(Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
The upcoming 2022 offseason is supposed the one where Farhan Zaidi finally breaks the bank. But if you have the best team in baseball, is that really necessary?
It has certainly changed the calculation, specifically the idea that the San Francisco Giants need to bring in a superstar shortstop with Brandon Crawford set to hit free agency. At age 34, Crawford was just named to the NL All-Star team and is having arguably the best season of his career. Keeping him around for a couple years until top prospect Marco Luciano is ready, all of the sudden seems like a smarter strategy.
That doesn’t mean the Giants won’t look to spend money elsewhere. Giants beat writer for the Bay Area News Group, Kerry Crowley, joined Mark Willard on Thursday morning and pointed to one upcoming star free agent that he believes Zaidi will be very interested in.
“When you look at this free agent class, and you look at are the Giants going to spend a lot of money, there’s a player out there who fits exactly what this lineup does, exactly what Farhan wants this team to do, and that’s Kris Bryant,” Crowley said on KNBR.
“He plays five positions for the Chicago Cubs, he has an on-base percentage 100 points above his batting average and just seems like the most ideal possible free agent fit. Has a relationship with [Giants GM] Scott Harris. It would not shock me to see the Giants go really hard after him, retain a bunch of guys, and then continue building the way they have the last two years.”
Bryant, 29, was also named to the NL All-Star team for the fourth time in his seven major league seasons. Bryant is an extremely versatile player who can play both corner infield spots and every outfield position. He also gets on base and hits for power, as his .268/.349/.498 slash line this season and even more impressive .279/.378/.507 career slash line attest to.
Crowley believes Bryant is a much more enticing player for the Giants than his teammate, fellow upcoming free agent Javier Baez.
“Javy Baez does not fit what the Giants do,” Crowley said. “Javy Baez strikes out a ton, he’s got a low OBP. He slugs, which is part of what the Giants do, but he’s just not a fit for San Francisco from an organizational philosophy of working deep counts and grinding out at-bats. That’s not who Javy Baez is as a player. Kris Bryant, that’s absolutely who he is.
“If you are looking at all the free agents in the 2021-22 winter class, [Bryant] is the one that makes the most sense.”
Listen to the full interview below.