San Francisco Giants Not Expected to Spend Big in Free Agency

The San Francisco Giants are not expected to be big spenders in free agency this offseason.

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

The San Francisco Giants are in need of many upgrades throughout their roster if they intend on being competitive in the NL West division, headlined by the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

For the first time in six years, the Giants payroll crossed the first $237 million base luxury tax threshold, after the club added Jorge Soler, Matt Chapman, and Blake Snell late in the offseason with an estimated overage of $14 million.

San Francisco will have to pay a 20% tax on the overage, coming in at roughly a $2.8 million bill.

That has seemingly affected the way the Giants will approach free agency this offseason, with recent reports from Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic indicating the team will be looking to cut payroll, which means they may not be big spenders as they were initially believed to be.

Per Spotrac, their current payroll for 2025 projects to be just under $144 million, roughly $60 million shy of last year's Opening Day payroll and $40 million shy of 2023's Opening Day mark.

It is unclear at this time just how much San Francisco intends to cut back, though that in and of itself may indicate the team is no longer looking to spend for one big name like bringing ace Blake Snell back or signing superstar outfielder Juan Soto. They may opt to turn to smaller upgrades at multiple positions instead.

The Giants do still intend on making some improvements through free agency, and they can still improve the club through the trade market, potentially moving pieces with higher price tags to free up more money for free agency additions.

Regardless of how San Francisco plans to implement their payroll cutbacks, it is far from the strategy that will bring the team closer to contention since the majority of the teams in October were some of the highest spenders in the sport.