Getty If Giants manager Bob Melvin needs more offense for his lineup by midseason, could Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. be a real target?
The San Francisco Giants upgraded their 2024 lineup quite a bit. It’s included the additions of Jung Hoo Lee, Jorge Soler and Matt Chapman to boost the offense. However, the club still doesn’t know what it’ll get from Marco Luciano at shortstop this year. Could that pave the way for president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi to acquire Ha-Seong Kim from the San Diego Padres before this summer’s trade deadline?
Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer cooked up eight blockbuster trade scenarios he’d like to see happen in 2024. Sending Kim from San Diego to San Francisco was one of them.
“As to this next idea, a big part of what’s so fun about it is how many familiar faces Ha-Seong Kim would be surrounded by if he ended up on the Giants,” he said. “They’re skippered by Bob Melvin, who managed Kim for two years with the San Diego Padres and apparently quite liked doing so. The Giants also have Jung Hoo Lee, who’s good friends with Kim from their days with the Kiwoom Heroes in Korea.”
Kim is entering the fourth season of a four-year, $28 million deal. There’s also a $7 million mutual option available for 2025, per Spotrac. Kim posted career-high marks in OPS (.749), home runs (17) and RBI (60) in 2023. He finished 14th in National League MVP Award voting and took home his first Gold Glove Award.
Giants Would Have a Golden Left Side of the Infield
Even if Kim ended up being a half-year rental, the left side of San Francisco’s infield would be insane.
The 28-year-old shortstop would be playing alongside Chapman, who will man third base. He also plans to become a free agent next winter, but he brings plenty of defensive hardware with him to the Bay. Chapman is a four-time Gold Glove winner, most recently winning the honors in 2023 with the Toronto Blue Jays. He’s also captured two Platinum Glove Awards. This is given to the best defensive player among that year’s Gold Glove winners.
Rymer noted that Kim and Chapman would be joined by second baseman Thairo Estrada, who is also an elite defender. If the Giants either can’t pry Willy Adames away from the Milwaukee Brewers or want to switch gears, getting a superior defender like Kim would be the way to go. It would benefit a starting rotation that is also entering 2024 with some questions.
Would the Padres Make a Deal With San Francisco?
The Padres and Giants are kind of in a similar situation. San Francisco has made more improvements this offseason than San Diego. However, both National League West squads are looking up at the Los Angeles Dodgers in projected standings. Then there’s the Arizona Diamondbacks, who made improvements after reaching the 2023 World Series.
Would the Padres trade away one of their best players to a division rival, though? It’s certainly not unheard of, but it’s not a preferred scenario for any club trying to offload an attractive trade chip.
San Diego might be OK with it, mostly because of what already happened after the 2023 season. Bob Melvin was the Padres’ skipper for the past two years (2022-23). Once his tenure with the club ended, he immediately became the Giants’ new manager. While it’s a different situation, one would imagine the Padres front office either knew that’d happen or knew the chances were very high. They might not want to keep sending personnel to the Bay, but it can’t be ruled out. Especially if San Francisco offers an attractive trade package.