Giants Must Spend Big on Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto in FA Amid MLB Rumors

The San Francisco Giants have not exactly hit it out of the ballpark, pun intended, in recent offseasons.

A year ago, they whiffed on Aaron Judge and failed to sign Carlos Correa. The result? A 2023 season in which the team was sort of in playoff contention, but not really, and wallowed in mediocrity more times than not.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported, "The Giants are expected to be big-time spenders this winter, and are about $80 million under the $237 million luxury tax threshold in 2024."

They have to, too. The team needs to generate good buzz, but also bolster its roster so it can realistically compete against division foes the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks and erase the stigma of irrelevance that has engulfed the organization in recent years.

The team can start by making a bid for Shohei Ohtani, the most coveted free agent in baseball and a player Jon Heyman of the New York Post had previously linked them to as a potential landing spot.

The best two-way player in baseball history would prove them a spark at the plate, bringing with him 44 home runs and 95 RBIs in 2023, and on the mound when he returns to pitching in 2025 following arm surgery.

It can continue by looking to Japan and 25-year-old burgeoning star Yoshinobu Yamamoto, whose 1.16 ERA and 0.860 WHIP for Nippon Professional Baseball's Orix Buffaloes attracted the attention of club president Farhan Zaidi, who personally traveled overseas to scout him.

He has great stuff and, if he can adjust to the extent that friend Kodai Senga did with the New York Mets, can bring to the rotation the genuine ace that the Giants have not had in years.

Offensively, if Ohtani is not the guy, Cody Bellinger of the Cubs may be.

Nightengale linked the Giants to the 28-year-old center fielder who rejuvenated his career in Chicago following a few down years in Los Angeles. He is a big bat who hit 26 home runs, drove in 97, and stole 20 bags to go along with them.

He was great and has attracted the attention of the New York Yankees, among other teams. If the team identifies Bellinger as someone they definitely want to target this offseason, they must not leave anything to chance.

After the negative headlines that permeated their winter a year ago, they must not allow themselves to be beaten out by the Yankees in pursuit of another coveted free agent. More importantly, the Giants cannot wait for players to come to them. They must be aggressive, make appealing pitches, and follow up. Do not give those free agents an opportunity to hear another team out.

Otherwise, the team will enter 2024 without the manpower necessary to realistically compete and open itself up for criticism from an already dismayed fan base.