Theories abound as to why the San Francisco Giants surprisingly gave Joc Pederson a $19.65 million qualifying offer. Joc Pederson said towards the end of the year that he was very disappointed with how the SF Giants' season had gone, and that he wants more than anything to play in the playoffs. With that in mind, did the San Francisco Giants give Joc Pederson the qualifying offer because they were certain he'd reject it to sign with a more obvious playoff team?

What pair would be better for the SF Giants: Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo, or Carlos Correa and Carlos Rodón? Both combinations are projected to produce about 10 fWAR in 2023, but at their predicted contracts, Judge would be getting a nine-year deal. Correa is also projected to land a deal of about nine years, but he is 2.5 years younger than Judge. If Judge does in fact command nine years, the Correa/Rodón pairing is more attractive. Neither would cost the Giants a draft pick, either, whereas both Judge and Rizzo would cost the SF Giants a significant pick.

Speaking of Aaron Judge, would he really help the San Francisco Giants get "younger and more athletic"? It's worth pointing out that Giants president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi made it clear that they don't necessarily need to get "younger", but they do need to have players that are more durable. Judge has had some durability issues in his career (so has the younger Carlos Correa), but he should be plenty healthy and athletic in the short term. The issue is when we start talking about a nine-year deal for Judge. That would take him into his age-39 season, which could mean that roughly half of the deal might be disastrous. A couple of bad years at the end could be stomached, but four-plus would be hard to swallow.

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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

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