By @BrooksKnudsen
In this “Most Wanted Free Agent” series, I’m continuing my trend of writing about players I believe have a strong chance of choosing San Francisco as their new home. There are a lot of desirable starting pitchers on the market, but one player checks off a lot of boxes for the Giants front office: Affordable, won’t require more than a 3-year commitment, keeps the ball on the ground and in the ballpark, can slot into the #2 or #3 spot in the rotation, and won’t cost a draft pick and international bonus pool money since he did not receive a Qualifying Offer.
WHY HE FITS
32 year old Marcus Stroman elected to opt-out of his final year with the Cubs and is very likely looking for another multi-year deal, capitalizing on his All-Star 2023 campaign. Farhan Zaidi pursued the right-hander a couple years ago before he eventually landed in Chicago. There was speculation that the Giants were a legitimate contender for Stro’s services, especially due to his favorable comments in early 2022 regarding Logan Webb.
“Logan is honestly one of my favorite pitchers. I feel we’re similar, sinker-slider guys. We’re guys that don’t necessarily fit the mold of pitchers today. To see his success last year was pretty incredible. He’s somebody that wants to learn, he’s always adapting and changing. I think he’s going to have an incredible career.”
Marcus extended his praise to the Giants, tweeting:
“Loved the front office of the Giants. They’re all amazing truly. Just didn’t work out in the end but I was beyond impressed with their approach and mindset from the top down. So much respect for how they run their organization. Top-notch! @SFGiants”
That was in response to a fan on Twitter, which he could’ve easily ignored altogether. Of course, complimenting an organization doesn’t mean a contract will be signed, but the Giants have been known to sign players that want to be in SF — opposed to over-spending to lure the opposite. Stroman can possibly give the Giants similar production in his early-mid 30’s as Alex Cobb has.
PROJECTED CONTRACT
MLB Trade Rumors: 2 years, $44M
My Prediction: 3 years, $69M
CHANCE OF PLAYER JOINING THE GIANTS
On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being highly unlikely and 5 being very likely:
4
Obviously I think this is a terrific fit between player and club. The only thing keeping me from choosing a 5 is the fact that the Giants have been said to be prioritizing a front-line Ace starting pitcher, and Stroman might end up signing while San Francisco is still shopping at the Tier 1 store. But if the Giants want another shot at adding Stroman to their rotation, they should probably have Webb send him a text.
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