Qualities Posey, Giants will seek in free-agent hitters this offseason

Qualities Posey, Giants will seek in free-agent hitters this offseason originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Buster Posey will be busy in his first offseason as the Giants president of baseball operations.

San Francisco, on the heels of a disappointing 2024 MLB season, has plenty of holes to fill and improvements to make up and down its roster.

Posey spoke with reporters at the annual general managers meeting on Tuesday in San Antonio, where he discussed the Giants’ offseason approach and the type of players he and his front office will target, specifically on offense.

San Francisco will pursue hitters who “have a knack for finding the barrel,” Posey mentioned, while targeting multi-dimensional players who can add much-needed speed to the lineup.

“It goes without saying, Oracle Park is a historically tough place to hit homers,” Posey said. “Not that we’ll discount the value of the home run. But some complete players that can steal some bases and take the extra base when they need to and pressure. That’s the word that keeps coming up in my mind constantly. Being able to pressure the other teams in multiple ways other than waiting for the long ball.” (h/t the San Francisco Chronicle)

One position that many expect the Giants to upgrade this offseason is shortstop. Even with rookies Tyler Fitzgerald and Marco Luciano on the roster, it appears that Posey and the front office might look elsewhere for an everyday solution while the two promising infielders potentially transition to different positions.

“If we could find a shortstop that’d be great,” Posey said. “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.”

Two free-agent shortstops that already are being linked to the Giants are Willy Adames and Ha-Seong Kim, who both are above-average hitters with plus speed.

In 161 games last season, Adames batted .251/.331/.462 with 32 home runs, 112 RBI and 21 stolen bases. Kim, in a down year cut short due to a shoulder injury, hit just .233/.330/.370 with 11 home runs, 47 RBI and 22 stolen bases in 121 games.

As two of the top free agents on the market, Posey and the Giants will have plenty of competition for their services, if they indeed are interested.

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