When the New York Yankees Aaron Judge was a free agent he passed on the San Francisco Giants and re upped with the Yankees shortly there after. (AP News photo)

Giants: Looking for the next Barry Bonds?

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

Over the last few years, the San Francisco Giants have attempted to sign some of the game’s biggest superstars, players who will truly bring fans to Oracle Park and, most importantly, lead the team to another World Series. No disrespect to Dominican-born Rafael Devers, who was acquired in a midseason trade from the Boston Red Sox; he is a very good player, but he is not in the same category as the ones you will see listed below.

Everybody will probably agree that the San Francisco Giants haven’t had a great player since Barry Bonds, a real superstar, who retired in 2007 after 22 years in the Major Leagues. No disrespect to Buster Posey, as good as he was, possibly Hall of Famer, but Bonds was in a much higher category of talent. As a business, baseball teams like to contract big stars.

The Giants signed future Hall of Fame pitcher Justin Verlander. It is good to have that talent; however, this should be Verlander’s last season with the Giants, and maybe his last season, period.

Verlander’s signing might have sold more tickets, because everybody wants to see successful players. However, with the Giants to this day, Justin Verlander is 1-10 with a 4.64 earned run average. Here is something that might surprise you: in World Series games, Verlander has a record of 1 win and 6 losses with a 4.64 earned run average.

Looking for that one big star, the Giants tried to sign these.

1-Aaron Judge.(No chance) He chose to stay with the Yankees, the team he had played for throughout his career. While the Giants made a strong offer, potentially matching the Padres’ offer of 10 years, $400 million, Judge’s preference was to remain in New York. Who can blame him?

The Yankees are the home of the sluggers and home to 27 World Series titles. When the Giants were trying to bring him to the Bay Area, I said it was never going to happen. He is a New York Yankee in the tradition of the great players like Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Maris, Berra, Jeter, etc. There was no reason he was coming to San Francisco (even though he was born 95 miles from San Francisco in Linden). California. However, in baseball and business, New York is New York.

2-Shohei Ohtani (No chance) The Giants said they were offering him a contract that was very similar to, if not identical to, the one he ultimately signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers (In the $700s million range). President of baseball operations, Farhan Zaidi, confirmed that they met with Ohtani and his representatives and were willing to match the Dodgers’ offer, including the deferred money, according to MLB.com.

Ultimately, Ohtani chose to sign with the Dodgers. Why? Said he preferred LA to SF. Note: ESPN reported that the Giants’ offer was identical to the one made by the Dodgers. Ohtani went Hollywood. I first met him and interviewed Ohtani “Showtime” as a rookie with the LA Angels in 2018 at Anaheim. Very smart and pleasant player.

3-Carlos Correa (Not meant to be). He had a deal with the Giants in place for a 13-year, $350 million contract, but it fell through due to concerns about a surgically repaired ankle, and the Giants stated that he had failed his physical.

However, the Correa story continued in 2025, as he had played for the Minnesota Twins and was currently with the Houston Astros, whom he had played for from 2012 to 2015, before joining the Twins. Carlos Correa, who is beloved in Houston, hit a home run in his first at-bat with the Houston Astros just days after being traded from Minnesota.

This Puerto Rican story is as long as his full legal name, which is Carlos Javier Correa Oppenheimer Jr., and yes, he has seen the movie.

4-Juan Soto (Never close) There were rumors that the Giants were interested in Juan Soto, a free agent, but they did not make a strong push for him. Although all roads ended with a group of 10 different teams, Juan Soto landed in the Big Apple, and the New York Mets, secured him with a record-breaking contract for 15 years and $765 million, although he was jumping like a kangaroo from team to team, 2022-23 Padres and 2024 Yankees, he broke the Piñata with the Mets, where he is playing today, and will probably see him in the Playoffs. These Giants.

In 2025, they were not picked to win the NL West, but nobody expected them to be in 4th place at this time of the year. Buster Posey and company have a lot of work to do to improve this team. The mid-season acquisition of Rafael Devers did not change the chemistry of that lineup, and Willy Adames is having a better second half, but the team is not. There are only three ways you can find a superstar.

1-You develop him..

2-You trade for him.

3-You sign him as a Free Agent. Everybody will probably agree that the San Francisco Giants haven’t had a great player since Barry Bonds, who retired in 2007 after 22 years in the Major Leagues. The Giants initially drafted Barry Bonds out of high school in 1982 at Junípero Serra High in San Mateo (the same school as Tom Brady), but the Giants did not sign him due to a contract dispute over $5,000.

Bonds went on to play college ball at Arizona State University, hitting .347 with 45 home runs and 175 RBI. In 1984, he batted .360 and stole 30 bases. In 1985, hit 23 home runs with 66 RBI and a .368 average. That year, Bonds was a Sporting News All-American.

He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1992, and in 1993, the Giants signed him as a free agent to a record-breaking six-year, $43.75 million contract. The rest is history. For the Giants today, 2025 it’s “Wait ‘Till Next Year”. Probably the most used phrase for a bunch of teams around mid-August and September.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.

While in the Bay Area, great food and great prices. 998cuba.com