San Francisco Giants outfielder Kris Bryant. (Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)
The San Francisco Giants won 107 regular season games, but lost to the rival Dodgers in the NLDS. Who should they sign this offseason to take another step?
A check swing will haunt the Giants all offseason, even though the likelihood of Wilmer Flores connecting on any Max Scherzer pitch in a 1-2 count was low. Scherzer is arguably the best pitcher in baseball right now, and Flores doesn’t rank anywhere close as his hitting counterpart.
Nonetheless, winning 107 games only to lose to your division rival has to leave a sour taste in their mouths. Scott Harris has a lot of work to do this offseason to put the Giants back in a similar position to not just compete come 2022, but take another step forward towards their ultimate goal — winning the World Series.
The 2022 Free Agent class is stacked full of talented players, and with the Giants being a popular destination team, there’s no reason they shouldn’t add to their current core.
Giants should re-sign Kris Bryant, first and foremost
Bryant served as a sparkplug the minute the Giants brought him over to the Bay from Chicago. Re-signing him will not be an easy task, as he can play four positions and remains one of the most capable hitters in all of baseball.
With the Giants, Bryant hit .262 with 7 home runs and 22 RBI after the trade deadline. In the postseason, KB hit .471 in the five-game series against the Dodgers.
San Francisco was employing Bryant as their starting left fielder, though he played some center in the postseason. With Chicago, he was primarily a third baseman.
Spotrac lists Bryant as the most valuable Giants free agent, with his expected market value somewhere around $23 million-$24 million. San Francisco has plenty of money to spend, but there’s a good chance Bryant heads elsewhere regardless of how much he enjoyed his time by the Bay given the sheer number of teams likely to be interested.