“Upgrade to Lee for five years, $50 million and Kevin Kiermaier for two years, $26 million.”
The San Francisco Giants are the most active club in the 2023-2024 free agent market. Most of their biggest free agents are locked up. The Giants are making a concerted effort to sign Shohei Ohtani, 29, and are reportedly interested in starting pitchers Blake Snell, 31, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 25, and outfielder Cody Bellinger, 28.굿모닝토토 도메인
The San Francisco Chronicle made it clear what San Francisco’s priorities are on the 19th (KST). The first priority is Ohtani, and if that doesn’t work out, they’ll look at Lee Jung-hoo (25) and Kevin Kiermaier (33), while ruling out Bellinger and Yamamoto.
“Let’s say the Giants can’t sign Ohtani for $500 million, who else could they sign, and the competition would be fiercer, with many teams involved, including the obvious front-runners, the Los Angeles Dodgers,” the San Francisco Chronicle wrote.
It’s a sobering thought from the San Francisco Chronicle. The Giants, along with the New York Mets and Texas Rangers, are considered the Dodgers’ main competition in the Ohtani bidding war. But the logic goes that if you’re actually going to miss out on Ohtani, you need to have a Plan B in place.
President Farhan Zaidi has said that the team needs to bolster its defense in center field in preparation for free agency. To that end, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, “With the need for better defense in the outfield, especially in center field, let’s upgrade South Korea’s Jung-Hoo Lee to five years and $50 million and four-time Gold Glove winner Kevin Kiermaier to two years and $26 million.”
Lee is projected to get a five-year, $90 million deal from CBS Sports. By comparison, the San Francisco Chronicle’s five-year, $50 million deal is a bargain. But it’s significant because it recognizes Lee’s defensive prowess. If this scenario is realistic, then San Francisco’s love for Lee Jeong-hoo outweighs other clubs.
San Francisco outfielder Michael Conforto has decided to stay instead of opting out. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the addition of Lee could open the door for Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Slater to be traded.