The San Francisco Giants were contenders for a Wild Card spot until very late in the 2023 season.
However, they fell short of their goal of making the playoffs and fired manager Gabe Kapler as a result.
Many of their struggles stem from not having a star-level player on their roster other than Cy Young candidate Logan Webb.
The Giants, as an organization, recognize this.
They even tried to add stars last offseason: they had the money and the willingness to spend it.
They were one of the finalists for New York Yankees star Aaron Judge before he decided to stay in the Bronx.
Then, after that, they agreed to a mammoth deal with shortstop Carlos Correa before it was discovered he had a foot problem, which ended up collapsing the contract agreement.
Here we are, one year later, and the Giants still have money and motivation to spend.
They want to catch the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks.
As a result, they are contenders to land the signatures of perhaps the two best and most influential free agents on the market.
“The Giants are prioritizing Shohei Ohtani or Yoshinobu Yamamoto, above all other options this offseason, as I reported on @MLBNetwork earlier today. They are a team to watch as we look ahead to next week’s @MLB Winter Meetings,” MLB insider Jon Morosi tweeted.
The Giants are prioritizing Shohei Ohtani or Yoshinobu Yamamoto, above all other options this offseason, as I reported on @MLBNetwork earlier today.
They are a team to watch as we look ahead to next week's @MLB Winter Meetings.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 28, 2023
Ohtani, who won his second MVP award just a few days ago, is expected to land a contract in the neighborhood of $500 million, perhaps significantly more.
The Giants are willing to sign him, whatever it takes.
They are also pursuing top Japanese starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the MVP of the Pacific League in his country.
It’s hard to see them landing both, but they are determined to bring in at least one.
NEXT: Giants Veteran Makes Contract Decision For 2024