Giants Hoping to Acquire Impact Shortstop This Off-Season
After missing the playoffs for the seventh time in eight seasons, the San Francisco Giants are expected to act aggressively again this winter, particularly in the shortstop market.
President of baseball operations Buster Posey, the seven-time All-Star catcher-turned-front-office executive, was impressed by Tyler Fitzgerald during his rookie season as the club’s everyday shortstop. But he hopes to add a little more defensive upside to the position in 2025.
Fitzgerald, who ultimately won the job over Nick Ahmed, excelled offensively a season ago with 15 home runs and a .280/.334/.497 slash line across 96 games. He could transition to second base – where he logged 38 innings in ‘24 – in his sophomore campaign.
“If we could find a shortstop that’d be great,” Posey told reporters, including the San Francisco Chronicle’s Shayna Rubin, at the GM Meetings on Tuesday.
“Tyler Fitzgerald did a great job at short last year. I think he has value and in multiple spots on the field. I do think it’s hard to play multiple spots at the same time during the season. Whether he’d be better suited to play second base long-term is a discussion we’re having.”
While Fitzgerald dazzled at the plate, the 27-year-old struggled with his fielding at short, posting minus-six defensive runs saved, minus-four outs above average and a minus-three fielding run value over 594 innings.
Posey said the Giants plan to prioritize defence in their shortstop search, aiming to fortify the left side of their infield around Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman. But he added offensive upside will likely play a factor, too.
Willy Adames, who received a qualifying offer, is considered the top shortstop available in this year’s free-agent class. However, he might not be an ideal fit, given that he produced a career-worst minus-16 DRS this past season with the Milwaukee Brewers.
For defensive purposes, Ha-Seong Kim could prove more appealing than Adames, as the 2023 Gold Glove winner was a quality defender at second base, shortstop and third base in four seasons with the San Diego Padres. But he’s expected to miss Opening Day 2025 after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery.
Kim doesn’t offer as much power as his counterpart, though he avoids high strikeout totals by putting balls in play and is a threat on the basepaths – two areas the Giants are looking to address.
“It goes without saying, Oracle Park is a historically tough place to hit homers. Not that we’ll discount the value of the home run,” Posey said. “But some complete players that can steal some bases and take the extra base when they need to and pressure. That’s the word that keeps coming up in my mind constantly. Being able to pressure the other teams in multiple ways other than waiting for the long ball.”
San Francisco’s front office should possess plenty of payroll flexibility this winter, with the organization’s 2025 competitive balance tax (CBT) figure at approximately $182.5 million, according to FanGraphs’ Roster Resource. That puts them roughly $58.5 million shy of the initial $241 million luxury tax threshold.
The Giants will also explore starting pitching upgrades, as Posey outlined, which could include pursuing a reunion with left-hander Blake Snell, who entered free agency after declining his $30-million player option for 2025.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Vhryce. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.