It’s probably not the jolt in morale the Giants clubhouse could use after the Carlos Correa debacle, but they added an outfielder who was an All-Star four years ago, and the twin brother of reliever Tyler Rogers, an All-Star in 2021.
San Francisco Giants fans will still likely spend their Christmas holiday stewing over how last week’s euphoria over the blockbuster $350 million Carlos Correa signing quickly turned into the rat scene from Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? And sure, the people who make memes are still having a field day with the Giants’ epic botching of the Correa deal that allowed the prize free agent to walk to the New York Mets for less money.
This absolutely wins. #sfgiants
— Doug Hayes (@SayHeyDoug) December 21, 2022
pic.twitter.com/F2U2XD79I1
But free agency does continue, even if it feels like the ice-cold stove league here in SF. And on Friday morning the Giants signed two of the better free agents still available. The problem is the sizable drop-off between Correa and what was left. And as the Bay Area News Group reports, the Giants just signed outfielder Michael Conforto and reliever Taylor Rogers. Both are former All-Stars, but they weren’t All-Stars last year. In fact, Conforto did not even play last year.
Twinning! Taylor Rogers is reportedly joining forces with brother Tyler in San Francisco. 👀 pic.twitter.com/2xYaTcsCV1
— MLB (@MLB) December 23, 2022
Sure, there is some novelty value to the fact that Taylor Rogers is the identical twin brother of current Giants reliever Tyler Rogers. And the newer Taylor Rogers did make the All-Star team in 2021 with the (haha!) Minnesota Twins, but they still dealt him to the Padres that following offseason, and the Padres then shipped Rogers to Milwaukee as part of the Josh Hader deal this past August.
Conforto, meanwhile, was an All-Star in 2017 for the Mets, but missed all of the 2022 season recovering from shoulder surgery. The one bright side here may be that Conforto’s agent is Scott Boras, whom the Giants left at the altar by backing out on Correa, so maybe there’s some improvement in that relationship.
will the sf giants be good next year?
— James Brady (@jamesbradyisme) December 21, 2022
no
BUT!
will they be entertaining next year?
also no
But the Bay Area News Group points out the obvious. “After a failed physical scuttled Correa’s agreement in San Francisco, it might seem perplexing that the Giants’ other two biggest free-agent agreements came with [outfielder Mitch] Haniger, who has played 100 games twice in six big-league seasons, and Conforto, who missed all of last year after undergoing surgery on his right shoulder,” the News Group notes.
And yes I realize this may be a sore topic right about now for Giants fans, but these two deals are not final until the players pass their physical exams.
Related: Giant Screw-Up: Giants Lose Free Agent Mega-Acquisition Carlos Correa to Mets [SFist]
Images: (Left) D. Benjamin Miller, (Right) Ryan Casey Aguinaldo, both via Wikimedia Commons