San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman is reportedly willing to temporarily move to shortstop if the team signs free agent Ha-Seong Kim, who is targeting an mid-late April or early May return date as he works his way back from a torn labrum in his right shoulder.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic provided the report on Chapman, who signed a six-year, $151 million contract extension with the Giants last September.

"The Giants third baseman has told club officials he would be willing to move to short until Kim returned, one of numerous scenarios club officials are considering as they seek creative ways to reshape their roster, according to sources briefed on their discussions.

"Chapman, who turns 32 in April, has played only 16 games at shortstop as a collegian and professional, including four with the Oakland A's in 2020-21. But as one of the game's top defensive third basemen, he almost certainly could handle the position change, at least temporarily."

Rosenthal mentioned Tyler Fitzgerald, Casey Schmitt and David Villar as possibilities at third if the Giants signed Kim and moved Chapman to short for the start of the year.

The Giants have much interest in Kim, who played four seasons with the San Diego Padres after arriving from the Kiwoom Heroes of The KBO League. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com provided this report on Nov. 6.

"According to a source, Kim has already generated "lots of interest" in the early days of free agency, while a second source said the Giants are focused on signing the 29-year-old. The Brewers have also been connected to Kim, but the Giants appear to be the club most interested in the infielder."

Kim hit .233 (.700 OPS) with 11 home runs and 47 RBI in 121 games last season while stealing 22 bases and scoring 60 runs.

The Giants aren't the only team with interest in Kim. The Brewers have been connected to him, per Feinsand, who said there's been "lots of interest" in Kim. The Detroit Tigers also have interest, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.

The Padres don't appear to be in the mix to bring him back, though, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.

"A Kim reunion remains unlikely but possible (though Kim will miss the early part of the season anyway while he recovers from shoulder surgery). The Padres don't appear to be in the mix for Willy Adames, the market's top shortstop," Cassavell wrote on Dec. 2.

So while Chapman is reportedly willing to move to short to buy time if Kim signs with the Giants, it's possible that could be all for naught.

San Francisco also has "serious interest" in former Milwaukee Brewers star shortstop Willy Adames, per Feinsand. Regardless, it's clear the Giants want to add a shortstop, as noted by president of baseball operations Buster Posey at the GM Meetings last month.

"If we could find a shortstop, that would be great," Posey said.

"I think Tyler Fitzgerald did a great job at short last year. I think he has value in multiple spots on the field. I do think it's hard to play multiple spots at the same time during the season. Whether he'd be better suited to play second base long term is a discussion we're having."

The Giants are looking to break through a mediocre funk that's seen them win between 79-81 wins over the past three seasons, including an 80-82 mark last year.

San Francisco made a big change this offseason with Posey now the clear front office leader and Zack Minasian promoted to GM, so we'll see how that transition plays out in the hot stove soon enough.

Three-time All-Star Brandon Crawford announced Wednesday he's retiring from MLB after 14 seasons.

"Baseball has given me, Jalynne, and the kids more than we ever thought possible, and for that we are so thankful," he said. "I wouldn't have been able to have the career I did without their love and support every step of the way. I also want to thank my parents, siblings, in-laws, coaches, teammates, fans, and everyone else who guided, helped, and rooted for me throughout my career. Now it's time for the next chapter, and I can't wait for the new opportunities and different experiences that it will create."

The San Francisco Giants, for whom Crawford spent all but one of his years in the majors, saluted the decorated shortstop:

Crawford's career was almost scripted straight out of Hollywood.

A native of Mountain View, California, he grew up as a Giants fan in the Bay Area. By now, every MLB fan has seen the photo of him forlornly staring into the camera at Candlestick Park in 1992 when the team's fate in San Francisco was up in the air.

The Giants selected Crawford in the fourth round of the 2008 draft and he made his debut in 2011. The following year, he appeared in 143 games as the Giants won the World Series for the seventh time. Another title followed in 2014.

Over time, the 37-year-old wrote his name into the franchise's record books. He's seventh all-time in games played (1,654) and accounted for the fourth-most defensive WAR (14.3), per Baseball Reference.

Crawford's achievements stand on their own. In addition to the three All-Star nods and two titles, he was a four-time Gold Glove winner and a Silver Slugger recipient in 2015.

The fact those all came while he was playing for his hometown team made them so much more special.

"It wasn't a perfect career, but it's as close as anyone is going to get with any team," The Athletic's Grant Brisbee wrote in October 2023. "Brandon Crawford was the Giants for 13 seasons, and the Giants will be Crawford for longer than that.

"What an absolute gift that he got to have that career, and what an absolute gift we got to watch it. What an absolute gift that he got to live it."

As with many things, Crawford's time in San Francisco didn't exactly end on a positive note. He made it clear he preferred to stay with the Giants but that the feeling wasn't mutual. As a result, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals and had a forgettable 2024 campaign, posting a .169/.263/.282 slash line in 28 games.

Crawford's time in St. Louis will only be a footnote in an otherwise improbable run.

In their ongoing quest to add a superstar to their lineup, the San Francisco Giants are going to be major players in the race to sign Juan Soto away from the New York Yankees in free agency.

Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Giants are considered "legit" players in the Soto sweepstakes and will meet with the AL MVP finalist at some point.

However, Jayson Stark of The Athletic reported the Giants don't yet have a meeting set up with Soto.

Heyman cited the New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers as teams aside from the Giants and Yankees known to be interested in Soto, along with two mystery teams at this point.

The outfielder already has plans to meet with the Yankees and Mets owners, but the Giants reportedly aren't yet on the schedule.

The Giants' interest in Soto isn't a surprise because they desperately need to add some punch to their lineup. They ranked in the bottom half of MLB in runs scored, home runs and weighted on-base average last season.

San Francisco hasn't had a player hit at least 30 homers in a season since Barry Bonds in 2004. LaMonte Wade Jr. was the only player on the 2024 team who posted an on-base percentage over .340 with at least 100 games played.

Giants fans have been through this process of watching their team pursue a star in free agency many times before. They reportedly came in with a nine-year, $360 million offer to Aaron Judge two years ago that prompted the Yankees to increase their offer to retain the 2022 AL MVP.

New York's best offer to Judge before the Giants came in was eight years and $320 million. When that deal didn't come together, the Giants pivoted their pursuit to Carlos Correa. They had a 13-year, $350 million agreement with the star shortstop that fell through due to concerns about his ankle that arose when he took a physical.

Before the 2019 season, the Giants pursued Bryce Harper before he agreed to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies.

It's gotten to the point with the Giants where you can almost feel sorry for them because they're at least an organization that's trying to spend money, but no one will take it from them. Plenty of teams don't even bother to try adding to their payroll, even if it's for a transcendent star like Soto.

The Giants haven't won a playoff series since the 2014 World Series. Their only postseason appearance in the past eight season was in 2021 when they won an MLB-high 107 games during the regular season before losing to the Dodgers in the NLDS.

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand noted the expectation within the league is the floor for Soto's contract is 10 years and $500 million. He previously turned down a 15-year, $440 million offer from the Washington Nationals in the summer of 2022 that prompted them to trade him to the San Diego Padres.

Soto, who was named a 2024 AL MVP finalist on Monday, hit .288/.419/.569 with 41 homers and 109 RBI in 157 games for the Yankees last season.

Robbie Ray is reportedly returning to the San Francisco Giants.

The veteran starting pitcher opted into the final two years of his five-year, $115 million contract with the Giants on Saturday, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. The 33-year-old will receive $50 million over the next two seasons and will be a free agent in 2027.

Ray inked the five-year contract when he was with the Seattle Mariners in 2022. The Giants acquired him before the 2024 season in exchange for outfielder Mitch Haniger and right-handed pitcher Anthony DeSclafani.

Ray, a former Cy Young Award winner, has pitched just eight times since the start of the 2023 season. He had Tommy John surgery in May of 2023, keeping him off the mound for the rest of the season and into 2024.

He made his Giants debut in July, but went on to have just seven appearances last season after landing on the 15-day injured list in late August with a left hamstring strain.

In his seven starts last season, Ray had 43 strikeouts, a 4.70 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP across 30.2 innings pitched. In his last healthy season in 2022, Ray had 212 strikeouts, a 3.71 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP, pitching 189 innings in 32 appearances.

Now returning to San Francisco, Ray will look to put together a complete season after missing extended time over the past two years.

Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell will enter free agency after one season with the San Francisco Giants.

Snell declined his $38.5 million player option and will become a free agent ahead of the 2025 season, per USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

The pitcher earned $15 million in 2025, and was set to receive a $17 million signing bonus on Jan. 15. Snell was also scheduled to have $15 million of his 2025 salary deferred until July 1, 2027.

Snell taking his 2025 option looked like an all but forgone conclusion as the reigning Cy Young winner struggled early in his age-31 season, pitching a 10.42 ERA through 19.0 innings in his first five starts of the campaign.

After a stint on the IL, Snell's season began to improve when he returned to the rotation in July.

Through his final eight starts of the campaign he posted a 1.31 ERA, allowing 65 strikeouts to 19 walks and pitching an Aug. 2 no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds.

The nine inning effort sealed the first no-no of Snell's career, helping lower his full-season ERA to 3.12 and raising the expectation he would opt out of his San Francisco deal in order to seek a longer-term contract.

The Giants could now seek to re-sign Snell by offering him a longer-term deal.

Snell has not gotten the opportunity to pitch in a postseason game since his 2022 season with the San Diego Padres, and after a disappointing 2024 campaign it is not clear if that will change in San Francisco. Despite bringing in manager Bob Melvin, spending money on a historically high payroll and making the offseason acquisitions of Snell and Robbie Ray, the Giants missed the postseason for the third straight time since the team's 2021 NLDS exit.

But Snell told reporters after the end of his 2024 season that he sees "a lot of promise" in the Giants organization.

"I just want to be somewhere that wants me, that loves me and will invest in me to be the best player that I can be to help them win," Snell said in September, per Maria Guardado of MLB.com. "I like it here. I hope it's here."

Winning a bidding war for Snell could be costly for the Giants after the Cy Young-quality pitching he demonstrated in the latter part of the 2024 campaign. The team will be potentially limited in free agency by the luxury tax implications of last season.

On the other hand, Snell missed time due to multiple injuries last season, and the fact that he is heading into his age-32 campaign could lower how much teams are willing to pay for the ace.

Whatever his next contract, Snell is sure to be one of the most highly-valued free agents of the 2025 offseason. He proved this fall he is still capable of being a game-changing ace for a team in need of a starter.

The San Francisco Giants are reportedly set to promote Zack Minasian from vice president of professional scouting to general manager.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today and Jon Heyman of the New York Post both reported the anticipated move on Thursday.

Nightengale added that Minasian is set to make MLB history along with his brother, Los Angeles Angels GM Perry Minasian, as the first brothers to simultaneously serve as general managers for different MLB teams.

The Giants' GM role became available over the past month amid the organization's reshuffling of the front office.

Farhan Zaidi, who was the Giants' president of baseball operations since late 2018, departed the organization and was replaced by former Giants catcher and three-time World Series champion Buster Posey.

Posey decided to move on from Pete Putila, who had been the Giants' general manager since 2022.

Minasian spent 14 seasons in the Milwaukee Brewers organization before joining the Giants in 2019. He was elevated to the position of vice president of pro scouting in 2022, and he is now set to become the 11th official general manager in Giants history.

Perry Minasian has been the Angels' general manager since 2020 when he took over after the firing of Billy Eppler. He signed a two-year contract extension in August despite having yet to lead the Angels to the playoffs.

As for the Giants, Zack Minasian is taking the reins of a club that went 80-82 in 2024 and has now missed the playoffs in three consecutive seasons.

San Francisco has just one playoff appearance over the past eight campaigns, that being an apparent outlier season in 2021 when the Giants went a surprising 107-55 and reached the National League Division Series.

Minasian will look to get the Giants back to where they were from 2010 to 2014 when they won three World Series titles in five seasons.

Some of the biggest immediate decisions for Minasian will relate to deciding what to do with starting pitcher Blake Snell, outfielder Michael Conforto and second baseman Thairo Estrada.

All of them are set to hit free agency, provided Snell declines his player option for 2025 after posting a 3.12 ERA in 20 starts this past season.

After narrowly missing out on signing superstar outfielder Aaron Judge away from the New York Yankees last offseason, the Giants could be major players this offseason in a free-agent class that will include Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, Alex Bregman, Corbin Burnes and Max Fried.

The San Francisco Giants' front office makeover isn't going to end with Buster Posey taking over as team president.

During his introductory press conference on Tuesday, Posey announced that Pete Putila won't return as general manager after two seasons on the job and they will hire someone else for the role.

The Giants announced on Monday that Posey would be replacing Farhan Zaidi as president of baseball operations.

The Giants are undergoing a significant makeover after finishing 80-82 this season and missing the playoffs for the seventh time in the past eight years.

Zaidi took over as San Francisco's president of baseball operations in November 2018 after spending four years as general manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Putila replaced Scott Harris, who left San Francisco in September 2022 to become president of baseball operations for the Detroit Tigers. The 35-year-old had been working in the front office for the Houston Astros for a decade prior to being hired by the Giants.

The Zaidi-Putila tandem was most notable for the free-agent deals they were unable to get done. They reportedly made an offer around $360 million to Aaron Judge after the 2022 season, which prompted the New York Yankees to increase their offer to retain him coming off an MVP campaign.

After their pursuit of Judge didn't work out, the Giants were able to reach an agreement on a 13-year, $350 million contract with Carlos Correa. But that deal wound up falling through because of a failed physical.

Things didn't look as bad for the Giants after Correa's 12-year, $315 million agreement with the New York Mets also fell through due to the same concerns over his ankle that popped up in a physical.

The overall problem remains that the Giants have been unable to land a superstar player in free agency. They have also struggled to build up their farm system, which B/R's Joel Reuter ranked as the worst in MLB at the end of the 2024 regular season.

Posey, who has no experience working in an MLB front office, will be tasked with overseeing the Giants' baseball operations department. The Athletic's Andrew Baggarly did note that Posey, not Zaidi, "personally" worked with Matt Chapman and agent Scott Boras to finalize the star third baseman's six-year, $151 million extension that was agreed to on Sept. 5.

The 37-year-old spent his entire playing career with San Francisco after being drafted with the No. 5 overall pick in 2008.

During his 12-year playing career, Posey helped the Giants win three World Series titles. He was a seven-time All-Star and won the 2012 NL MVP award.

The San Francisco Giants announced Monday they let Farhan Zaidi go as president of baseball operations.

The organization wasted no time in naming a successor, with legendary catcher Buster Posey replacing Zaidi.

"We are looking for someone who can define, direct and lead this franchise's baseball philosophy and we feel that Buster is the perfect fit," chairman Greg Johnson said. "Buster has the demeanor, intelligence and drive to do this job, and we are confident that he and Bob Melvin will work together to bring back winning baseball to San Francisco."

The writing was on the wall when it came to both Zaidi's ouster and Posey's promotion after a report from The Athletic's Andrew Baggarly on Sept. 15.

Baggarly detailed how Posey "personally dealt" with third baseman Matt Chapman to finalize a six-year, $151 million extension. The involvement of the retired seven-time All-Star, who joined the Giants' ownership group in 2022, came after their executive board "became so frustrated by the lack of immediate progress" between Zaidi and Chapman's agent, Scott Boras.

The Giants' ownership "did not trust Zaidi and Boras to finish at the rim," per Baggarly.

If the lead decision-maker on baseball matters no longer has the confidence of his bosses to finalize such a big transaction, there's no coming back from that.

Zaidi couldn't point to a lot of success on the field, either.

San Francisco surprised everybody when it won 107 games and beat out the Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League West crown in 2021. That was the only playoff trip the Giants made with Zaidi running the front office.

It's hard to totally divorce the details laid out in Baggarly's report with the franchise's persistent inability to seal the deal with marquee free agents. San Francisco has lacked the top-end talent to propel it to a deep playoff run and failed to develop homegrown stars to make up for it.

The general perception of the Giants around MLB circles might change with somebody as respected as Posey in charge. The risk is nonetheless obvious when promoting a candidate with so little front-office experience.

The general goodwill in the Bay Area toward Posey from his 12-year playing career will ensure plenty of fans are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt early on.

Like every other high-ranking executive, he'll be expected to deliver results eventually, though.x

Buster Posey was once a critical piece for the San Francisco Giants on the field, and now the retired catcher is making his presence felt in a much different way.

The Athletic's Andrew Baggarly reported Sunday that the franchise's executive board "became so frustrated by the lack of immediate progress" on extension negotiations with third baseman Matt Chapman that Posey intervened.

"Sources said Posey personally dealt with Chapman to hammer out the basic structure of the contract, which includes a full no-trade provision—one of the sticking points that [president of baseball operations Farhan] Zaidi had not included in the team's initial proposal," Baggarly wrote.

San Francisco signed Chapman to a six-year, $151 million deal amid a strong campaign from the four-time Gold Glove winner. He has 24 home runs and a 122 OPS+ while continuing to play high-level defense.

Signing Chapman in the first place was a nice feather in the cap for Zaidi, yet now the third baseman's second contract with the Giants raises serious questions about the long-term direction of the front office.

Speaking with Baggarly, Zaidi downplayed the significance of what was reported in the story.

"I viewed myself and ownership working in total sync," he said. "This was a priority to get done. I'd expect them to be heavily involved in a deal of this magnitude and they were."

Still, it's tough to positively spin how Posey, who joined the ownership group in September 2022, and his fellow executives reportedly "did not trust" that Zaidi could wrap up a contract with Scott Boras, Chapman's agent.

Zaidi's contract with the Giants is only guaranteed through 2025 with a club option for 2026, so he's potentially heading into next year as a lame duck off the back of a third straight season without playoff baseball.

Baggarly's report points to one obvious conclusion: a change at the top of the front office could come as early as this offseason. Should that happen, Posey might be assuming more power over baseball decisions if he's already helping in negotiations.

The San Francisco Giants' Logan Webb says he was hungover while pitching during the 2024 MLB All-Star Game.

Webb said the July 16 exhibition contest took place on "probably one of the more hungover days" of his life on JM Baseball's The Chris Rose Rotation podcast.

"I had a lot of Red Bulls, I got Tylenol in me, 'cause I'm trying to get the hangover out of me, and I think I wasted all of my good pitches in the bullpen," Webb said (39-minute mark). "It was all I had. I wasted all of them.

"Then I go from the bullpen, and I jog out to the mound. And the only thing I'm thinking is, 'Don't throw up, don't throw up, don't throw up, don't throw up, don't throw up.' And it's a long jog."

Webb allowed three hits, one walk and three earned runs in one inning pitched during the National League's 5-3 loss to the American League.

"I think my first pitch almost didn't make it to [Los Angeles Dodgers catcher] Will Smith, and I would've felt real bad about that," Webb said.

Webb said that he was worried about the reaction of his NL teammates when coming off the mound after his one inning of action.

"I got out of there, I got out of the game, and I felt so bad," Webb said. "I was like, seven million people watching, I said, 'This team is going to hate me,' and I'm walking into the dugout going, 'My bad guys, my bad guys.' And every superstar you could think of that was on that National team was like, 'Dude, who gives a f--k.'"

The Giants pitcher added that he knew some fans who were angry with his performance because it prevented Shohei Ohtani from earning an MVP nod after recording a three-run home run in the third inning.

"I do know some fans were mad at me, because a certain someone didn't get the All-Star Game MVP, 'cause they would have, if we had won the game," Webb said.

Webb said the hangover stemmed back to his celebrations the night before, when he joined a postgame players' celebration "for the players and their families" after the Home Run Derby.

"It was an experience, but definitely got to take it easy next time," Webb said.

Webb, who made his first All-Star appearance of his career in his sixth season with the Giants, is currently leading the NL in innings pitched for a second straight year.

During his league-high 30 starts and 189.2 innings pitched he has recorded a 3.45 ERA and 157 strikeouts to 46 walks so far this season.