San Francisco Giants Urged To Pursue Two Key Upgrades to Their Lineup

The San Francisco Giants have a couple of holes in their lineup that need to be addressed before they can hope to be contenders.

Sep 14, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Chicago Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger (24) hits a home run against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. / Chet Strange-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants have some major holes to address on their roster this winter if they want to finally become legit contenders again.

Some recent moves suggest the team may finally be ready to open up their pocketbooks to improve the team in free agency.

There are some intriguing names available at positions of need for the Giants. Zach Pressnell of FanSided suggested two new players they should focus on bringing in this offseason.

The first newcomer suggested was New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres.

For San Francisco, the middle of the infield was a huge issue all year long. While Torres may not be as exciting of an addition as he was expected to be earlier in his career, he would settle things down there for the Giants and finally give them a reliable player at that position. Plus, he still does carry some upside with him.

This past season, San Francisco's second basemen produced a slash line of just .215/.251/.352. They drew 15 less walks this year than any other position in the lineup.

Torres, who is coming off one of the weaker seasons of his career, still produced a much better slash line of .257/.330/.378 than anyone who was on this roster.

When he's on, the Yankees slugger can be a 25-plus home run guy who can draw a good amount of walks. At his worst, he can still get on-base at a solid rate and smack roughly 15 homers.

The other player the Giants were urged to pursue was Chicago Cubs versatile slugger Cody Bellinger.

While it's not certain Bellinger will hit the open market since he has a contract opt-out still pending, he should be near the top of the San Francisco wish list if he does become available.

Like Torres, Bellinger's 2024 campaign was a step down from where many had hoped, but it was still solid.

The former Rookie of the Year and MVP had a really rough stretch from the pandemic-shortened 2020 season through the end of his 2021 campaign that saw him battle injuries and post just a .195/.278/.364 slash line.

He's looked much better since joining the Cubs and has done so in a number of different roles. He can play all three outfield spots as well as contribute at first base and as a designated hitter.

First base is a spot that San Francisco needs to improve at and Bellinger's defense has improved there in recent years.