Why re-signing Kris Bryant appears to be low on the SF Giants’ list of offseason priorities

SAN FRANCISCO — Fewer than three weeks after being traded from the Cubs to the Giants, Kris Bryant was pressed about his future.

The former National League MVP and World Series champion was off to an outstanding start with his new club as Bryant endeared himself to the Giants by batting .321 with a .948 OPS in his first 15 games. He spoke glowingly of his new city, his new organization and his new teammates, who were thrilled to add an impact middle-of-the-order bat in their quest for a NL West title.

For all the mutual goodwill that existed, Bryant had to be looking forward to free agency. Right? There was no way his agent, Scott Boras, would let Bryant consider signing a contract extension before hitting the open market. Right?

“I run the show,” Bryant said definitively.

At the time, it seemed as if Bryant could be a key part of the Giants’ next core, and that both he and members of the team’s front office were excited about the possibility of building upon an already strong relationship.

From that point forward, Bryant hit .248 with a .720 OPS while struggling defensively at multiple position in a way that will undoubtedly give the Giants caution regarding a possible reunion heading into the offseason. Bryant was the team’s best hitter aside from catcher Buster Posey during the Giants’ best-of-five NLDS series against the Dodgers, but it will be difficult for the front office to shake the reality that Bryant’s tenure in San Francisco could be described as underwhelming.

He battled throwing issues at third base, showed limited range in the outfield, and had trouble tracking down flyballs in right field inside the challenging confines at Oracle Park. The Giants touted Bryant’s defensive versatility and Bryant deserves credit for being willing to move around the diamond on a daily basis to allow the team to start its best possible lineup, but his defense was more of a liability than an asset during a 51-game stint in San Francisco.

Bryant’s bat, while still above average, wasn’t on par with some of the Giants’ top second-half performers.

“Looking at his stretch with us, I know there was a lot of talk on how he got off to a good start, homered his first game, and then his numbers weren’t quite at the same level in September,” Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said. “But that’s the reality of a really small sample. When you’ve got traded at the deadline, you’ve got two months with a team, 50-to-60 games and every player is going to have hot and cold spells.”

At the Giants’ end-of-season news conference on Monday, Zaidi hinted that while signing Bryant to a long-term deal is a consideration, it’s not as much of a priority as building around Posey, re-signing Brandon Belt and fortifying a rotation that’s essentially a blank slate behind ace Logan Webb.

“For us, the move at the deadline was really about pushing chips in with this team, which we thought was a really special team and had a chance to do some special things and did,” Zaidi said. “But we recognize that (Bryant is) a superstar talent and it’s going to be a really competitive market for his services. I’m sure we’ll have conversations there, but he’s going to have a long line of suitors.”

While it’s true Bryant’s strong offensive track record and ability to play a variety of positions will make him one of the most coveted free agents this winter, it’s fair to wonder whether the Giants would be best served committing more than $100 million to Bryant, who turns 30 in January. Boras will assuredly seek a nine-figure deal with a length of at least five years, and while the Giants can absolutely afford that type of a contract, they may prefer using their newfound payroll flexibility to add multiple established starting pitchers and find other upgrades to the position player side of their roster.

One name to monitor if the Giants don’t bring back Bryant is Dodgers utility man Chris Taylor, who can play all the same positions as Bryant plus shortstop, and has posted an above-league-average OPS in five straight seasons. At 31, Taylor is expected to be far less expensive than Bryant in free agency and he has a relationship with Zaidi dating back to their time together in Los Angeles.

It’s still possible Bryant ends up back in San Francisco, but a deal to bring him back would likely be made later in the offseason and could be an indication the slugger’s market didn’t develop as Boras anticipated. Zaidi has been reluctant to sign players to longer-term deals, so while the Giants may have no qualms about paying $25-to-$30 million per year to keep Bryant, they’d likely prefer to do so over a three-to-four year period as opposed to a five-to-six year timeframe.