Here are the top free agents the SF Giants have been linked to

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The San Francisco Giants are expected to spend big this offseason and are linked to some of the biggest names in free agency. 

From Bryce Harper to Aaron Judge, to Carlos Correa, the Giants have a habit of getting left at the altar by baseball’s biggest names. (Or in Correa’s case, saying “I do,” only to turn around and instantly demand an annulment.)

The Giants have yet to ink a true marquee free agent during the Farhan Zaidi era, but that doesn’t stop them from getting linked to every player in the rumor mill. This offseason is shaping up to be no different. 

Over at The Athletic, former MLB general manager Jim Bowden’s list of the top 40 free agents includes the Giants as a “best fit” for a whopping 15 different players.

The list includes seemingly the only superstar free agent on the market in Shohei Ohtani, but also has every other partial big-name player available: outfielder Cody Bellinger, third baseman Matt Chapman, starting pitchers Aaron Nola, Blake Snell, Sonny Gray, Jordan Montgomery and even international stars like Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Korean outfielder Jung-hoo Lee.

Two of MLBTR’s three experts see the Giants landing Bellinger, who MLBTR predicts will receive a 12-year, $264 million contract (Bowden expects Bellinger to sign a more reasonable six-year, $144 million deal). All three experts predict they’ll sign Yamamoto, Montgomery and/or Chapman to nine-figure deals.

Bowden’s list also included Michael Conforto on the theory he would opt out of his final year with the Giants, but Conforto decided not to on Monday, meaning he’ll be back in San Francisco and make $18 million.

That amount of money, along with Ross Stripling’s expected return at a salary of $12.5 million, means the Giants already have more than $100 million committed to just nine players on the 2024 roster.

Undoubtedly, signing Ohtani — or perhaps signing some combination of Bellinger, Yamamoto, Chapman and/or Lee — would bring a much needed jolt of electricity to the Giants fan base. But it’s hard to say that the ownership is building up that expectation, given team chairman Greg Johnson’s “somewhat break even” statement from the Bob Melvin introductory presser.

Since Farhan Zaidi has taken over, the largest contract the Giants have handed out is still a three-year, $42 million deal to Mitch Haniger. If history is any indication, Zaidi’s team won’t be signing the top-level guys. 

Much to Giants fans’ dismay, the industry agrees on the clear prize of this free agency period: All three of MLBTR’s experts say Ohtani will sign with the hated Dodgers. 

But until the moment the ink is dry, the chance will still persist — and what good is the offseason if not to prepare to get hurt again? And for now, Giants fans can at least enjoy some bliss without a former manager who is getting weirder and weirder by the day.