Could San Francisco Giants Replace Ace With World Series Champion?

With their ace expected to leave, the San Francisco Giants could turn their attention to a World Series champion to replace him.

Jul 19, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (17) throws to the plate during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Globe Life Field / Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants have a lot to figure out this offseason.

After they aggressively spent to add high-profile free agents and overhaul this roster, they are going to come up short of making the playoffs.

They will certainly be considered one of the most disappointing teams of the year, so their front office, who has a lot of pressure on them, will have to push all the right buttons to build this roster into a contender.

What won't help is their ace Blake Snell is expected to opt-out of his contract and hit the open market in search of his megadeal after putting together a strong second half of the year.

The Giants can certainly try to re-sign him, keeping him at the top of their rotation with Logan Webb, it's unclear if they are willing to spend around $200-$300 million to keep him in San Francisco with so many other areas needing to be addressed.

If they feel like they would rather spend money elsewhere, then they could turn their attention to 2023 World Series champion ace Nathan Eovaldi if he also decided to opt-out of his player option.

The Texas Rangers starter needs to pitch four more innings to give himself that possibility, something that is expected to happen with him not being shut down for the year, but it's still unclear whether or not that will occur.

But if it does, Mike Axisa of CBS Sports is predicting him to sign a contract that is in the range that should make the Giants extremely interested.

"Eovaldi throws the four he needs to get the player option, then declines it, tests the free-agent waters, and ultimately returns to the Rangers on a new contract. Perhaps something like two years and $40 million with an option for a third year," he writes.

The pontification of him returning to the Rangers isn't what matters here, it's the roughly $40 million that he might sign for if he's on the market.

Adding Eovaldi on that type of contract would be a steal for San Francisco, giving them a top-of-the-rotation arm coming off a 3.67 ERA performance this year who would pair well with Webb.

Again, a lot of things have to happen before that becomes a possibility, but this should at least be on the radar of the Giants as they get ready for the Hot Stove.