[DC 86]

In MLB free agent news, Giants target Seyou Suzuki is signing with the Cubs. Also, Kyle Schwarber signing with the Phillies.

Does this mean Bryant is coming back?  Another FA?  Or will SF go with who is currently onboard?  What do you think, DC?

I think SF/Zaifi has made it pretty clear that they are wary of committing to long term contracts and/or overpaying in the free agent market. However, they are opportunistic, e.g. getting involved with Bryce Harper when it appeared that his market might not develop.

There are six free agents remaining worth discussing: Freddie Freeman, Kris Bryant, Carlos Correa, Trevor Story, Nick Castellanos, Michael Conforto.

Freeman: presumably not a consideration for multiple reasons.
Conforto: fits the Giants acquisition profile the best, but they don't need yet another left handed hitter.
Castellanos: fits the Giants needs the best, by far. Question is whether Zaidi will overpay since that is the nature of the "Winner's Curse" which defines free agency.
Bryant: clearly SF doesn't have interest and a lot of other teams do.
Story: for a wealthy team like the Giants there's an argument for trying to sign the man to play third base (and possibly return to shortstop at some point) coming off a down year, which may mean an expensive (but not gigantic, as would have been the case a year ago) contract.
Correa: only if his market collapses AND they he was interested in a one year/very high AAV contract AND they he was willing to play third base. Seems extremely unlikely but technically a non-zero possibility.

So I think Castellanos is the most likely candidate for a long term contract and given how thin the Giants lineup is at the moment it probably behooves Zaidi to bite the bullet and overpay the man.

Story is an interesting case, he would almost certainly demand an opt-out and the contract would still be large (especially relative to his play last year) but he's a good fit and a wealthy team like the Giants should be looking into this possibility.

Beyond those two any signings will be along the lines of Tommy Phan; given Zaidi's track record they will be smart signings but not earth shattering.

[DC 86]

In MLB free agent news, Giants target Seyou Suzuki is signing with the Cubs. Also, Kyle Schwarber signing with the Phillies.

Does this mean Bryant is coming back?  Another FA?  Or will SF go with who is currently onboard?  What do you think, DC?

I think SF/Zaifi has made it pretty clear that they are wary of committing to long term contracts and/or overpaying in the free agent market. However, they are opportunistic, e.g. getting involved with Bryce Harper when it appeared that his market might not develop.

There are six free agents remaining worth discussing: Freddie Freeman, Kris Bryant, Carlos Correa, Trevor Story, Nick Castellanos, Michael Conforto.

Freeman: presumably not a consideration for multiple reasons.
Conforto: fits the Giants acquisition profile the best, but they don't need yet another left handed hitter.
Castellanos: fits the Giants needs the best, by far. Question is whether Zaidi will overpay since that is the nature of the "Winner's Curse" which defines free agency.
Bryant: clearly SF doesn't have interest and a lot of other teams do.
Story: for a wealthy team like the Giants there's an argument for trying to sign the man to play third base (and possibly return to shortstop at some point) coming off a down year, which may mean an expensive (but not gigantic, as would have been the case a year ago) contract.
Correa: only if his market collapses AND they he was interested in a one year/very high AAV contract AND they he was willing to play third base. Seems extremely unlikely but technically a non-zero possibility.

So I think Castellanos is the most likely candidate for a long term contract and given how thin the Giants lineup is at the moment it probably behooves Zaidi to bite the bullet and overpay the man.

Story is an interesting case, he would almost certainly demand an opt-out and the contract would still be large (especially relative to his play last year) but he's a good fit and a wealthy team like the Giants should be looking into this possibility.

Beyond those two any signings will be along the lines of Tommy Phan; given Zaidi's track record they will be smart signings but not earth shattering.