Buster Posey and the Giants secured the services of Willy Adames, signing him to a 7-year $182 million deal. Posey secured the Giant’s biggest free agent signing since Barry Bonds in 1993. Adames becomes the biggest contract signed in franchise history surpassing Posey’s record during his playing days. This is a huge moment for the Giants franchise and a step towards becoming the competitive team they were in the 2010s. The question is what’s next for the Giants after this blockbuster move? Here are Three potential targets the Giants can look at to add to this monumental signing.
Three targets for the Giants after signing Willy Adames
1. Corbin Burnes
Corbin Burnes played this past season with the Baltimore Orioles, boasting a 2.92 earned run average and winning 15 of his starts. Burnes is a top pitcher in baseball and a position the Giants need since losing Blake Snell to the Dodgers. Burnes threw 194 innings this past season, which would be second on the Giants by nearly 70 total innings. With Burnes, the Giants would have two reliable starters who can go deep into games and pitch over 160 innings each season. The former CY-Young Award winner is 30 years old and looking for a 7-year contract. This could be a concern paying an older pitcher on a lengthy contract, but the Giants decided to try to win now with their move for Adames. They can deal with a few bad years at the back end of Burnes’ career if it means competing now.
2. Roki Sasaki
Roki Sasaki is one of the most highly pursued international players we’ve had in the past few seasons. At least half the league has scouted Sasaki at his club in Japan. Sasaki is 23 years old and has a fastball that touches 100 MPH boasting a 2.35 ERA in his 3rd season with Chiba Lotte. Because of his age, he can only be signed to a minor league contract with a signing bonus drawn from the suitor’s international pool. This price tag, his age, and his unbelievable skill are reasons why he is so heavily pursued.
Posey has been vocal about how huge it would be to sign a talent like Sasaki, “It’s just tremendous upside, and there are not too many arms in the world like his. He’s a tremendous talent. He’s 23 years old. It’s fun to dream on, it’s fun to think about him at Oracle Park and pitching deep into a game late in the year with the place rocking. We’d be over the moon to add a guy like him.”
The Giants would only be able to offer Sasaki a $5,146,200 signing bonus, due to penalties they received after signing Matt Chapman and Snell last offseason. If Posey can lure this guy to the Giants, it sets up the team’s starting rotation for the next decade.
3. Christian Walker
Christian Walker played this past season with the Arizona Diamondbacks and was an integral piece to their 2023 World Series run. Walker hit 26 home runs with a 121 OPS+ he was a great hitter last year and for most of his career. Walker fills the need for a power hitter at first base and a gold glove-level defender. To put into perspective this void in the Giants roster, LaMonte Wade Jr. has 25 home runs over the past two seasons combined, while Walker surpassed that number in each of his past three seasons. Walker is 33 and would be on a short-term contract of around three to four years. It’s not too long especially if he falls off a cliff due to age and allows a clear path for their superstar prospect Bryce Eldridge to come in and play first base in the next few years. It would be a great short-term signing to lead into the Eldridge era.
Giants Can’t Be Complacent
With Adames locked in as a Giant for the next seven years and Chapman for the next six years, the Giants have the best-left side of the infield in baseball. They need to capitalize on this and continue to improve in the offseason to compete with their biggest rivals the Dodgers. Posey has sent a message to the fans showing he won’t be as complacent as Farhan was. Hopefully, the Giants can secure the talents of one if not two of these three players on this list. If they do they assuredly can compete for the playoffs a place they haven’t seen since 2021.
Main Image: © D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
