San Francisco Giants Predicted to Sign Top International Star in Free Agency

Could the Giants bring in one of the top international names on the market?

Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants are about to embark on the first offseason of the Buster Posey era after parting ways with president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and installing the legendary catcher in his place.

While the Giants are likely to hire a GM at some point, for now Posey is the one making the decisions in what feels like a critical offseason for the team on the heels of missing the postseason in seven of the last eight seasons. With players like Michael Conforto and likely Blake Snell as impending free agents, choices will have to be made as the team looks to improve.

One area that needs to be improved is the pitching staff from top to bottom with the team finshing 19th in the league in team ERA and middle of the pack in bullpen ERA. There are intriguing options out there, some of them from overseas. Erik Beaston of Bleacher Report projected San Francisco to sign one of the top international options this offseason if he is approved in the posting system in Japanese sensation Shinnosuke Ogasawara.

"The Giants would be an interesting fit, too, and may just be the team that comes through as the organization looks to make a splash and renew their fans' faith in the front office," Beaston wrote.

Over nine professional seasons in Japan, the Chunichi Dragons hurler has posted a 3.66 ERA and a WHIP of 1.286 with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.40. He is noted for his strong veolcity, something that obviously would translate at the MLB level. Beaston did write that while Ogasawara may end up being more of a project than an instant impact MLB pitcher, he is a good fit for a team that needs a starter who can give you a solid amount of innings, having thrown 144 of them this past season for the Dragons.

Assuming the most likely scenario plays out and the Giants do in fact lose Snell, they will need another arm to slot in near the top of the rotation with Logan Webb and Hayden Birdsong. At the very least, Ogasawara is an exciting option that likely will not command anywhere near the salary that his counterpart, Tomoyuki Sugano, will draw. San Francisco would be wise to at least check in and see if Ogasawara is interested in coming to the Bay Area.