The San Francisco Giants do not appear to be in any rush to fill their left-field vacancy with a high-profile signing.
The Giants likely have moved on from free agent Angel Pagan, who started 121 games in left field in 2016. San Francisco was linked to Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez earlier in the offseason, but those talks seem to have stalled, and the Giants have yet to make a notable push on the free agent market.
Jack Magruder of FanRag Sports says the Giants may continue to follow that policy as spring training approaches. “Given their strong starting pitching staff and an offense that leads with catcher Buster Posey, outfielder Hunter Pence, first baseman Brandon Belt and shortstop Brandon Crawford, the Giants may see no reason to rush into rash and/or high-dollar moves there,” writes Magruder.
At this stage, the Giants appear willing to enter spring training with in-house options Jarrett Parker and Mac Williamson competing for the starting job in left field.
That would seem to eliminate the Giants from any move on sluggers such as Mark Trumbo or Jose Bautista - at least for now. “The Giants are monitoring a buyers’ market and could make more moves in January,” reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Giants signed Justin Ruggiano and Michael Morse to minor-league deals last week, but both veterans are viewed as backup options.
-- Doug Mittler
