Hot Stove Update: Giants Needs Still On Market

If Farhan Zaidi still intends to fulfill his stated offseason goals, his apparent strategy of waiting for the market to come to him may well be working.  I'm going to go through each position of need and list who is still available on the FA market.

RH Corner OF Bat:

Nick Castellanos-  The guy Farhan is rumored to want.  Rumors have waxed and waned but the latest is the Rangers who were rumored to be in hot pursuit with mutual interest are now reported to have never even spoken to him!

Yasiel Puig-  If you ignore the character issues and the enmity between Puig and the Giants fanbase, he may actually be a better fit than Castellanos due to better D and ability to play all 3 OF positions.  Also likely to cost less.

Steven Souza Jr- Significant injury history, but that will make him less expensive.  Solid comeback candidate.

Domingo Santana- I'm guessing Farhan doesn't dig Santana's peripherals.

Marcell Ozuna- Might be the best fit, but I'm guessing the QO is a deal-killer for Farhan.

Farhan has also said 2020 is going to be an evaluation year.  If that's the case, he really doesn't need to add anyone as there is no shortage of options already in house:  Corey Dickerson(L), Steven Duggar(L), Mike Yastrzemski(L), Jaylin Davis(R), Joey Rickard(R), Mauricio Dubon(R), Chris Shaw(L).  The Giants could go full platoon at all 3 OF positions with this group, although Davis, in particular, needs to play every day for an extended period if the Giants really want to find his true potential.  Also, don't forget Heliot Ramos who may be less than a year away.

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LH hitting IF:

Brock Holt- This is the guy who has seemed like the perfect fit since day one of he offseason and he's still out there.  Terrific bat and exceptional position flexibility.

Others:  Scooter Gennett, Brad Miller, Joe Panik, Yangervis Solarte, Neil Walker, Ben Zobrist.  If we aren't insisting on a left-handed bat, there also Brian Dozier and Wilmer Flores.  One guy who we may be overlooking who is already in-house is Drew Robinson who has some serious pop and Holt-like position flexibility.  If you squint hard, you can see a Max Muncy type breakout in Drew Robinson.

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Back up Catcher:

It seems like this has been likely filled with the additions of Tyler Heineman and Chadwick Tromp.  No offense to Aramis Garcia, but I'm rooting for Heineman because I have a fetish for left-handed hitting catcher and Heineman switch-hits.  Q: Does the 26'th roster spot allow for carrying 3 catchers?

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SP:  All of the frontline SP's are off the market, but there are still some intriguing names out there(I don't think Farhan has actually ever said he is in the SP market).

Alex Wood(LHP), Taijuan Walker(RHP), Chad Bettis(RHP), Andrew Cashner(RHP), Danny Salazar(RHP), Drew Smyly(LHP).

One trade I would love to see:  JA Happ and Clarke Schmidt from Yankees for, say, Derek Rodriguez

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Closer:  I suspect Farhan plans to sort this out from internal options but Arodys Vizcaino and Brandon Kintzler are still on the market.