Happy holidays!
The 2023 season didn’t play out the way the Giants expected, but they’re determined to make substantive changes to ensure they not only put themselves in position to contend next year, but also field a far more entertaining team that will resonate with fans. They began the retooling process by bringing in Bob Melvin to serve as their new manager and then made their first big offseason splash by inking KBO star Jung Hoo Lee to a six-year, $113 million deal.
Still, there are plenty of holes left to be filled, especially since the Giants will be charged with competing with the loaded Dodgers, the talented Padres and the rising D-backs in 2024.
“We’ve talked about wanting to be motivated to improve our team,” president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said earlier this month. “Certainly making acquisitions that get our fans excited is really important. But making acquisitions that excite people in the moment but then wind up not panning out, that’s not going to be good business either. We’re just going to continue to rely heavily on our evaluations and players that we think can really move the needle for us.”
Here’s a look at where the Giants stand as they prepare to ring in the new year:
Biggest question to answer before Spring Training: Which other impact players can they land this offseason?
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The Giants showed they could successfully woo a top free agent by signing the 25-year-old Lee, but they’ll need to continue beefing up their roster to keep pace in the competitive National League West. They lost Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the Dodgers, but they could still pivot to other free agents such as Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, Shota Imanaga, Matt Chapman or Rhys Hoskins. The Giants could also try delving into the trade market, where other potential fits such as Corbin Burnes and Willy Adames of the Brewers, Dylan Cease of the White Sox and Ha-Seong Kim of the Padres could be available.
One player poised to have a breakout season: LHP Kyle Harrison
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Harrison, who is ranked the Giants’ No. 1 prospect by MLB Pipeline, experienced some growing pains after breaking into the Majors in 2023, but he delivered one of the most electric performances of the year when he struck out 11 over 6 1/3 scoreless innings in his home debut against the Reds. The Giants believe the 22-year-old southpaw has all the necessary tools to develop into a frontline starter, so if he can take another step forward in 2024, San Francisco could have another homegrown ace to pair with Logan Webb for years to come.
Prospect to watch in 2024: OF/RHP Bryce Eldridge (No. 4)
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The Giants drafted Eldridge as a two-way player in July, though the 19-year-old made his professional debut exclusively as a hitter, batting an eye-popping .294/.400/.505 with six home runs over 31 games between the Rookie-level ACL Giants and Single-A San Jose in 2023. Many scouts believe Eldridge has more upside with the bat, but he also topped out at 96 mph on the mound in high school, so it will be interesting to see how the Giants map out his development plan in his first full year of pro ball.
One prediction for the new year: A Giant wins NL Rookie of the Year
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The Giants haven’t produced a ROY winner since Buster Posey in 2010, but they could be well positioned to end that drought soon. San Francisco graduated 12 prospects to the Majors this past season, many of whom will retain their rookie status heading into 2024. If that young core continues to develop as expected, the Giants could have several ROY candidates on their hands next year, including Lee, Harrison and shortstop Marco Luciano.
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