MLB free agency has begun, but there hasn’t been much movement thus far, especially for the Giants.
With the GM meetings in the rear view, things are expected to ramp up soon, and there are a number of big name free agents already linked to San Francisco.
New manager Bob Melvin joined KNBR on Thursday morning to discuss a few of those players, and while he had to keep things close to the vest, he some interesting information.
Notable were Melvin’s comments on third basemen Matt Chapman, who Melvin confirmed the Giants have been discussing, and who Melvin clearly wants to be reunited with.
“Obviously anybody would love to have a Matt Chapman,” Melvin told Murph & Mac. “We do have a few infielders, so we’d have to rearrange some things to bring Matt in, but that’s a name that’s come up, and certainly one I have history with and one that Matt Williams has history with. It’s just a matter of whether or not it’s a match because he’s going to have a bunch of teams that want his services.”
Speaking of players who other teams are looking at, the biggest fish by far is Shohei Ohtani, who the Giants have been linked to but almost never as the frontrunner. Much to the chagrin of Giants fans, the Dodgers are the favorites to sign Major League Baseball’s best player.
Melvin said that to his knowledge, conversations with Ohtani’s camp have yet to begin, but that he believes that’s the case across the board.
“Not yet,” Melvin said of discussions with Ohtani. “That’s kind of Farhan’s deal to when that potentially takes place. He’s going to drive that market, so when he’s available we’ll be listening. There might have been some ground work laid, but it has not crossed my desk.
“I’m not sure really who, if anybody, has, they’ll probably try to keep it quiet at a point in time when it starts to heat up, then you’ll hear about all the teams involved, but I’m not sure what his process is yet. Hopefully, we get a chance to talk to him.”
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