San Francisco Giants Could Add Slugging With Free Agent All-Star Outfielder
The San Francisco Giants head into the offseason desperate to come away with some more offensive firepower this offseason after finishing no better than middle of the pack in the league in home runs over the last several years.
With missed postseason appearances in seven of the last eight years, it's time for some changes. Team ownership let that be known by installing Buster Posey as president of baseball operations after firing Farhan Zaidi.
In Posey's first offseason, the former All-Star catcher and three-time World Series champion he will be tasked with figuring out how to get San Francisco back to a place where they are competing for titles.
Everyone wants the team to pursue Juan Soto especially after missing out over the years on guys like Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, but the prospects of the Giants landing the top prize of free agency appear to be dwindling as he begins to field offers and take meetings.
If San Francisco does in fact miss out on Soto, there are still quality options on the next tier of available hitters.
One guy who has not been discussed as much for the Giants but could be a perfect fit is All-Star Baltimore Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander, who is coming off a career season. Spencer Tracy of Just Baseball named the slugger as an ideal fit in a recent article, noting that Santander has the ability to do something a Giants hitter hasn't done in 20 years.
"Not a single Giant since Barry Bonds in [2004], has clocked at least 30 HRs in a single season," Tracy wrote. "With the designated hitter role open, Santander would fit in seamlessly contributing to the splash count total at Oracle Park. The Giants are in compete mode with plenty of checks ready to be written, and a 30-year-old Santander would be worth every penny."
Santander, a left-handed hitter, had the best season of his career in 2024, a fitting result for a veteran ahead of hitting free agency. With 44 home runs and 102 RBIs along with a slugging percentage over .500, any team that is looking to add more pop into their lineup would love to secure the signature of Santander.
The contract would likely creep into the nine-figure range, something the team could be understandably wary of given Santander has been an All-Star just one time in his career.
But there's no question as to the kind of power he would add into a lineup that needs to create more home runs in 2025. The real question is what happens when and if Soto exits the market, and if he does so before Santander. Does the latter's price go up? We'll see.