How Giants' offseason spending compares to recent years, rivals

For all that the Giants did this offseason, all that they added to what could be the best rotation in the National League, their winter was in large part defined by a stretch where others made headlines. 

Fifty-seven minutes before word of the Joc Pederson addition leaked, news broke that the Colorado Rockies were signing Kris Bryant, the biggest in-season addition of the Farhan Zaidi Era thus far and someone who expressed an interest in staying in San Francisco. Later that night, former National League MVP Freddie Freeman reached a deal with the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. Four days later, All-Star shortstop Trevor Story chose the Boston Red Sox over the Giants and others.

The men running the team are aware of the subsequent grumbling from the fan base. They're all on social media, either officially or more subtly, and most of them live in the city. Team president and CEO Larry Baer talks often of how many people stop him on the streets to offer a "go Giants!" or chat about the team. 

Baer knows a large segment of the fan base is disappointed by the lack of spending or a splash, but he also has confidence in the plan that led to 107 wins and an NL West title last season. 

"We're looking to fill needs that are going to get us back to the kind of season we had last year," he said on this week's Giants Talk podcast. "Look, we have a first baseman who hit 28 home runs last year -- not that Freddie Freeman isn't a terrific player. We have a shortstop that had an MVP-caliber year last year -- not that (Carlos) Correa isn't a great player.

"We've got to really look at our needs and focus on that and look at what's going to work for us, knowing the capacity as things change and get fluid during the season, that one thing this ownership group has done -- always -- allows moves in-season even if there's expense tied to that, and they can be costly. The Kris Bryant move was costly financially but hugely important to us last year."

After sending two prospects to the Chicago Cubs last July, the Giants picked up the remainder of Bryant's salary, about $7 million. They talked at the time of what a perfect fit he was, and how he could be a long-term addition. Bryant spoke glowingly of San Francisco and the organization and said multiple times that he could see himself signing back in the winter.

And then the offseason arrived and it became clear right away that Bryant was an all-in move for 2021. The Giants expected Bryant's market to get well out of their current comfort zone, and last month he signed a seven-year, $182 million deal with the Rockies. 

The contract is larger than any ever given out by the Giants, and it dwarfs the contracts signed since Zaidi took over as president of baseball operations, both in terms of length and total salary. 

The largest contract given out by Zaidi and Scott Harris' front office is the two-year, $44 million deal signed by Carlos Rodon right after the lockout ended. Anthony DeSclafani ($36 million) and Tommy La Stella ($18.75 million) are the only players who have gotten three years. 

Kevin Gausman wanted to sign a multi-year deal after his breakout 2020 season but instead played on the qualifying offer. He got five years and $110 million from the Toronto Blue Jays early in the offseason and said the Giants never made him an offer. 

Brandon Belt has expressed an interest in signing a long-term deal to finish his career in orange and black, but the Giants gave him the one-year qualifying offer and he accepted. If Belt has another big year and wants a huge deal, he may have to find it elsewhere. 

The Giants have thus far stayed disciplined, but Zaidi said last month that there are no organizational rules about not offering long contracts or $100 million deals. 

"We've talked about the benefit of flexibility," Zaidi said. "But there's no hard or fast rule about maximum years or maximum dollars. We've certainly made offers beyond those numbers. It's not an operating philosophy at all."

There is some proof of that. In Zaidi's first offseason in charge, the Giants made a surprise push for Bryce Harper, offering him a 12-year, $310 million contract. Harper ultimately signed with the Phillies for $330 million.

A year earlier, a different front office but same ownership group chased Giancarlo Stanton, who had $295 million left on his deal with the Miami Marlins. This offseason, the Giants, per league sources, went hard after Story, who got $140 million from the Red Sox. 

Baer said ownership has no "hard and fast boundaries" when it comes to nine-figure deals, and he sees the Giants in on similar players in future years. 

"I anticipate those players always (being) on our radar," he said. 

Many around the game anticipated one of those players ending up with the Giants this offseason. They have spent much of the Zaidi Era waiting for bad contracts to come off the books, and when last season ended, so too did Johnny Cueto's $130 million deal. The payroll took an unexpected dip when Buster Posey retired when he could have signed a multi-year extension or played on the $22 million option the Giants planned to pick up. 

Instead of making a push for an expensive DH or trying to convince one of the marquee shortstops to play second or third, the Giants focused on their rotation. DeSclafani and Alex Wood (two years, $25 million) were brought back and Alex Cobb (two years, $20 million) was added. The minute the lockout ended, Scott Boras got a call from the Giants, who pushed hard for Rodon. He essentially takes Cueto's slot on the payroll. 

The end result is the Giants going into 2022 with a luxury tax number of about $174 million, per Roster Resource. That is $56 million away from the tax line in the new CBA, a number that used to be well-known at Third and King. 

For three consecutive seasons from 2015-17, the Giants paid the tax, twice going over $200 million. Only a midseason trade in 2018 kept them from paying again, and that proved to be one of the final acts for Bobby Evans and the previous regime. 

Zaidi was brought in with a reputation for finding hidden stars like Max Muncy and Chris Taylor, and in San Francisco he has put that plan into another gear. For all of the complaints outside the building about lack of spending, it is hard to argue with the results. 

The 107-win season included massive contributions from pre-arbitration additions like Mike Yastrzemski and LaMonte Wade Jr. The Giants have repeatedly struck gold with veterans on shorter deals, such as Darin Ruf ($1.275 million last year), Wilmer Flores ($3 million) and Jake McGee ($2 million). A significant investment has been made in the largest coaching staff in the Majors, and that group has gotten the very best out of veterans like Belt and Brandon Crawford, pitching additions like Gausman, DeSclafani and Wood, and homegrown talent like Logan Webb. 

The front office is doubling down on all of that this year. Story would have been nice, but the Giants anticipate Thairo Estrada breaking through. Ruf will get more playing time to make up for the lost right-handed bats of Posey and Bryant. They are once again counting on non-roster invitees to help out. Pederson, at $6 million for one year, was the only significant addition to a lineup that looked to need some big-name help. 

"We have a plan, we have targets. I think if Joc plays to the potential we've talked about -- which I know he's intent on and we're intent on -- he's just going to really help our team," Zaidi said last month. "There are big free agents out there and one team signs them and 29 don't, so you're going to be among the 29 more than you're going to be the one that does it. It's just the way the numbers work out."

The Giants kicked some big tires and came up short, and they're confident in their roster nonetheless. There is, of course, significant risk there. 

The Giants are not turned off by the high average annual values most free agents get. They have instead backed away at times because of the length of deals. Rodon will get the same salary as Gausman, only for two years instead of five. The Story chase slowed as the length of the contract grew, and team officials believe the latter years of that six-year pact are going to hurt.

As the offseason came to a close, the Los Angeles Angels DFA'd Justin Upton, who once signed for five years, $106 million. The San Diego Padres tried desperately to get someone to take on the rest of Eric Hosmer's $144 million deal. The big contracts usually sting at some point, but as Zaidi's old boss, Andrew Friedman, once said, "If you're always rational about every free agent, you will finish third on every free agent."

The Dodgers may one day regret the final years of the six-year, $162 million deal they gave the 32-year-old Freeman, but for 2022 at least, Freeman gives them another big edge in the NL West race. Freeman bumped the Dodgers up to about $293 million in CBT payroll, and if they run away from the Giants, the grumbling about the quiet offseason in San Francisco will only get louder. 

Asked recently about the fan angst, Zaidi said the Giants have "had a lot of conversations" with pitchers and position players who wanted nine-figure deals. "It hasn't worked out," he said. Zaidi pointed out that a lot of players have shown a desire to come to San Francisco on short-term, prove-it deals, and they've worked out magnificently for the Giants. 

"I think our operating philosophy is more to build the best team we can, and I think you want to have a balance of stability and flexibility," Zaidi said. "You don't want to be recreating your roster every offseason, for your own sanity and also for the fans -- they want to see the same players year in and year out. 

"We try to strike that right balance in a way that we can have a competitive team year in and year out. Especially with a new playoff structure, being in the market that we're in, we want to be in the playoffs every year."

The Giants are confident that their roster-building plan will once again lead to them being a contender, and behind the scenes they're hopeful that fans will appreciate it. With a week to go until the first game, the organization still had not sold out Opening Day, but regardless, the team will on Friday unveil a "107-win" plaque on the portwalk, commemorating a team that was built the same way as the 2022 one. 

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The approach hasn’t led to splashy headlines but it has led to a group they feel good about, and the Giants certainly don't seem to be losing much sleep over $100 million players who got a call from the front office and decided to go elsewhere.

"I would say from a philosophical standpoint, we never feel like any one player is going to make or break the team," Zaidi said. "I don't think we ever view any pursuit as, 'This is the missing link, this is the difference between us winning 95 games and being out of the playoffs.'

"So I guess there is an element of that incremental approach in what we do. But again, that doesn't mean there aren't players getting big contracts that we would love to have and that we were involved with."

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