Tuesday evening, the San Francisco Giants finally landed the big-name free agent they have long craved, signing Korean star center fielder Jung Hoo Lee to a six-year contract. The $113 million contract comes with an $18.725 million posting fee, so all-in, the Giants are investing more than $130 million in the 25-year-old Lee, who possesses premium bat-to-ball ability.
Before signing Lee, the Giants made a serious run at two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, who signed with the NL West rival Los Angeles Dodgers. Ohtani's contract is worth $700 million, though significant deferrals -- Ohtani will be paid only $2 million annually over the next 10 years -- lowering the present-day value to $460 million, which is still the richest contract in MLB history.
Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi confirmed Tuesday that Ohtani made a recruiting visit to Oracle Park during his free agency, and the club offered the same contract Ohtani ultimately signed with the Dodgers. It was a $700 million contract with massive deferrals that would have left the team significant payroll room to improve the team around Ohtani.
"The proposal that was made was very comparable if not identical to what he wound up agreeing to," Zaidi said Tuesday (per the Associated Press and San Francisco Chronicle). "... We said we were agreeable to it. It was going to come down to a choice by the player at that point."
Ohtani made it clear winning is his priority and, frankly, the Giants have not done much winning lately. They did win 107 games and the NL West in 2021, though they went 81-81 in 2022 and 79-83 in 2023, and missed the postseason both years. That 2021 season is their only postseason trip in the last seven seasons. The Dodgers, meanwhile, have gone to the postseason every year since 2013.
The lack of team success the last few years meant the Giants were always facing an uphill battle with Ohtani, but of course, they were smart to make a run at him. You can't get him if you don't try, and the worst-case scenario is they made a division rival meet Ohtani's asking price to get him rather than get a deal on their terms. Valiant effort by the Giants, but no dice.
The Giants are in the mix for Japanese righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is likely to command a $300 million contract at this point. Landing him would be a major win for San Francisco, though they are facing stiff competition. The Dodgers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, and other big-market clubs are pursuing Yamamoto as well.
Ohtani, 29, hit an American League-leading 44 home runs while also throwing 132 innings with a 3.14 ERA in 2023. He was named AL MVP unanimously for the second time in three years.
