Melvin hopes his reputation helps Giants attract key free agents

The Giants quickly filled their manager position ahead of what could be one of the biggest offseasons in franchise history.

While the front office does most of the heavy lifting in terms of roster construction by signing free agents and making trades, the manager can have influence on potential free-agent targets.

After the Giants fired Gabe Kapler before the final series of the 2023 MLB season, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi made it clear that one trait he valued in his next manager would be someone who can help play the role of recruiter in free agency.

San Francisco introduced Bob Melvin as the team's next manager in a press conference on Wednesday at Oracle Park and with the start of free agency set to begin in a couple of weeks, the Giants will lean on Melvin a lot this offseason as they plan to pursue an abundance of free agents at varying levels of the market.

Melvin was asked about the importance of recruiting as a manager and hopes his 30 combined years in the league as a player and coach have earned him the respect and positive reputation in the eyes of players.

"I guess it is important," Melvin said. "In Oakland, we were a little bit more reliant on players from the system, so there might not have been as much recruiting then. In San Diego, there was a lot of that. Look, whatever I can do to help that, hopefully, respect around the league, my time in baseball adds to that. So if I can help in any fashion that would be great and it would make me feel even more part of the job here. We'll see where that goes and I'm willing to help out in any fashion that I can."

Zaidi joined NBC Sports Bay Area's Carlos Ramirez on the special edition broadcast of the press conference and shared how he envisions Melvin playing a role in recruiting.

"In terms of the specific role Bob plays, I'm sure he's going to be involved as managers always are," Zaidi shared. "Especially in some of the bigger pursuits as players are going to be signing long-term deals and really want a sense of the plan, the leadership and who they're going to be working with.

"I don't know how much of Bob's influence is going to be the day-to-day recruiting versus just the reputation he has. Players who have played for him have loved the experience. Anybody who we're talking to in free agency is going to ask around and they're going to get that positive feedback and that's just going to mean a lot."

With the offseason underway, the Giants reportedly have serious interest in Japanese right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and South Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee, two of the prized free-agent targets alongside two-way superstar and AL MVP-frontrunner Shohei Ohtani that the Giants are expected to pursue.

It just so happens that their new manager has plenty of ties to players from eastern Asia.

"Well, I had Ichiro [Suzuki] in Seattle," Melvin said. "I had [Hideki] Matsui, I had [Hideo] Nomo when I was a bench coach with Phil Garner in Detroit and Milwaukee. Obviously [Yu] Darvish. I've had a lot of prominent players from the Pacific Rim and Ha-seong Kim as well last year. Shigetoshi Hasegawa and Kazuhiro Sasaki in Seattle as well. So I do have some familiarity there.

"Also, with Oakland, we opened up (the season) a couple times in Japan as well. So hopefully that resonates."

Melvin also has ties to and previously coached current free agents such as San Diego Padres pitcher and NL Cy Young candidate Blake Snell, Minnesota Twins pitcher Sonny Gray, Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman and reliever Josh Hader.

Zaidi reiterated after Melvin's press conference that the Giants will look to add top-of-the-rotation starting pitching and middle-infield depth while monitoring the trade market and pursuing any and all players who make sense for what the organization is looking for.

Giants chairman Greg Johnson joined Zaidi and Melvin on stage for the press conference and was asked about the team's offseason spending and if the 2024 payroll will max out at the $237 million luxury tax threshold or if the organization is willing to go over.

"It depends a lot on who we target and when you look at the luxury tax, one year you can go past that if you had to," Johnson said. "I don't think it's something we want to do for a long period, but I think if you look at the teams that have [spent] a lot in free agency, they didn't really have great years this year with the spending. So I'm not really sure there's a direct correlation there. But we plan on being active and if we have to go through that we will go through that. But we also represent a group that hopefully our goal is to somewhat break even, which is somewhat of a challenge in this business. But everybody I can tell you from the ownership side, the goal is to win."

The Giants are in store for a very busy offseason and their pursuit of top-tier players in free agency and on the trade market will dominate the news cycle for months to come.

With those pursuits almost underway, the Giants hope Melvin can play a role in helping build a championship roster in the Bay Area.

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