San Francisco Giants We head into this offseason with plenty of goals to improve on a club that has missed the play-offs in seven of the last eight seasons, but it’s no secret that one goal stands tall above the rest.

It’s not often that a player of Juan Soto’s caliber emerges at the young age of 26. Yankees The outfielder is the prize of this winter’s free agency, with some of the highest-profile teams in baseball in hot pursuit. Among those teams, count the Giants as San Francisco’s latest attempt to attract a superstar to the Bay Area.

While the actual ability to get him signed remains a question, Giants fans can take solace in the fact that the buzz tying the team to arguably the best hitter in baseball seems very real. Jon Heyman of the New York Post He named San Francisco as one of at least six teams in Southern California that would meet with Soto in person. Yankees, mets, Blue Jays, Red SoxAnd dodgers.

“The Giants, who have tried hard to acquire superstars through free agency and trades (Bryce Harper, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge to name a few) and the Red Sox, who have recently been ranked after major free agency, are also legitimate Soto players,” Heyman said. “They are seen,” he wrote.

San Francisco landing Soto would be the catalyst to get them back into the contender category. superstar checks all the boxes and was at his best when the lights were brightest, leading New York to the World Series in 2024 and practically winning the title. Washington Nationals He turned his back on his first championship in 2019.

The Giants have often had some disappointments around this time of year over the last decade, but Buster Posey Now responsibleThere is renewed optimism that San Francisco can finally get this done and sign the best free agent possible. This is the first big test of Posey’s tenure, and it looks like he has a pretty good chance.

When it comes to sending a player like Soto to teams with the highest payrolls in sports, all you can really want is a pretty good shot.