Jorge Soler Officially Joins SF Giants: End of Offseason Spending Spree?

The San Francisco Giants officially added Jorge Soler over the weekend, but does it mean they're done spending money? Farhan Zaidi met with the media and said something that could be interpreted two different ways. On its face, he said that the Giants making more significant additions was "unlikely" due to where we are in the calendar. On the other hand, Zaidi said, "Anybody who’s a free agent, we’ve theoretically had three and a half months to figure out a deal and if it hasn’t happened yet, at some point organizationally, you just need to turn the page and focus on the players you have" (courtesy of The S.F. Chronicle). That comment could suggest that the SF Giants have simply been unwilling to meet Scott Boras' high asking prices.

Notoriously, Boras has four of the top free agents from this class who are still unsigned: Blake Snell, Matt Chapman, Cody Bellinger, and Jordan Montgomery. It's not clear whether or not the Giants are done spending, but their current projected payroll of about $164M is right in line with where it's been every year over the last five years, except for 2023 when it was about $30 million higher. That catch? Last year, every team received $30 million from MLB due to its $900 million sale of BAMTech to Disney. So the Giants may in fact be operating under a self-imposed cap of about $165 million.

Switching gears, Pablo Sandoval—yes, the Panda himself—is in major league camp as a non-roster invitee. It's a completely risk-free move and not a publicity stunt. Sandoval wants to play in the big leagues again, and he is in really good shape and has been playing professionally in Dubai and Mexico in recent years. Sandoval expressed a willing to go to the minor leagues and a desire to mentor young players such as Marco Luciano and fellow Venezuelan Luis Matos.

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