Buster Posey knows from first-hand experience the value of a good shortstop.
For nearly his entire playing career, Posey shared the field alongside Brandon Crawford, whose elite defense made him arguably the Giants’ best shortstop of the modern era. As Posey starts his tenure as San Francisco’s president of baseball operations, finding his shortstop of the future is, unsurprisingly, one of his top priorities.
“If we could find a shortstop that’d be great,” Posey told reporters at the GM Meetings in San Antonio. “Tyler Fitzgerald did a great job at short last year. I think he has value and in multiple spots on the field. I do think it’s hard to play multiple spots at the same time during the season. Whether he’d be better suited to play second base long-term is a discussion we’re having.”
At a glance, Fitzgerald played well enough as a rookie to enter next year as the favorite for starting shortstop, hitting 15 homers, swiping 17 bases and posting an .831 OPS over 96 games. But there are some concerns with Fitzgerald under the hood, namely in his strikeout rate (31.7%) and below-average exit velocity (22nd percentile), among other metrics. Following a year where he spent time at first base, second base, third base, shortstop, left field and center field, San Francisco could potentially use Fitzgerald in a super-utility role.
As far as Marco Luciano? Following a rocky season where he was a below-average hitter (.562 OPS) and below-average defender (-3 defensive runs saved at shortstop) while bouncing between San Francisco and Triple-A Sacramento, the 23-year-old’s future will be in the outfield, according to Posey. Luciano has exclusively played either second base or shortstop in the majors and minors.
The most straightforward route to acquiring a shortstop is the free-agent market, the two biggest names being Willy Adames and Ha-Seong Kim. Adames is set up to receive the bigger deal of the two, likely in the neighborhood of Matt Chapman’s six-year, $151 million extension. The payday will be well earned.
In a golden age of shortstops, Adames, 29, has quietly been one of baseball’s best over the last half-decade, ranking ninth among all shortstops in WAR (20.1, per FanGraphs). Last season, Adames put up career-highs in games played (161), homers (32), RBIs (112), steals (21) and WAR (4.8). His defense rated oddly poorly last season (-16 defensive runs saved, zero outs above average), but year-to-year aberrations are not uncommon.
If Adames doesn’t sign with the Giants, there’s a strong possibility he could still land in the NL West. The Dodgers, unsurprisingly, have been linked to Adames, and following a billion-dollar offseason that resulted in a World Series title, Los Angeles is poised to flex its financial muscle yet again.
While Adames stands to receive nine figures, Kim enters free agency at an interesting juncture. Kim, 29, underwent labrum surgery on his right shoulder in October that will likely sideline him until late April or early May, which will likely impact the type of contract he gets this offseason.
The majority of Kim’s value stems from his defense and baserunning. Over his four-year major-league career, Kim has accumulated 48 defensive runs saved — 24 at shortstop, 15 at second base, nine at third base — and 78 steals. Combine his glove and speed with a slightly above-average bat (103 OPS+ from 2022-24) and Kim represents an upgrade.
The Giants have several factors working in their favor as far as recruiting Kim. For one, Kim and Jung Hoo Lee were teammates in the KBO, and Lee has voiced his desire to play alongside Kim in the States. Kim played under Giants manager Bob Melvin in 2022 and ‘23 as well.
If Posey and new general manager Zack Minasian are unable to acquire a shortstop through free agency, the next best avenue is through the trade market. But as things stand, the market for available shortstops appears very thin.
Entering the offseason, the Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette stood out as a trade option after being the subject of rumors during last season’s trade deadline. Bichette played just 81 games in 2024 due to injuries, but the 26-year-old has been one of baseball’s better hitting shortstops (.798 OPS) when healthy. Bichette, though, likely won’t be going anywhere as Blue Jays’ general manager Ross Atkins told MLB Network’s Jon Morosi that his answer to any trade inquiries on Bichette would be “an easy no.”
Additional notes
- Michael Schwartze, the Giants’ director of analytics under former president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, is joining the Atlanta Braves. Pete Putila, San Francisco’s GM in 2022 and 2023, recently joined the Braves as well.
- Of Blake Snell, agent Scott Boras said, “The Snelling salts have created a lot of whiffs. The market has definitely awakened to Blake Snell.” Snell exercised his opt out and became a free agent after one year with the Giants.
