San Francisco Giants: Rumor Mill Churning as Winter Meetings Approach

As happens every offseason, the rumor mill is churning for just about every MLB team right now, and the San Francisco Giants, with a lot of money to be spent and a desire to vastly improve their team, have had their name linked to just about everyone on the market. Let’s round up some of the hottest rumors.

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According to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick, the market for top free agent right-hander Zack Greinke is “quietly heating up“, with the Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers leading the charge. Both teams are looking for clarity, in Crasnick’s words, to what a deal for Greinke would look like. He’s expected to earn over $30 million annually, but the length of the contract would be a concern, as Greinke is 32 years old.

While the Giants seem to be all-in on the top right-hander on the market, they have also shown interest in the top left-hander, David Price. With the Toronto Blue Jays signing pitcher J.A. Happ to a surprisingly lucrative contract ($36 million over three years), it seems like a foregone conclusion that Price be returning to Toronto in 2016 and beyond. According to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs, the St. Louis Cardinals, and of course, the Giants and the Dodgers have all showed “major interest” in Price. The former Cy Young Award winner figures to earn a deal worth over $200 million this winter.

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In another report from Ken Rosenthal, the Giants are also one of the teams linked to free agent super utility man Ben Zobrist. The New York Mets have made Zobrist their number-one target, but the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves, as well as San Francisco, have also been in pursuit. The Giants interest in Zobrist would likely stem from the idea of making him the “everyday” left fielder, but his versatility would help cover a lot of positions around the diamond. After the injury epidemic in 2015, the Giants may find comfort in having a player who can effectively cover any position at any time.

In a report from CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman, the scribe named the Giants as just one of about 20 teams that have expressed interest in Braves’ starter Shelby Miller. Miller is highly-coveted, due in part to his age (just 25 years old), and a tremendous season in 2015 despite being the most poorly-supported pitcher in baseball. He led the Majors in losses with 17, but posted a very strong 3.02 ERA. He seems like an ideal fit at AT&T Park.

The Braves, in return, have reportedly brought up Joe Panik and Matt Duffy‘s names in a potential trade scenario. That may be a little too rich of a price for the Giants to pay for Miller. The Giants have also asked about Braves’ starting pitcher Julio Teheran, according to the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo.

After turning down an offer from the Arizona Diamondbacks, free agent right-hander Johnny Cueto has continued to receive offers from teams around the league. The Giants, Dodgers, Cubs, and Red Sox, always prominent names, have all expressed interest in Cueto. The nearly 30-year-old pitcher received a six-year, $120-million offer from Arizona, but spurned it to explore his options on the market.

Jerry Crasnick listed a wide group of teams that are “actively seeking relief pitching”, and of the 12 teams he mentioned, the Giants were not one. However, the Giants were linked, very early in the offseason, to free agent righty Darren O’Day, and were considered one of the “front runners” to sign free agent right-hander Joakim Soria, according to Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press.

Next: Who Can the Giants Trade?

The rumor mill is churning, hot and heavy, but the wheeling and dealing so far has been minimal. The Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tennessee are just about a week away, and the action should really start to heat up then, if not a few days before. Except some serious money to be thrown around in the Music City this year.

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