Farhan Zaidi said on Thursday that there wasn’t a high likelihood that the Giants would make a splash signing for a position player. It sounds like that could change if the position player in question is willing to make it work.
That would have to be the case for Trevor Story, the former Rockies shortstop who is currently a free agent. Jon Heyman reported on Thursday that the Giants are among four finalists to sign Story, who would be willing to change positions if necessary.
If Story, 29, is going to come to an agreement with the Giants, a positional change would be necessary. Story has played every game of his career at shortstop, but wouldn’t be in a position to usurp Brandon Crawford who is coming off an MVP-caliber season. The likely fit would be at second base, after Donovan Solano’s departure and with Tommy LaStella still rehabbing after an Achilles surgery.
Story, a two time All-Star, has put up excellent numbers during his time in Colorado, but his home-away splits are cause for some concern. Story’s career .OPS away from Coors Field is a whooping 200 points lower — a slash line of .241/.310/.442 as compared with .303/.369/.603 at home. That probably means the Giants are looking to pay well below Story’s projected market value of around $30 million per year.
The Giants most lucrative position-player signing so far this offseason is Joc Pederson, who inked a one-year deal worth $6 million.
