Giants linked to top free agent, setting up fans for disappointment again

The San Francisco Giants have been a relentless team during the Hot Stove season. Nearly every winter, the Giants have tried to bring in that elusive superstar, but have fallen short. Bryce Harper spurred them in 2019 in favor of the Philadelphia Phillies. Aaron Judge was seemingly on his way back to California until the whole "Arson Judge" drama occurred and the New YorkYankees ensured he'd stay as their captain. Those are just a couple of examples.

This winter, former catcher Buster Posey will be in charge of the offseason as their new president of baseball operations. Maybe, just maybe, Posey can do what Farhan Zaidi could not — bring in a star free agent. It should come as no surprise they are linked to the top player available on the open market.

MLB.com senior national reporter Mark Feinsand listed his top 25 free agents this winter and their potential fits. Soto was obviously ranked first-overall by Feinsand, but he links the Giants as a potential fit for the star outfielder, alongside the Yankees and New York Mets.

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Giants listed as potential fit for Juan Soto in free agency

Feinsand also made an appearance on MLB Network's "MLB Tonight" program to discuss his article and the fits for Soto. Feinsand does say that it's likely Soto will remain in New York, whether it's with the Yankees or Mets. But Feinsand mentions the Giants as a potential fit, due in part to them swinging and missing on free agents.

"The Giants have been looking for that big free agent for a number of years," said Feinsand. "Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, [Yoshinobu] Yamamoto, they haven't been able to sign those guys. Maybe they can make a huge play for Soto."

For Giants fans, they have heard Zaidi mentioned that their priority was to bring in a superstar to help contend for the World Series again. But that superstar never arrived, as they opted to sign elsewhere. While Judge and Harper are main examples, Feinsand brings up Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto as players the Giants missed out on last winter.

The Giants tried their hardest to bring Ohtani to the Bay Area. In fact, they made a similar 10-year, $700 million offer to Ohtani that the Dodgers made. Ultimately, Ohtani decided to stay in Southern California to play for the Dodgers.

As for Yamamoto, the Japanese pitcher seriously considered the Giants' as a potential landing spot, but ultimately ruled them out of the final three of the Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees. The Dodgers won out, signing a 12-year, $325 million contract. Losing two top targets to the rival Dodgers has to sting for the Giants.

Could they finally land that big fish in Soto? Well, as Feinsand notes, he's going to be expensive, with a 10-year, $500 million contract being the minimum. Soto is coming off a regular season in which he recorded a .288 batting average, a .419 on-base percentage, a .569 slugging percentage, 41 home runs, 109 RBI, 128 runs scored, and 166 hits in 576 at-bats.

We'll see if the Giants can actually land Soto, or if it will be another case of "we were close."