The San Francisco Giants, even after signing Jeff Samardzija, are in on many of the top remaining players. The team is still in on free agent outfielders Yoenis Cespedes and Justin Upton, as well as infielder Ben Zobrist, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today and Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com.
In addition to hitting, the Giants are looking to add to their rotation, as they also remain interested in Mike Leake and Hisashi Iwakuma, Rosenthal adds.
Cespedes, 30, has been a highly productive player, when healthy. He comes with some baggage, but there is no doubting that he is one of the most talented players in the game. In 159 regular season games, Cespedes flourished, as he hit .291 with 35 home runs and 105, but come playoff time, he struggled, hitting only two home runs and eight RBI throughout the entire postseason.
Upton, 28, has been connected to the Giants for quite awhile, so it isn’t surprising to see that they remain interested in the veteran outfielder. He has hit at least 17 home runs per season since 2009 and in 2015, he had a bit of a down year average wise, but was still effective, hitting .251 with 26 home runs and 81 RBI.
Zobrist, 34, is one of the most coveted players in all of baseball and on the surface, he appears to be the perfect Giant as long as the price is right. The Giants appear to be among the top suitors for his services since they are supposed to meet with Zobrist sometime soon.
Leake, 28, appears to be drawing interest from the St. Louis Cardinals and Arizona Diamondbacks, in addition to the Giants. He is arguably the second best starting pitcher left on the free agent market and should be able to land a five-year contract from a team no problem. That said, one team that has offered him a five-year deal: The Diamondbacks, according to league sources. After signing Greinke, it is unknown if the offer is still on the table.
Iwakuma, 34, has been one of the least talked about free agents, but that is beginning to change. In addition to the Giants, he has been connected to the Dodgers, among others. It’s unclear what his situation is, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see his market heat up at the Winter Meetings.
The Giants appear serious about adding another pitcher and outfielder and it would not be surprising to see something get done at the meetings that start on Monday. If you are a Giants fan, I recommend staying tuned.
Follow Robert Murray on Twitter: @RobertMurrayBBE.
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