The San Francisco Giants enter this offseason looking to rebound from a 65-97 season that left them well out of contention in the NL West, and their projected outfield alignment of Casey Schmitt in left, Drew Gilbert in center and Jung Hoo Lee in right, with Bryce Eldridge as the designated hitter, leaves room for an external addition that could elevate the group.
Schmitt held his own in left field across more than 230 innings, though the defensive metrics were not particularly strong, and he profiles more naturally as a corner infielder or designated hitter given the presence of Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman and Eldridge.
That versatility could make him a trade candidate rather than a locked-in everyday outfielder.
In ranking potential landing spots for the Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ, Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter highlighted the Giants as a plausible fit precisely because of that flexibility and the club’s recent willingness to spend.
Reuter noted that while San Francisco still needs reinforcement behind Logan Webb in the rotation, either Happ’s defensive reliability or Suzuki’s power could deliver a meaningful lift to an underperforming lineup that finished near the bottom of the league in several offensive categories.
Happ, a four-time Gold Glove winner, would address the spacious dimensions at Oracle Park by providing reliable coverage in left field and steady production even after a down year at the plate that still yielded 55 extra-base hits.
Suzuki, coming off a 131 OPS+ season with 26 home runs and a career-high 5.1 WAR, would slot into the middle of the order alongside Devers and Willy Adames and give the Giants a proven right-handed run producer.
Any pursuit of Suzuki would come at a significant cost.
Spotrac projects the 32-year-old to land a four-year, $109.9 million contract, an average annual value north of $27 million that represents a substantial raise over the $17 million average of his previous deal with Chicago.
For a Giants club that already carries sizable commitments to Devers, Adames, Chapman and Lee, that figure would test ownership’s appetite for another long-term bat while the pitching staff remains the clearer priority.
Signing Happ on a shorter or more modest deal might represent the more practical path, allowing San Francisco to upgrade defense and depth without crowding the payroll further or blocking younger options such as Gilbert.
Either addition would alter the projected outfield and force decisions on Schmitt’s role, yet both address real shortcomings exposed during a season marked by injuries and inconsistent production.
The Giants have shown in recent winters that they are willing to spend when the fit makes sense, and Reuter’s ranking places them in the mix because the need is genuine and the financial flexibility, while constrained by the rotation, is not nonexistent.
Whether they ultimately prioritize a defensive upgrade in Happ or the power bat in Suzuki, the open market offers a chance to reshape an outfield that underwhelmed and to give the lineup a more consistent middle-order presence as they try to climb out of the bottom half of the division.
