San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants and free-agent slugger Jorge Soler are reportedly discussing a contract.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported the two sides are "in talks" but did not indicate how close they are to an agreement.

Soler, 31, spent the last two seasons with the Miami Marlins. He hit .250/.341/.512 with 36 home runs and 75 runs batted in last season, making his first All-Star appearance.

The Giants are in desperate need of help in their lineup. San Francisco finished 24th in runs scored and 19th in home runs last season, and the front office whiffed on landing a number of high-profile free agents this offseason.

Jung-hoo Lee signed a huge deal with the Giants earlier this winter, but he's known more as a contact hitter than a power bat. Soler would provide a pop that's been desperately missing for years. The Giants have not had a player hit 30 home runs in a season since Barry Bonds all the way back in 2004.

While Oracle Park is known as a pitcher-friendly facility, the front office is understandably desperate to change that trend—particularly as it becomes more of a power game across baseball.

Soler has hit 170 home runs since making his debut with the Chicago Cubs in 2014.

The San Francisco Giants have added Dusty Baker in a front office role, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

The former Houston Astros' skipper will reportedly be a special assistant to work with president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi while also assisting CEO Larry Baer on ownership tasks.

Baker retired following the Houston's 2023 season, helping guide the team to a record of 90-72. The longtime manager was also with the Astros during their World Series victory in 2022.

Baker managed several teams that made the postseason throughout his illustrious career that spanned numerous organizations. This includes the Washington Nationals, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, and the Giants.

Although the 74-year-old retired as a manager, he repeatedly expressed his interest to continue working within the sport.

"I've still got a lot to offer; baseball has been my life,'' Baker said during his retirement announcement, per Nightengale. "I have a lifetime of knowledge, much more than those who have never played the game."

He also hinted at a potential reunion between himself and the Giants during a Dec. 29 radio appearance on 95.7 The Game.

"I'm looking forward to this next chapter," said Baker. "I'm actually talking to the Giants, I talked to Larry Baer the other day about the possibility of maybe even joining them and so we just have to see how things work out for all of us."

Although his role is less prominent compared to his previous stints as a player in 1984 as well as the team's manager from 1993 through 2002, Baker will look to help San Francisco get back on track in his front office role as the team's win total has dropped in each of the past three seasons.

The Giants have also experienced a relatively quiet offseason after missing out on top targets such as Shohei Ohtani and Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Jordan Hicks is heading to San Francisco.

The right-handed pitcher and the San Francisco Giants have agreed to a four-year, $44 million contract in free agency, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. After spending the majority of his career as a reliever, Hicks is expected to be a starter in San Francisco, Passan added.

The New York Yankees and Houston Astros had been linked to Hicks before his deal with the Giants.

The 27-year-old spent the 2023 season split between the St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays. The Cardinals traded him to Toronto in July ahead of the deadline in exchange for minor leaguers.

Hicks appeared in 40 games for the Cardinals in 2023, going 1-6 with a 3.67 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 59 strikeouts in 41.2 innings. He appeared in 25 games for the Blue Jays, posting a 2-3 record, 2.63 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 22 strikeouts in 24 innings.

Hicks spent the first five and a half seasons of his career in St. Louis, though he opted out of the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.

During the 2022 season, Hicks started eight games, posting an 0-4 record with a 5.47 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 25 strikeouts in 26.1 innings.

While Hicks doesn't have a great track record as a starter, eight games certainly isn't a large enough sample size to rule him out of a role in the rotation. Additionally, the Giants are in need of pitching depth entering the 2024 campaign.

Hicks will join a rotation that includes Logan Webb, Ross Stripling, Kyle Harrison and Robbie Ray.

The Giants are aiming to rebound from a 79-83 finish to the 2023 season, though the franchise's main goal is to build a legitimate playoff contender after missing the postseason in six of the last seven seasons.

Hicks is a solid addition, and San Francisco could also add some more talent to its rotation this winter. The franchise has been linked to two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell and former Texas Rangers pitcher Jordan Montgomery.

It looks like the Los Angeles Dodgers aren't the only NL West team primed to add a key pitcher this offseason.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported that the San Francisco Giants are the current favorite to land Shōta Imanaga, ahead of teams like the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels.

"It's all pointing to the Giants," a source told Feinsand. "They missed out on [Shohei] Ohtani and [Yoshinobu] Yamamoto, and although Imanaga isn't on the same level as those guys, they don't want to miss out again."

Imanaga has until Thursday to make his decision as his posting deadline is 5 P.M. ET. on that day.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the most notable pitcher available this offseason, and he went to the aforementioned Dodgers. Imanaga is not quite as heralded but certainly has potential.

The 30-year-old has a 74-55 overall record with a 2.96 ERA in his career overseas and is coming off of a 7-5 season where he sported a 2.66 ERA and recorded 188 strikeouts. He doesn't have Yamamoto's youth but still could project as a higher-end starter and would bolster the Giants' rotation.

San Francisco needs a splash after missing on Yamamoto and Ohtani this year and slugger Aaron Judge last offseason. The Giants went 79-83 and missed the postseason in 2023. Not only that, but they have to compete with the Dodgers, who have committed more than $1 billion toward free agents this offseason, in the National League West.

The frustration among San Francisco Giants fans for their team's many failed free-agent pursuits in recent years may finally give way to at least one notable addition before this offseason is over.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, opposing teams are expecting the Giants to sign "at least one top-end" player from the big four Scott Boras clients still on the market.

That group includes Cody Bellinger, Jordan Montgomery, Blake Snell and Matt Chapman.

The Giants are the living embodiment of the old saying "always a bridesmaid, never a bride." In the past 13 months, they have engaged in serious talks with Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

They came out of those talks with nothing to show for it. Correa was willing to walk down the aisle with the Giants when he agreed to a 13-year, $350 million contract, but the deal fell apart when the team expressed concerns with his physical.

If there's any consolation for the Giants, the New York Mets also pulled out of their 12-year, $315 million agreement with Correa for the same reason.

There was hope that this offseason would be different, especially since they were willing to meet Ohtani on his terms.

Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi told reporters their offer to the two-time AL MVP was "very comparable if not identical" in terms of dollars and deferrals to what he received from the Los Angeles Dodgers, but they lost out on the best player in MLB to their biggest rival.

The Dodgers also beat San Francisco for Yamamoto, whose agent said he likely would have signed with the Giants if Los Angeles wasn't interested.

That's not exactly a compliment to the Giants, but at least they were able to stay in the running for awhile. They did sign KBO star Jung Hoo Lee to a six-year, $113 million deal in the richest free-agent contract given out by the team since signing Johnny Cueto for $130 million in 2016.

Even with the addition of Lee, San Francisco remains far behind the Dodgers in the NL West and a fringe wild-card contender based on the talent it currently has.

Any of the four Boras clients would fit right in and fill a huge need for the Giants. Bellinger is an above-average defender in centerfield who hit .307/.356/.525 with 26 homers and 20 stolen bases for the Chicago Cubs last season.

Chapman remains an elite defensive third baseman, though his offensive production has started to decline recently. His .755 OPS last season was the second-worst of his career (.716 in 2021).

Snell or Montgomery would give the Giants both impact and reliable innings in the rotation. Logan Webb and Alex Cobb were the only pitchers on the staff who threw at least 100 innings and made 20 starts last season. Sean Manaea, who is a free agent, also passed 100 innings in 37 appearances (10 starts).

The Giants have only made the playoffs once since 2017. They haven't won a full postseason series since the 2014 World Series, excluding the one-game wild card against the New York Mets in 2016.

The San Francisco Giants have been told that they're no longer in the bidding for ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.

Giants officials have met with Yamamoto and are "enamored" with him, per Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic, although it doesn't appear that the feeling was mutual. He'll likely be headed elsewhere, although he could sign with another franchise on the West Coast.

Per Pavlovic, the "expectation" is that he will end up in Los Angeles or New York amid interest from the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and New York Mets.

Yamamoto has been coveted by several teams since he was posted by the Orix Buffaloes of the NPB on Nov. 20, although only a select few seem to have a realistic shot at signing him. The Yankees and Dodgers are in "good shape" to add him, while the Mets "have a shot" at bringing him in, per Andy Martino of SNY.

According to the New York Post's Jon Heyman, the Yankees have already made a "significant bid" on Yamamoto. They haven't heard a decision regarding their offer, through.

The Giants haven't been shy about their interest in Yamamoto, as the team is currently looking for another elite starting pitcher to pair alongside right-hander Logan Webb following his 2023 campaign that resulted in a second-place finish in NL Cy Young voting.

"It's been a pilgrimage over there from front office people to see him," Giants executive Farhan Zaidi said about Yamamoto in an October interview (per Pavlovic). "He's really one of the top starting pitchers in the world. I know it sounds like an exaggeration, but it's not."

The 25-year-old wrapped up another impressive season with the Buffaloes in 2023, accumulating a 16-6 record to go along with a 1.21 ERA. He allowed just two home runs, striking out 169 batters in 164 innings of work.

San Francisco will likely pivot toward a different starting pitcher in free agency, as USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported on Sunday that the Giants are considered the "leading candidate" to sign reigning NL Cy Young award winner Blake Snell.