San Francisco Giants: Five Positives Moving Forward

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Free Agents

Sep 26, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Tim Hudson (17) waves to the fans as he gets a standing ovation after being pulled from their game with the Oakland Athletics in the second inning of their MLB baseball game at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA

At the conclusion of the 2015 season, the Giants will be able to take $30,000,000 off of their payroll in just two players. Between Tim Lincecum (owed $18,000,000 this year) becoming a free agent and Tim Hudson (another $12,000,000) retiring from the sport, the team will gain significant financial flexibility to make some upgrades during the offseason.

Jeremy Affeldt has also said that he has toyed with the idea of retirement, which would free up another $6,000,000.

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The Giants have maintained that one of their biggest priorities in the offseason is to upgrade their starting pitching rotation, and they will most certainly have the funds to do it. Whether they decide to keep free agent Mike Leake (who is making only $3,578,825) or not, they will also be able to potentially go after some of the other starting pitchers on the UFA market, including David Price, Jeff Samardzija, and maybe even Zack Greinke if he opts out of his contract with the Dodgers.

Other key free agents include Ryan Vogelsong and Joaquin Arias, both of whom are making comparatively little at $4,000,000 and $1,450,000 respectively. The Giants might decide to keep Vogelsong as a long reliever, or they may let him go, but Giants fans will have plenty of good memories of the right hander if he decides to move away from San Francisco.

Alejandro De Aza has proven his value in more ways than one, including his pinch-hit 12th inning walk off RBI sac fly to prolong the Giants season. And as a free agent he is only owed $278,961 at season’s end. One of the most challenging parts of the team as a result of injuries was the Giant’s depleted bench, and De Aza might be a welcome addition in that capacity next season.

Regardless of what the team decides to do with their free agents, they will be able to get rid of several significantly expensive contracts that will give them many options to improve the team for next year.

Next: The Freak May Be Back

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