San Francisco Giants and the offseason of almost

The old saying is that close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Unfortunately, the same can apply to the San Francisco Giants’ offseason.

The Giants had an impressive offseason for just under a combined week. First, they had Aaron Judge (or, rather, Arson Judge) for exactly seven minutes before Jon Heyman took that report back. Judge signed with the Yankees the following morning after calling Hal Steinbrenner directly saying he wanted to stay in New York.

San Francisco Giants could not seal the deal when it mattered

It seemed as though they finally had their cornerstone player in Carlos Correa. After several attempts at bringing in a star, one was finally willing to come to San Francisco. The Giants even used Correa in an advertisement sent out on Tuesday for ticket sales. That proved to be as premature as their scheduled press conference as questions about Correa’s medicals put the deal on hold. Then, Steve Cohen and the Mets swooped in at 3:00 AM to bring Correa to Queens.

The Giants were able to get some players to take their money. Mitch Haniger came to town on a three year deal. Ross Stripling and Sean Manaea signed identical contracts to bolster their pitching staff. Some progress was made towards actually improving the roster.

But those moves do not even count as a consolation prize at this juncture. They are a reminder of what the Giants’ offseason could have been, how they came agonizingly close to an impressive haul, only to see those dreams disappear. It was almost a great offseason, but almost does not put fans in the stands or a higher number in the win column.

The San Francisco Giants thought they had their man twice in free agency. Instead, Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa made it the offseason of almost.