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So far this offseason, the Giants have made two significant upgrades to their starting rotation by signing Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto. While Bobby Evans and his front office could close up shop after those two moves, according to Buster Olney, they might not be done.
As of now, Gregor Blanco is the starting left fielder, but with Alex Gordon, Yoenis Cespedes, Dexter Fowler, Denard Span, Gerardo Parra, Justin Upton, Austin Jackson, and Ian Desmond still unsigned, the Giants could enter the market for one of them.
"With [Angel] Pagan penciled in to play center field with Blanco as a backup, the Giants could target a corner outfielder to play left field. But they also could go after one of the free agents capable of playing center field, like Fowler, and either shift Pagan to left field or use Fowler in left and have him available for center field in the event that Pagan's injury problems pop up again."
While this doesn't confirm that the Giants are talking with Fowler, it is worth noting that he was in the Bay Area last night watching the Warriors at Oracle Arena.
@warriors game with my guy @joemclean15 pic.twitter.com/VGYxC5sn0d
— Dexter Fowler (@DexterFowler) January 5, 2016
Besides wanting to upgrade their outfield this season, there's likely another factor at play behind San Francisco's desire to sign or trade for a player now. After 2016, both Blanco and Pagan will be free agents, and the upcoming class of available outfielders is not strong.
The top-tier group will be made up of Colby Rasmus, Carlos Gomez, Jay Bruce, and Josh Reddick. While each of them has their respective merits, that class of outfielders is undoubtedly a huge step down from Gordon, Upton, Cespedes, and Fowler.
Between the two free agent contracts, and Brandon Crawford's extension, the Giants have already committed $295 million to three players (although this figure could fall to around $200 million if Cueto opts out after 2017), but it appears they could still add to that total.