Are the San Francisco Giants messing up their opportunity this winter?

Jason Burke | 15 Hours Ago

Oct 1, 2024; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey reacts during an introductory press conference at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images / Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants have the Bay Area to themselves for the first time since 1967, which should present a huge opportunity for them in terms of growing their fan base. They're the only game in town, after all. It's everything they've ever wanted.

Yet, the A's move to Sacramento for the 2025 season hasn't led to many positive headlines for the Giants thus far this offseason. Sure, they're being mentioned as potential suitors for Juan Soto and Roki Sasaki, but they were also seen as suitors for Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Carlos Correa. Until they land one of those players, they won't be seen as a real contender for those superstar level players. The fanbase is accustomed to not getting those types of players, and before long they may even stop expecting them to sign with San Francisco.

Yes, Buster Posey has taken over for Farhan Zaidi, but it's unclear what kind of positive impact that will have. In terms of selling the team to former A's fans, it's not helping. In terms of how he'll be as an executive and at building a roster, the jury is still very much out.

There was the recent news that the Giants plan to cut payroll this offseason, which should be difficult to do if the Giants are truly in on players like Soto and Sasaki. Soto could earn $50 million per season for 13 or 14 years. At that pay rate, they'd be right back at 2024 payroll figures without addressing any other needs. So we can presume that they're not serious about landing Soto.

The Giants should be out there swinging their checkbook around and making big moves happen. It's still very early in the offseason, that's true, but they should want to capitalize on the A's leaving town, and the best way to do that is to offer an exciting product that everyone is talking about. The first way to achieve this would be to get your own fans excited, and let their mirth and merriment transfer to their friends who are now without a rooting interest.

Everyone is currently scratching their heads and wondering what's going on with the Giants. Are they taking a step back? Are they re-tooling? What is the plan for this franchise moving forward? Right now it looks like they are working on the business end of things without offering much promise for the team on the field improving.

The Giants hired Randy Winn as the new vice president of player development in recent days. His experience post playing career includes being "San Francisco's roving outfield and baserunning instructor from 2013 to 2016, special assistant to the general manager in 2017-18 and pro scout in 2019 under director of pro scouting Zack Minasian, who was promoted to general manager on Nov 1." He has also been an analyst on TV for the Giants since 2013.

Winn may be terrific at the job, but with Posey in an unfamiliar role, the hope would have to be that he'd surround himself with guys that know what they're doing and can hit the ground running. It's unclear if Winn fits that mold.

If the Giants are going to be the lone club in the Bay Area, they need to take up that mantle seriously. They sure didn't help the A's attempt to stay in Oakland, and now that the Athletics are gone, the Giants aren't inspiring many for the future of the game in the area, at least in the early part of the offseason.

There is still plenty of time to turn things around and get Giants fans excited for 2025, but A's fans are going to be a much tougher sell.