SF Giants’ offseason implodes: Where do they go now, after Correa signs with Mets?

There are three paths Farhan Zaidi can take after the Giants struck out on Carlos Correa and Aaron Judge

Somewhere in Oracle Park, there is a Giants jersey with Carlos Correa’s name on the back. It’s the piece of fabric the superstar shortstop was supposed to adorn over a dress shirt and slacks, in the tradition of the biggest free agent signings.

We don’t know what number would have appeared below Correa’s last name. The news conference scheduled to introduce him never happened. In less than 24 hours, the Giants went from finalizing plans to introduce their new face of the franchise, to watching him agree to terms elsewhere, in the most stunning turn of events this offseason.

Late Tuesday night, Correa reportedly agreed to terms with the New York Mets. The news broke barely 12 hours after Correa’s scheduled news conference in San Francisco, which was nixed when there was a “difference of opinion” on his physical exam prior to his contract with the Giants becoming official, the club said.

In an offseason that was billed as one of the most important in recent franchise history — only fueled by comments from ownership on down — the Giants struck out on their two biggest targets. They appeared to have Aaron Judge, for a few minutes, and seemed to successfully pivot to Correa, for a few days. When fans awoke Wednesday morning, however, Correa was gone, and Judge was being introduced as the 16th captain in Yankees history.

The Giants will have to get creative to salvage this offseason: of the 25 top free agents, according to MLB Trade Rumors, all but two — starter Nathan Eovaldi and reliever Taylor Rogers — have already signed. They’re chasing the Dodgers, who were 30 games better last year, and the Padres, who already had an eight-game advantage and, unlike San Francisco, were able to successfully poach one of the top free agents available in Xander Bogaerts.

There are three paths Farhan Zaidi can take now: a desperation push, a wait-and-see approach, or a stick of dynamite.

1. Focus on 2023

When the Giants visit Yankee Stadium on Opening Day — no shortage of storylines there — it will mark the beginning of Zaidi’s fifth season at the helm of San Francisco’s baseball operations. With 107 wins in 2021, their 26-win drop-off in 2022 wasn’t enough to put Zaidi on the hot seat. But how much patience will ownership have if 2023 is another disappointment?

That’s enough motivation for even the most-measured long-term thinkers to prioritize the immediate future.

Unfortunately, there are few remaining options.

If the Giants are to meaningfully upgrade their roster now, it will almost certainly have to be through the trade market. They are still in search of a middle infielder and an outfielder, as well as a high-leverage reliever, though there are no players thought to be available that could have the same impact as Correa or Judge.

The good news: former A’s catcher Sean Murphy is the only significant player to be traded so far. The bad news: The lack of activity is said to be a result of few teams in full rebuild mode and astronomical asking prices from those that are.

2. Blow it up

The Giants could capitalize on a stalled-out trade market by switching directions.

No doubt, it would be a tough sell to fans after entering the offseason with realistic dreams of adding a superstar. It’s certainly not the quick fix for attendance woes, after the club drew its fewest fans in a non-pandemic year since the ballpark opened in 2000.

But, as it stands, the Giants are a distant third in their division (maybe fourth, considering the rising D-backs, who Gabe Kapler said he “think(s) about a lot … because they’re so gifted and athletic and they’re all so young”). They don’t have a position player to build around, and their farm system is considered to be middle-of-the-pack.

What the Giants do have, however, are major-league assets other teams value.

The first players any team would ask about are pitchers Logan Webb and Camilo Doval.

While they present the Giants’ two biggest homegrown success stories of their current generation of players (though both were acquired under the previous Brian Sabean/Bobby Evans administration), a team’s ace can only help them win every fifth day, and an electric closer’s value is wasted on a team that doesn’t consistently take leads into the late innings.

To help you imagine what might seem unthinkable, consider two moves involving the Seattle Mariners.

In 2017, the Mariners also finished third in their division and missed the playoffs. Their record (78-84) was only three games worse than the Giants in 2022. Like San Francisco, they also had a young, hard-throwing closer. His name was Edwin Diaz. While he has since turned into one of the game’s top relievers — signing a $105 million extension with the Mets this offseason — Diaz was able to net Seattle two top-100 prospects and unload Robinson Cano’s bloated contract.

At the trade deadline this past season, Seattle was in position to upgrade and acquired right-hander Luis Castillo from the Reds. At the time, Castillo was three years older than Webb today, with two fewer years of team control. The package still netted Cincinnati four players, including two top-100 prospects.

Of the remaining Giants, Alex Cobb would likely draw interest, given his strong underlying numbers from last season and the relatively affordable salary in comparison to this offseason’s red-hot pitching market. As would Thairo Estrada and Mike Yastrzemski, players still under club control who have proven to be productive major leaguers.

While moving any veterans — especially Webb or Doval — would signal that the Giants don’t intend to compete in 2023, it would allow them to give a full runway of playing time to prospects such as Heliot Ramos, David Villar, Kyle Harrison and, eventually, Marco Luciano.

3. Wait and see

At each of the past two trade deadlines, Zaidi has let the team’s direction dictate what he did.

When they were competing for the division in 2021, the Giants made a major splash by trading for Kris Bryant. Last season, when they had been reeling for a month before the deadline, they missed out on Juan Soto and waited too long to seriously listen on Carlos Rodón but ultimately dealt a few veterans in opportunistic swaps.

Zaidi could take the same approach this offseason.

The Giants marginally improved their lineup by adding Mitch Haniger, and their rotation — after the additions of Ross Stripling and Sean Manaea — appears to be fully formed.

Rather than panic and overpay — either for a free agent or trade target — in the wake of missing out on Judge and Correa, perhaps the smart move is to enter the season with the same core they have now and read the tea leaves in the final week of July.