SF Giants mailbag: Which free-agent shortstop (Turner, Bogaerts, Correa, Swanson) could SF prioritize?

The San Francisco Giants will enter the offseason motivated to fix what went wrong in 2022. They'll have money to spend and talent on which to spend it. Which of the free-agent shortstops will the SF Giants prioritize? Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, and Dansby Swanson all figure to hit the open market (Bogaerts and Correa have opt-outs that will need to be exercised first). The Giants really can't go wrong with this group of players, but the priorities should be one of Turner, Bogaerts, and Correa. Not only are these three able to impact the game defensively, but they're also middle-of-the-order bats.

Was 2021 the aberration or was 2022 the aberration? The boring answer is that neither was an aberration. The Giants got what they deserved in 2021 and they've deserved their record in 2022 as well. The issue appears to be that the 2021 performance was not sustainable; so in a way, last year was more of an aberration than this year. But they got legitimately great performances out of many players last year, and a lot of those players have regressed and gotten older in 2022. The Giants will need to upgrade their team in the offseason if they hope to contend in 2023.

Why aren't the SF Giants linked to Justin Verlander more often? He would make a lot of sense on a short-term deal but smart money would have him returning to Houston. Will the San Francisco Giants do what it takes to bring back Carlos Rodón? After what happened with Kevin Gausman last offseason (the Giants didn't make him an offer, per Gausman), it's not a safe assumption that they will pony up for Rodón. Short-term deals for pitchers may continue to be the Giants' preference, and there are options (Jacob deGrom, Verlander).

Also discussed: do Giants chairman Greg Johnson's comments suggest the team is more interested in being a middling playoff team than a World Series contender? Who are four position players who won't be back on the Giants next season?

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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

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