San Francisco Giants Listed As Top Landing Spot for Free-Agent All-Star

The San Francisco Giants need an upgrade to their pitching staff, and this free agent ace could do the trick.

Oct 2, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; Atlanta Braves pitcher Max Fried (54) throws during the first inning of game two in the Wildcard round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images / Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

When you think of the San Francisco Giants, after slugger Barry Bonds, you immediately think of all of the top-tier pitchers they have had this century.

From Barry Zito to Madison Bumgarner, from Tim Lincecum to Blake Snell, the list goes on. That is just a few of the many aces that the club has employed in recent memory.

Even with Snell's dominance in the second half of the year, the Giants' pitching rotation did not fare as well as the Giants would have liked. They combined for a 4.22 ERA, good enough for 18th in Major League Baseball. It served as a significant step back from ranking 10th in that metric in 2023.

Things could be looking up for the club, however, as Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report listed them as one of the top 10 landing spots for free agent left-handed ace Max Fried, ranking San Francisco ninth.

"The Giants could conceivably turn to Fried as a replacement for Snell," writes Rymer, "who's on the market because he declined a $30 million player option for 2025."

Fried has quietly been one of the more consistent pitchers in the Majors, pitching to a 3.07 ERA across 884.1 innings in 168 games (151 starts) with 863 strikeouts and a 140 ERA+. He has had that success while playing the majority of his games at Truist Park for the Atlanta Braves, a stadium that is much more friendly to hitters than Oracle Park.

The ace is a two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner who he has finished in the top five for National League Cy Young voting twice and top 20 for National League MVP once.

Considering how good Fried has been throughout his career, he is projected to come at a cheap price. Spotrac projects the lefty to land a six-year, $136.3 million deal, for an AAV of $22.7 million. This is much less than Snell is projected to get, saving the Giants money while providing them with similar levels of production.

The veteran would be a fantastic presence in the clubhouse that includes a pedigree for winning, having a ring from the Braves' 2021 World Series Championship.

San Francisco is in need of an upgrade to their rotation, and for less than $25 million per year, Fried should be the clear choice to be that much-needed upgrade, assuming the Giants are unable to retain Snell.