The San Francisco Giants have made one major move this offseason, the first with former star catcher Buster Posey in the role of president of baseball operations.
On the field, he helped the franchise to three World Series title. There hasn’t been much success since he opted to retire and he is hoping to change that in the near future.
The moves made this offseason will certainly help.
With shortstop identified as the team’s biggest need entering the winter, they went to the top of the market to fill that void.
Willy Adames, by far the best option available in free agency, was signed to a seven-year, $182 million deal. It is the largest contract in franchise history as they are hoping their new star will be a centerpiece for years to come.
Before the offseason even began, the Giants made their first splash.
In September, they agreed to a six-year, $151 million deal with third baseman Matt Chapman. Originally, he signed a three-year, $54 million deal as a free agent with opt-outs included after 2024.
Instead of having him hit the open market, the team committed to him long-term, a contract that both sides will benefit from greatly.
Now that he has a star sharing the left side of the infield with him, Chapman believes that this team is capable of great things.
With a long-term deal secured, he is now focused solely on one goal; helping the team back to the playoffs.
“Make the playoffs. That’s my goal,” Chapman said, via Taylor Wirth of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Personally I have goals, always want to strive to improve and have really good seasons, but for me, I’ve got the contract behind me. I don’t have to worry about that, I just want to go to the playoffs, I want to win and continue to build on what I feel like we started last year and build something that’s going to be continuous winning and something special.”
That is certainly a lofty goal given the competition that San Francisco will be facing in their own division. The NL West includes the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks, who all finished at least nine games ahead of the Giants in 2024.
Adames will certainly help close that gap, but Posey should not be done adding to the mix.
Bringing in another power bat, such as Pete Alonso or Anthony Santander, would go a long way to helping San Francisco close the gap and become legitimate playoff contenders in a loaded National League.
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source link
