Giants hit Florida with optimism, many needs

SAN FRANCISCO -- Though the Giants' bids to obtain Giancarlo Stanton and Shohei Ohtani fell short, maybe the timing was right.
The Giants officially ended their pursuit of a trade with Miami for the slugging Stanton on Friday, hours after Ohtani, the pitching/hitting phenom, announced that he had chosen the Angels ahead of six other teams, including San Francisco.
There was a redeeming aspect to this: With baseball's annual Winter Meetings set to begin in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on Sunday evening, the Giants can concentrate fully on obtaining less-celebrated but still-useful performers to upgrade the roster.
"Other scenarios as well exist that address our needs," Giants general manager Bobby Evans said.
Those needs are significant, given the Giants' last-place finish in the National League West in 2017. Their 64-98 record was their second worst since the franchise moved from New York in 1958.
The Giants need outfielders and a third baseman who can provide authoritative offense. They also seek depth for a bullpen that had relatively few leads to protect this year.
• Hot Stove Tracker
Evans won't be choosy about the method the Giants use in their attempts to add talent, whether it's through trade or free agency. They're already warmed up in both areas, so to speak, having tried to trade for Stanton and pluck Ohtani from free agency.
The Giants' reported willingness to pick up an ample portion of Stanton's contract, which has 10 years and $295 million remaining, indicated that money shouldn't be an issue.
"I think as a group we're optimistic that we're going to be able to address our needs," Evans said.
If the Giants don't engineer a deal here, they still have two offseason months and all of Spring Training left for shopping.