Fansided

MLB free agency: One free agent each team should sign

By Joshua Sadlock

CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 24: Kansas City Royals First base Eric Hosmer (35) during the game between the Kansas City Royals and the Chicago White Sox on September 24, 2017 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois.(Photo by Jerome Lynch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 24: Kansas City Royals First base Eric Hosmer (35) during the game between the Kansas City Royals and the Chicago White Sox on September 24, 2017 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois.(Photo by Jerome Lynch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 19: Pitcher CC Sabathia #52 of the New York Yankees pitches in an MLB baseball game against the Minnesota Twins on September 19, 2017 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Yankees won 5-2. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 19: Pitcher CC Sabathia #52 of the New York Yankees pitches in an MLB baseball game against the Minnesota Twins on September 19, 2017 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Yankees won 5-2. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images) /

San Francisco Giants: CC Sabathia

The Giants will be entering the offseason coming off their worst season since the 1980s. Things got ugly in a hurry in 2017 — completely unexpected for one of the best run organizations in baseball. The Giants are built around their starting rotation with a solid, but unspectacular core of hitters. The rotation completely failed them this year after Madison Bumgarner injured himself riding a dirt bike.

Is there a quick fix out there for the Giants? That’s not an easy question to answer. Their hopes for next year will hinge on the performances of Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto. The latter has the ability to opt out at the end of the 2017 season, but will likely be forced to stick it out in San Francisco after an ugly year. Samardzija had a better year, but is still a longshot to ever live up to his massive contract.

With Matt Cain retiring and Matt Moore hitting free agency after a 6-15 year, the Giants could have as many as three spots in their rotation to fill. Their focus should be on adding a high-upside veteran arm. There is no help coming from one of MLB’s worst farm systems. Left-handed pitcher CC Sabathia’s contract with the Yankees is finally up, and he may be looking for a new home.

Sabathia has reinvented himself as a pitcher the last two years and has found a way to be effective with diminished velocity. He has a sub-4.00 ERA two years in a row now in one of the toughest divisions in baseball. If Sabathia can find the right home for himself, he may be able to stretch his career out another three or four years. That would give him an outside shot at making the Hall of Fame. San Francisco’s AT&T Park is an ideal home for Sabathia as he looks to keep his career going.

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