Analysis: SF Giants miss out on Trevor Story, so what now?

Once again, the best available bat is off the market … and not heading to San Francisco.

All-Star shortstop Trevor Story has agreed to a six-year, $140 million contract to join the Boston Red Sox, according to multiple reports Sunday morning, despite a strong push by the Giants, who were reported to be among the finalists.

With him out of the picture, we’ll assess where the Giants turn from here.

Why did Story make sense?

When president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi declared this week that “we feel pretty set on the position player side,” he did leave the door open to adding the right player. “I think the right fit we would still look at,” he said.

If there was a big-dollar free agent out there who fit the profile, it was Story.

The biggest holes in the Giants’ lineup are from the right-hand side of the plate and at second base. Story, who was reportedly willing to at least temporarily move off shortstop (and, signing with Boston, which has Xander Bogaerts, indicates as much), checks both boxes.

Brandon Crawford turns 35 this season and signed a two-year extension this offseason. Story, 29, could have given the Giants an elite double-play duo for the next two seasons, then slid back to his natural position when Crawford’s contract expired.

Both ranked among the best defensive shortstops in baseball last season, and Story’s glove would have acted as a big upgrade at second. According to FanGraphs’ metrics, the Giants were the worst defensive team in baseball at second base last season, while their -13 defensive runs saved at the position were third-worst.

Why didn’t it happen?

Story wanted to play for a winner — that’s made clear by his reported list of finalists: San Francisco, Houston and Boston. The Astros were the only destination where Story would have been able to stick at shortstop.

So, did it come down to money? Story was weighing both short- and long-term deals, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, and settled on a six-year deal in Boston with an opt-out after four years. Knowing the Giants’ preponderance for handing out short-term deals, it’s possible they didn’t want to go beyond a certain length for a player with drastic home/road splits coming from the hitter’s haven of Coors Field.

Story would have been an obvious upgrade, but there’s genuine concern over his ability to hit at lower altitudes. Over his six seasons with Colorado, Story hit .303/.369/.603 at home, an on-base-plus-slugging percentage more than 200 points higher than his .241/.310/.442 batting line away from Coors Field.

After missing out on Story, the Giants still have not handed out a contract longer than three years or more valuable than $44 million under Zaidi. Asked this week about the hesitancy to commit years or dollars to star players, Zaidi pushed back forcefully.

“From a team standpoint, we’ve talked a lot about the benefit of flexibility. But there’s no hard-and-fast rule about maximum years or maximum dollars,” Zaidi said. “We certainly made offers beyond those numbers. It’s not an operating philosophy at all.”

Worth noting that the Giants would have also had to part with a draft pick to sign Story. Colorado extended him a qualifying offer, and while the new collective bargaining agreement removes draft-pick compensation for free agent signings, that doesn’t take effect until the next crop of free agents.

Who plays second base now?

The Giants employed a platoon at second base last season, something that certainly would have gone away had they signed Story. But you can expect a similar strategy this season.

Tommy La Stella figures to pencil in against right-handers once he is fully healthy from an offseason procedure on his Achilles. It’s unlikely La Stella is ready for Opening Day, but the word around camp is that he is well ahead of schedule. Less than six months since the operation, La Stella was running sprints and taking batting practice off live pitching this week.

The Giants moved on from Donovan Solano, who started 78 games at second last season and signed a one-year deal this offseason with the Reds. Wilmer Flores, who started 22 games there, is back and figures to maintain his utility role, so expect him to pencil in there at times this season.

One of the biggest positional battles this spring might be between who platoons opposite La Stella. Thairo Estrada and Mauricio Dubon are both out of options, meaning they will have to pass through waivers if they don’t make the Opening Day roster.

Estrada, 26, showed potential at the plate with a .273/.333/.479 line in 52 games last season after he was claimed off waivers from the Yankees and, for now, appears to have the upper hand on Dubon. Zaidi and manager Gabe Kapler have each mentioned Estrada among their young players they would like to get more opportunities this season.

Who’s left for the Giants to pursue?

Despite Buster Posey’s $22 million salary coming off the books with his retirement and failing to retain Kris Bryant, the Giants’ biggest additions this offseason have been Carlos Rodon (2 years, $44 million) and Joc Pederson (1 year, $6 million). Coming off a surprise 107-win season, their estimated $140 million in committed contracts for this season is about equal to last year’s Opening Day payroll and still shy of the $172 million they had spent by the end of the season.

Zaidi’s recent comments already signaled the likelihood of the Giants entering this season without making a major splash in free agency, and with Story off the market, that seems all the more likely.

Outfielders Michael Conforto and Tommy Pham are the two best remaining free-agent hitters. Conforto, like Story, would require the Giants to part with a draft pick if they were to sign him. As a corner outfielder, his .255/.356/.468 career batting line doesn’t quite carry the same weight as getting the same production up the middle from Story, while Pham recently turned 34 and is two years removed from his last productive offensive season.