1 Manny Machado backup plan for every team that was interested

3. Manny Machado backup plan for the Giants: Sign Matt Chapman next offseason

Nobody missed bigger this offseason than the San Francisco Giants. Aaron Judge chose to stay with the New York Yankees. Carlos Correa’s physical didn’t pass their sniff test and they moved on. Instead of making a big splash, the Giants settled for scraps. Retaining many of those scraps can help them turn things around. This is a team that now lacks star power but has a decent core in place.

With Manny Machado no longer available, they should also go after Shohei Ohtani. It’s the only logical move to make for a team willing to spend money. Looking only at third base, the Giants should bring Matt Chapman back to the Bay Area.

Chapman spent the first few years of his career with the Oakland Athletics before a trade sent him to the Toronto Blue Jays. A power hitter with some of the finest defensive skills on whatever side of the Mississippi he ends up playing, Chapman is the kind of second-tier player the Giants should make a priority next winter.

The Manny Machado extension and the one the Boston Red Sox handed out to Rafael Devers earlier on this offseason has evaporated many of the best free-agent third basemen. MLB doesn’t have a whole lot of stars at the position at the moment. Making sure they come away with the best available in free agency is something the Giants should already start thinking about.