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Five new free agent position players who fit the SF Giants’ 2021 needs

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Five new free agent position players who fit the SF Giants’ 2021 needs

Major League Baseball’s free agent class grew substantially at Wednesday’s non-tender deadline as more than 50 players were let go by their former teams.

None of the players cut will immediately join the ranks of Trevor Bauer, J.T. Realmuto and George Springer as the most coveted free agents this winter, but there are several who have impressive track records and could easily be plugged into starting lineups, starting rotations or key bullpen roles around the league.

With a desire to add veteran starting pitchers, a right-handed bullpen arm and a versatile left-handed hitter to their lineup this offseason, the San Francisco Giants were monitoring Wednesday’s deadline closely to see which new free agents could fill holes on their roster.

President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and general manager Scott Harris have indicated the pace of the offseason could be slow, but the Giants have been linked to an increasing number of available players in recent weeks and may be inching closer to adding to a club that has its sights set on a 2021 playoff berth.

With the Giants’ offseason checklist in mind, here’s a look at five new free agents who should find themselves on the team’s radar.

Eddie Rosario

One of the highest-profile non-tenders of the offseason, Rosario was placed on waivers earlier in the week by the Minnesota Twins and went unclaimed. The power-hitting Puerto Rico native has received American League MVP votes in each of the last two seasons, but isn’t a strong defender and rarely draws walks.

Finding a regular spot for Rosario would be challenging for the Giants unless they were willing to play him and Alex Dickerson in the corner outfield spots and send Mike Yastrzemski into center, but he’s a name worth watching because he slugs the ball from the left side of the plate, which is an area the franchise is looking to improve.

If the Giants (and every other National League team) had received clarity on whether the designated hitter will remain in the NL in 2020, it would be much easier to call Rosario a logical target for San Francisco.

Kyle Schwarber

Similar to Rosario, Schwarber is limited defensively and can’t realistically be expected to play anywhere other than left field.

Unlike Rosario, Schwarber does draw walks…and he tends to draw a lot of them. His strikeout numbers are astronomical and his batting average has never topped .250, but the former Chicago Cubs slugger is valuable because he drives the ball in the air and works the count.

Is Schwarber a good fit for the Giants without knowing whether the NL will bring back the DH? Probably not. However, it’s clear he’d fit in really well in a lineup in which he’d be surrounded by patient hitters and allowed to leave his glove back in the clubhouse.

David Dahl

A year after the Colorado Rockies parted with Tyler Anderson and watched him sign with the Giants, Dahl might be the best fit for San Francisco of any player non-tendered on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old plays all three outfield positions, is an above-average runner and carries a career .857 OPS against right-handed pitchers. That the Rockies let him go is par for the course for a front office that doesn’t understand how to build a winner, but Colorado’s loss could easily be the Giants’ gain.

For the right price, the Giants would probably be willing to overlook Dahl’s high strikeout numbers and rough injury history because he walks a lot and can form a platoon with Mauricio Dubón in center field.

One cause for concern: Dahl’s home/road splits, like many players who have spent the early parts of their careers at Coors Field, are drastic.

Nomar Mazara

To be clear, the Giants would be taking a gamble in signing a player such as Mazara, a career right fielder with high strikeout numbers who has never posted a league average OPS+.

With that caveat in mind, it’s reasonable to think Mazara’s market won’t include many suitors and he could be amenable to working on swing changes with the Giants coaching staff that might turn him into a more consistent hitter. The Giants’ staff worked wonders to improve the offense under first-year manager Gabe Kapler and at 25 years old, Mazara could benefit from overhauling his mechanics to better showcase his tremendous raw power.

With Yastrzemski and Dickerson on the roster, any left-handed hitting outfielder who doesn’t have the skill set to play center field would be competing for a part-time role with the Giants. Perhaps that will be appealing to Mazara, but it might take a long and quiet winter for the two sides to see the benefits here.

Danny Santana

During a 2019 season in which Santana played every position except for pitcher and catcher, the former Texas Rangers switch-hitter racked up 57 extra-base hits and set a career-high with a .534 slugging percentage.

Santana didn’t hold down a regular starting spot at one position, but he was so versatile that it’s easy to see why he would appeal to a team such as the Giants that isn’t looking for a true everyday starting position player.

Of course, there’s also a few reasons why Santana wasn’t tendered a contract Wednesday.

The 30-year-old Dominican Republic native almost never walks and in 2020, he was a Hunter Pence-like 8-for-55 at the plate. After suffering an elbow injury in September that will reportedly require eight months to heal, Santana probably wouldn’t be able to help during the first half of the season.

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