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The Giants were as excited about the possibilities as many of their fans.
The San Francisco front office had a busy day Wednesday in agreeing to six deals with arbitration-eligible players and allowing five to hit free agency, including Tyler Anderson. It became a busy night, though, upon the group poring over the 50-plus-deep list of nontenders from other clubs.
“I do think there are some interesting names,” Farhan Zaidi said Thursday during the Giants’ “Chalk Talk @ Home” YouTube show. “Certainly some of the players on that list had health issues or other issues that led to the player being nontendered. … We made calls on quite a few guys last night.”
Calls that got GM Scott Harris into some trouble, so energized by some of the names he saw flash before him that he began dialing agents’ numbers quickly. One had to call him back the next morning and inform Harris that he had called at midnight. “Do you ever sleep?” the agent asked.
“I was personally excited by some of the names that were nontendered last night,” said Harris, formerly with the Cubs.
Chicago let go of lefty-hitting outfielder Kyle Schwarber, whose power fits anywhere though his glove might not make complete sense with the Giants. Others Chicago nontendered include center fielder Albert Almora and righty reliever Ryan Tepera, who also would fit a Giants need.
Twenty right-handed relievers were nontendered and are now there for the taking. Plenty of intriguing outfield bats, which include David Dahl, a 2019 All-Star and just 26 years old, are now free agents. A lefty-hitting catcher in Tony Wolters, too, should make the club take notice.
The rotation is the biggest need, and starters did not flood the market Wednesday, although free agency already had plenty of options. The Giants could use complementary offensive players, starters and right-handed relievers, and Wednesday’s deadline made this an even more fortuitous offseason for a team that has holes to fill and more money to spend than most.