While it’s been a relatively quiet offseason for the San Francisco Giants, that can quickly change as several of the league’s top free agents remain unsigned. One of those free agents is Cody Bellinger, whom the Giants reportedly still have interest in.
San Francisco’s interest in Bellinger goes back to at least the MLB Winter Meetings.
Scott Boras Previously Connected the San Francisco Giants to Cody Bellinger
San Francisco’s interest in Bellinger is not new.
During a December episode of the Splash Hit Territory podcast with FP Santangelo, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle mentioned that at the Winter Meetings, agent Scott Boras mentioned the Giants as a team tied to Bellinger. “He did connect the Giants pretty firmly with Cody Bellinger,” Slusser said.
It’s a good fit. As Slusser noted, Bellinger would give the Giants a heavy upgrade in the outfield.
“To me, [Bellinger] would basically fill two huge needs, the defense, obviously, in the outfield, and he’s also a pretty good offensive player.” Slusser said.Play
Given the struggles the Giants have had with finding power, it’s easy to be drawn into what Bellinger could offer in that area. After all, he won the 2019 National League MVP thanks largely to a 47-home run season.
That said, Bellinger posted .272/.334/.480 slash line with 29 home runs with the New York Yankees in 2025. The 29 home runs were his high since the 2019 season. And when factoring how much tougher Oracle Park is on hitters (especially left-handed hitters) than Yankee Stadium, expectations around what kind of power Bellinger would bring should be tempered.
The bigger upgrade Bellinger would bring to the outfield is on defense.
Giants Outfield Defense Was Miserable in 2025
Following the 2025 season, Maria Guardado of MLB.com detailed struggles by pointing out that the San Francisco outfield posted “-18 Outs Above Average in 2025,” adding that “Heliot Ramos’ struggles in left field (-9 OAA) were particularly pronounced.”
Bellinger can play all three outfield positions and can play them well. He’d likely play in either center field or right field, with Jung Hoo Lee manning the other spot. And while that wouldn’t necessarily fix the Ramos problem in left field, it would make it easier for Tony Vitello to use Luis Matos or Drew Gilbert as a late-inning replacement.
Finally, while it’s best to have moderate expectations regarding what Bellinger could do offensively in San Francisco, the Giants got only 11 home runs from their centerfielders in 2025 and only 15 from their rightfielders. Both numbers ranked in the bottom 10 of MLB.
Even with an expected dip, Bellinger would be a vast improvement.
