Leave the stove on.
As the Giants consistently have come up short in the bidding for MLB's top free agents, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi is looking to the trade market to improve the roster.
In a conversation with The Athletic's Tim Kawakami on "The TK Show" podcast, Zaidi outlined two positions where San Francisco wants to add depth.
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“Yeah, we’re definitely evaluating that [trade] avenue,” Zaidi told Kawakami. “We’ve talked about wanting to add shortstop depth. We’re really excited about [Marco] Luciano and hope he takes that job and runs with it.
“But bringing in someone else, maybe with some multi-positional flexibility, maybe somebody who has options where we can have those guys in competition, and one of them can continue to get at-bats in Triple-A, that’s something we’re looking at.”
In 2016, a then-16-year-old Luciano signed with the Giants out of the Dominican Republic for $2.6 million. In 2023, the now-22-year-old shortstop posted nine hits, six walks and 17 strikeouts over 39 at-bats in 14 games across two big league stints.
While Zaidi has mentioned giving Luciano a chance at being an everyday player in 2024 , a veteran addition at shortstop wouldn’t hurt.
San Francisco Giants
Infield aside, there’s another position Zaidi wants to address.
“We’re also looking at the starting pitching market, and in both of those areas, I think there’s a lot that can come about by trade as well," Zaidi told Kawakami. "So, even by virtue of our needs, it makes sense to pursue both avenues.”
The Giants have been linked to starting pitchers during the offseason as San Francisco is looking to compete with rival rotations in the NL West.
Last season. San Francisco ace Logan Webb led the team in innings pitched with 216.0, 64.9 innings more than Alex Cobb, second with 151.1 innings pitched. Help is needed for the pitching staff as the Giants seek a co-ace to pair with Webb atop the rotation.
Amid a two-year MLB playoff drought and a frustrating offseason, the president of baseball operations is feeling the heat.
But it looks like Zaidi could look to salvage San Francisco’s underwhelming winter through the trade market.