4 blockbuster moves SF Giants must make to build on Willy Adames signing

While so much of the baseball world is focused on what happens with Juan Soto, the San Francisco Giants wisely pivoted to make a big free agency splash in their own right. Under new direction with franchise legend Buster Posey at the controls, the Giants inked shortstop Willy Adames to a seven-year, $182 million contract. It's a big splash that not only helps the San Francisco lineup but steals a potential target from the rival Dodgers.

Admittedly, the deal came as a bit of a shock. After early expectations were that the Giants would make a run at Soto, the organization has since backed out of that sweepstakes. Some wondered if they would instead not be as aggressive as we've seen the club be in recent offseasons. Clearly, that's not the case.

You know what's better than just one big splash, though? Multiple big splashes. And the Giants could shake up the National League and the NL West by making another one of these blockbuster moves after inking Adames.

4. Paul Goldschmidt could be a stopgap until Bryce Eldridge is ready

Let's be clear, signing 37-year-old Paul Goldschmidt in the year 2024 is not the blockbuster move that it once would've been for San Francisco. Having said that, it's the type of signing that could set the Giants future up in the most ideal manner possible.

While veterans LaMonte Wade Jr. and Wilmer Flores have held down first base for some time, neither offers the potential upside of Goldschmidt, even with the former MVP coming off a down year in St. Louis. Amid the Cardinals' struggles, Goldy looked liked a shell of himself, posting a slash line of .245/.302/.414 with just 22 home runs and 65 RBI on the year.

There are some, however, who believe that Goldschmidt could bounce back in 2025. Even amid his down year, he was 92nd percentile in Hard-Hit Rate and 73rd percentile in Barrel Rate, per Baseball Savant. If he can cut back on his strikeouts, ths power is still there, something the Giants direly need in the lineup. Moreover, with top prospect Bryce Eldridge finishing the 2024 season in Triple-A, Goldschmidt is the perfect short-term, potentially high-impact option to help bridge the gap until Eldridge is ready for the big leagues.

3. Max Fried is an ideal Blake Snell replacement for the Giants

On one hand, signing Blake Snell last offseason ultimately ended up working well for the Giants when the southpaw was able to finally get on the mound and stay healthy. Unfortunately, he was limited to only 20 starts after signing late and then dealing with various injuries throughout the season. Even worse, he opted out of that deal and is now set to take the mound for the rival Dodgers.

Now that the Giants have officially thrown their hat into the ring of this offseason's big spenders, though, they could look to fill that role of a top-end lefty in the rotation. Kyle Harrison is still developing and, while the rotation does have Logan Webb at the top and an emerging force in Jordan Hicks behind him, that group could still use a proven ace like Max Fried to help round things out the way Snell did.

Fried, of course, is a much different pitcher than Snell. He's not the strikeout artist with the same level of swing-and-miss stuff in the arsenal. Even as more of a ground-ball pitcher, though, Fried has posted a 3.07 ERA and 1.164 WHIP over his eight seasons in the majors to this point. He'll cost a hefty price tag but, if San Francisco is already showing its willingness to spend, this would be a great spot for that money to go.

2. Anthony Santander would be the power bat San Francisco needs

As mentioned, there's been a power shortage of late when it comes to the Giants lineup. That's far from an exaggeration of the issue as well. The last time a Giants hitter racked up even just 30 home runs in a season was more than two decades ago in 2024. That's an abysmal streak that they're clearly looking to end.

So it would stand to reason that a player like Anthony Santander would be quite appealing to the Giants in free agency. The 30-year-old is coming off of a monster season with the Orioles in which he smacked 44 home runs with 25 doubles as well, posting an .814 OPS. That's also the second time in the past three seasons that the switch-hitting slugger has gone for 30 or more home runs after slugging 33 back in 2022.

His power should absolutely play in San Francisco and the Giants also have the outfield flexibility to make it work as well. More importantly, if the organization can move in a similarly quick manner as they did with Adames, they could potentially snipe other suitors for Santander, namely the clubs trying to see if they land Juan Soto and keeping the former Oriole as a backup plan.

1. Corbin Burnes could reunite with Willy Adames on the Giants

In the immediate aftermath of the Adames deal being reported, USA Today insider Bob Nightengale noted that the Giants could actually outdo the franchise-record deal they handed out to the shortstop if they were able to land perhaps their top target of the offseason, free agent pitcher Corbin Burnes.

Burnes, of course, spent the early parts of his career as a teammate with Adames in Milwaukee before being traded to Baltimore last offseason. And while the market for the right-hander is highly competitive with virtually every deep-pocketed team in need of pitching involved, the Giants could realistically be in the mix.

Much like we discussed with Fried, the Giants rotation could transition from good-to-great with the right addition. Burnes, who already has an NL Cy Young Award in his trophy case, fits the bill as the type of player who could be that upgrade for San Francisco. Sure, the reunion with Adames would be a great story. But it would also cause every Giants opponent fits to have to stare down Burnes, Webb and Hicks as the top of their rotation.