With the official start of MLB free agency on Monday, the Giants begin what may be one of the greatest offseasons in franchise history.
Under new coach Bob Melvin, San Francisco will look to return to winning ways in 2024 and will need to bolster a disappointing roster this offseason to do so.
Melvin conducted an exclusive interview with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Laura Britt, premiering Tuesday on the upcoming “Giants Talk” podcast, in which he was asked what improvements he thinks the team will make next season and moving forward would.
“It’s easier said than done, but San Francisco likes their names,” Melvin told Britt. “They like quality guys. There’s the Buster Poseys and those teams and the Will Clarks, all the way up to Willie Mays. The really good teams always had people that the city identified with. And no matter how the team plays, [the fans] Come out to watch these guys.
After trying to sign star players like Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa in recent years, Melvin believes the Giants will continue their search for household names at the top of the free agent market and move toward a more traditional approach to the Lineup and cast must return roster building.
“Last year I obviously tried to sign Aaron Judge and there were other guys who had that nickname,” Melvin said. “It’s easy to say: bring in some of these high-profile free agents to kind of stabilize them, whether it’s the middle of your lineup where you don’t have to hit there and/or guys in the rotation or in the Bullpen.”
“Now it’s a harder task to do. So part of the goal is to talk to Farhan.” [Zaidi] brings a few guys that we can work on a little bit so you know this guy is going to play this position, you’re not going to hit for him, he’s going to be in the lineup every day. It’s more about when that particular guy needs a day off. A little star power would help.
Melvin has 20 years of managerial experience and is well respected by players across the league. In his introductory press conference on October 25 at Oracle Park, he expressed his desire to help recruit players and is eager to help Zaidi and the front office in any way he can.
“I will be as involved as anyone wants,” Melvin Britt shared. “Different organizations deal with it differently. In Oakland we weren’t targeting high-profile free agents; that wasn’t the plan there. There were some high-profile people in San Diego. Last year it was Xander Bogaerts.” That came in. I really didn’t do that much in San Diego, so it just depends on the organization. If I’m asked to try to recruit people, of course I’ll try to be fully involved. So we’ll try it out and see how it goes.
Melvin and the Giants have a busy offseason ahead of them as the organization continues its search for the star power the roster has lacked for years.
If they can land a few significant pieces, Melvin and the Giants could be primed for an entertaining season at Third and King in 2024.
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