San Francisco Giants Potential Suitor for Cy Young-Winning California Native

The San Francisco Giants could be a contender for one of the top arms in free agency, who just happens to have ties to the state.

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The San Francisco Giants are looking to improve the roster and field a more competitive team in 2025 after seven of the last eight seasons have ended with no playoff baseball in the Bay Area.

There's a renewed sense of urgency in San Francisco after franchise legend Buster Posey took over as president of baseball operations following the team's decision to fire Farhan Zaidi.

Entering his first offseason, Posey is tasked with figuring out how to get a team that has finished fourth place in the National League West each of the last two years back to the playoffs.

Coming off a successful second half to his first season with the Giants, two-time Cy Young ace Blake Snell elected to opt out of his two-year deal and become a free agent. While many feel Snell will return, San Francisco needs a backup plan if he does leave.

Perhaps San Francisco can replace one Cy Young ace with another this winter as Mark Feinsand of MLB.com named the Giants as a potential suitor for Baltimore Orioles superstar Corbin Burnes.

One of the biggest selling points Feinsand sees is Oracle Park, which is considered more of a pitcher's park and some believe that is a reason the Giants have struggled to lure top-tier hitters like Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper.

"With Logan Webb already on board atop the rotation, the Giants could take a run at Burnes to replace Blake Snell," Feinsand wrote.

There are other reasons Burnes might prefer west coast baseball — he's from California. He was born in Bakersfield, where he went to Centennial High School. Later, he played his college baseball at Saint Mary's, which is less than 30 miles from San Francisco.

After spending the first six years of his career in Milwaukee, the Orioles acquired Burnes via trade last winter ahead of his contract year. Burnes responded with possibly his best season since his 2021 Cy Young year with the Brewers, posting a 2.92 ERA in his fourth consecutive All-Star campaign.

Whether or not Burnes is an upgrade from Snell is up for debate, but Burnes just turned 30 while Snell is weeks away from turning 32. Down the stretch after the All-Star break, Snell was arguably the best pitcher in baseball, but this was coming off a disastrous start to the season where he posted a horrible ERA and spent two stint on the injured list.

Burnes on the other hand has never made less than 28 starts in a full season and doesn't seem to be showing any major signs of slowing down.

He will be the hottest commodity on the pitching market, so he certainly would not come cheap. But if the Giants can land him they will have their new ace for years to come.