of San Francsico (and even some insiders).

Many are griping about Pederson's defensive issues. But Pederson compares well to Kyle Schwarber, who got 4/$79M last offseason. Nick Castellanos is a far worse defender than Pederson, and he has a worse career wRC+, and he got 5/$100M last winter. There really isn't such thing as a bad one-year deal, and as long as the roughly $20M the Giants committed to Pederson doesn't stop them from making other significant moves, who cares? It's not our money.

The SF Giants also added several players to their 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft. Marco Luciano and Luis Matos are officially on the Major League roster, but don't necessarily expect to see them in the big leagues in 2023. The Giants also added Tristan Beck, Jose Cruz, Keaton Winn, and Brett Wisely to the 40-man yesterday. Wisely was acquired in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays after hitting 15 home runs and stealing 30 bases in the upper Minors in 2022. The San Francisco Giants DFA'd Jarlín Garcia and Jason Vosler, among a few others, in corresponding moves in order to add so many players to their 40-man roster.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

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.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

SimpliSafe

With Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnMLB to learn more.

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Are the San Francisco Giants going to replace Carlos Rodón with Japanese righty Kodai Senga? At the very least, it appears that the Giants are courting Senga, as Marc Delucchi snapped a photo of the Oracle Park scoreboard with a photoshopped image of Senga in a Giants uniform on it. Senga is predicted to receive a four- or five-year deal for around $14M to $15M per year. Senga features an upper-90s (sometimes triple-digit) fastball and a plus splitter. The description of Senga as a pitcher should remind San Francisco Giants fans of Kevin Gausman. If that's the case, it should come as no surprise that the SF Giants are interested.

Joc Pederson's qualifying offer decision is due today. Carlos Rodón's is too, but his is a much easier call. Pederson must decide whether or not to return to the Giants on a one-year, $19.65M deal. It's possible that Pederson could get more guaranteed money from another team (say 3/$36M), but he won't come close to about $20 million in average annual value. So: will Pederson prefer the higher AAV and a chance to re-enter the market next offseason without the qualifying offer attached to his free agency, or will he seek the most guaranteed money? That decision must be made this afternoon.

If the SF Giants miss out on Aaron Judge, are Joey Gallo or Michael Conforto possible fits in the outfield? They may be, but they're not even close to being on the same level as Judge. Gallo is a three true outcomes machine, as most of the time he either strikes out, walks, or homers. Conforto missed all of last season with a shoulder injury. Brandon Nimmo and Kevin Kiermaier are possible fits in the outfield as well if the Giants don't sign Judge. But if they miss out on Aaron Judge, they'll need to pivot to the top shortstop options like Carlos Correa and Trea Turner.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

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.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

SimpliSafe

With Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnMLB to learn more.

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Theories abound as to why the San Francisco Giants surprisingly gave Joc Pederson a $19.65 million qualifying offer. Joc Pederson said towards the end of the year that he was very disappointed with how the SF Giants' season had gone, and that he wants more than anything to play in the playoffs. With that in mind, did the San Francisco Giants give Joc Pederson the qualifying offer because they were certain he'd reject it to sign with a more obvious playoff team?

What pair would be better for the SF Giants: Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo, or Carlos Correa and Carlos Rodón? Both combinations are projected to produce about 10 fWAR in 2023, but at their predicted contracts, Judge would be getting a nine-year deal. Correa is also projected to land a deal of about nine years, but he is 2.5 years younger than Judge. If Judge does in fact command nine years, the Correa/Rodón pairing is more attractive. Neither would cost the Giants a draft pick, either, whereas both Judge and Rizzo would cost the SF Giants a significant pick.

Speaking of Aaron Judge, would he really help the San Francisco Giants get "younger and more athletic"? It's worth pointing out that Giants president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi made it clear that they don't necessarily need to get "younger", but they do need to have players that are more durable. Judge has had some durability issues in his career (so has the younger Carlos Correa), but he should be plenty healthy and athletic in the short term. The issue is when we start talking about a nine-year deal for Judge. That would take him into his age-39 season, which could mean that roughly half of the deal might be disastrous. A couple of bad years at the end could be stomached, but four-plus would be hard to swallow.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

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.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

SimpliSafe

With Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnMLB to learn more.

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Everyone knew the San Francisco Giants would extend a $19.65 million qualifying offer to Carlos Rodón. But almost no one was talking about Joc Pederson as a possibility. The Giants have been the most aggressive team in baseball with qualifying offers the last few years—as evidenced by the fact that Kevin Gausman (2020) and Brandon Belt (2021) are the last two players in the sport to accept the offer. Joc Pederson very possibly will be the third SF Giants player in three years to accept the qualifying offer.

Are there any downsides? Only if the roughly $20 million stops the Giants from doing something else they might've done that would've helped them more. Pederson is a good but imperfect player. He crushes right-handed pitching but struggles against lefties. He was one of the worst defenders in baseball in 2022, but hasn't been quite that bad historically. Offering Pederson nearly $20M on a one-year deal is aggressive by the SF Giants, but it's not insane. Reports indicate that he has received interest from teams on a possible three-year deal, and that his value may be helped significantly by the league's ban on defensive shifts, which goes into effect next season.

Elsewhere in hot stove news, Aaron Judge is officially on the open market. He's free to sign with any team, and the San Francisco Giants make as much sense as any. At what point does his potential contract become too much? And is a 7-, 8-, or 9-year deal too much for Judge, who will be 31 in year one of any new contract? If the Giants don't land Judge, who is the next most likely? There's not necessarily a huge drop-off with the new best free agents, Carlos Correa and Trea Turner. Those players also have youth on their side more so than Judge.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

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.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

SimpliSafe

With Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnMLB to learn more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The San Francisco Giants declined to pick up Evan Longoria's $13 million club option today, releasing the long-time Giants third baseman into true free agency. Longoria had been with the SF Giants since the previous front office traded for the five years left on his contract prior to the 2018 season. It's still possible that the Giants and Longoria reunite, but this decision was essentially saying that the Giants didn't think he was worth an extra $8 million. If the SF Giants bring him back, which is questionable, it'd likely be for a salary in the $2-3 million range.

Qualifying offer decisions are also due today. The San Francisco Giants had until 2 PM to decide whether to extend qualifying offers to their eligible free agents. Carlos Rodón was a slam dunk to receive the offer, with Joc Pederson lurking as a possibility as well. Once the Giants extending qualifying offers, which amount to one-year deals that are worth $19.65 million this year, those players who received it have 10 days to decide whether or not to accept. Then, if they sign elsewhere, the Giants would receive Draft compensation.

Farhan Zaidi met with reporters as the GM meetings. He discussed numerous topics, and also offered insight into the Giants' plans with LaMonte Wade Jr. Zaidi said that the SF Giants do intend to bring back Wade by offering him a contract ahead of next week's tender deadline. Wade is projected at a very modest salary of about $1.4 million, according to MLB Trade Rumors.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

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.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

SimpliSafe

With Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnMLB to learn more.

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Just like last offseason, the San Francisco Giants are faced with whether or not to bring back a free-agent ace. Carlos Rodón re-enters the market after one season with the SF Giants, and there's good chance the Giants let him walk just like they did with Kevin Gausman. ESPN and FanGraphs predict Rodón to receive a five-year deal worth about $25 million per year (about $125 million in total). That's very similar to the 5/$110M deal Kevin Gausman received from the Blue Jays last offseason.

If the San Francisco Giants choose to let Rodón get his big deal from another team, what should they do? They've been clear that they intend to pair Logan Webb with another top-of-the-rotation arm. Even after letting Gausman leave, the Giants managed to replace his production beautifully in the form of Rodón, who got the same AAV as Gausman but over far fewer years.

The alternatives on the market include Jacob deGrom, who's expected to land a short-term deal worth $40+ million, Justin Verlander, who's expected to come in around 2/$70 million, and Clayton Kershaw, who may be willing to accept a one-year deal but almost certainly wouldn't sign with the San Francisco Giants. Among those options, Verlander may be the most appealing because it's a nice middle ground between the absurd AAV deGrom may command and the five-plus years Rodón may command.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

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.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

SimpliSafe

With Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnMLB to learn more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's finally that time of year: contract predictions for the top free agents are being released by various publications. Which of those contracts make sense for the San Francisco Giants? FanGraphs released its Top 50 Free Agents list, and it's no surprised to find Aaron Judge as the No. 1 free agent. The predicted contract for Judge exceeds $300 million.

Judge is an obvious fit for the Giants, but the nine predicted years may be 1-3 too many. The SF Giants likely prefer something a bit shorter term, even if it means increasing the average annual value. Trea Turner comes in as the top shortstop on the list, according to FanGraphs, but Carlos Correa's predicted contract (10/$300M) feels a bit more appealing for the Giants.

Brandon Nimmo and Willson Contreras are other position players who make sense for the Giants, in addition to the other top shortstops Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson. Besides that, Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander, and Carlos Rodón all crack the Top 10 and the San Francisco Giants should be in on all three. It wouldn't be a shock to see the SF Giants come away with one of those aces.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

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.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

SimpliSafe

With Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnMLB to learn more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 2022-23 offseason has officially begun, and it's a big one for the San Francisco Giants. Coming off a disappointing 81-81 season, with a team that just wasn't that compelling, the SF Giants must act boldly for the first time in a long time in the offseason. Free agency technically opened yesterday, beginning a five-day window during which teams have exclusive negotiating rights with their own free agents. For the Giants, this includes Carlos Rodón, Joc Pederson, and Brandon Belt.

Option decisions are also due by Thursday, and Rodón already went through the formality of rejecting his $22.5M option to return to the San Francisco Giants next season. The SF Giants must make their option decision on Evan Longoria by Thursday. The Giants hold a $13M club option on Longoria with a $5M buyout. It's possible that they restructure the deal to bring him back in 2023; it's also possible the Giants just let him walk. Qualifying offers must also be extended by Thursday. The Giants will try to work something out with Rodón before then, but an extension is unlikely to materialize, resulting in an easy decision for the Giants to give Rodón the QO.

Then, on Thursday, free agency officially opens up. That means the San Francisco Giants can at last contact Aaron Judge. They can contact Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts, Brandon Nimmo. They can pursue any and all free agents, and they figure to do so in an aggressive way this winter. Even accounting for arbitration estimates, the Giants have only about $100M committed for 2023. They've spent about $162M per year for the last few years, and they should at least get back to that point and possibly blow past it. There's no reason $180M to $200M shouldn't be possible, and the stars may well align for a homecoming to the SF Giants for Judge.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

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.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

SimpliSafe

With Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnMLB to learn more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ESPN's Jeff Passan joined KNBR 680's "Papa & Lund" on Thursday, and said that he expects big things from the San Francisco Giants this offseason. Passan said he's be very surprised if the SF Giants don't end up as one of the top-three spending teams this winter. Giants fans may recall that analysts expected the team to be similarly active last offseason, and they did make a lot of moves in the rotation, but ultimately didn't have the kind of offseason fans were hoping for.

The stars might be aligning for the Giants to have a huge offseason this time around. They're motivated by the fact that they flopped to an 81-81 finish after winning 107 games in 2021. They have major payroll flexibility, with only about $70 million committed after Carlos Rodón opts out. There's a superstar lurking in Aaron Judge, and he actually might want to come play for the San Francisco Giants. Judge grew up in Linden, CA, just about 90 minutes away from Oracle Park. The one big question is whether the Giants will be willing to pay top dollar for a player his size who's already going to be 31 years old in year one of a deal.

If the SF Giants don't end up with Judge (or even if they do), the top four shortstops are probably the next best players available. Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, and Dansby Swanson would all improve the Giants rather dramatically. Besides those four and Judge, there's Brandon Nimmo, Willson Contreras, Jose Abreu, Anthony Rizzo, and a smattering of others on the position player side who could help the Giants achieve their stated goal of looking like an obvious playoff time in Spring Training. The World Series will be over by Sunday, and then it'll finally be time for the Giants to embark on their hugely important offseason.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

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.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

SimpliSafe

With Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnMLB to learn more.

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