Are the San Francisco Giants really going to be a top home-run-hitting team in 2023? Farhan Zaidi recently said as much, but does his prediction figure to come true? The SF Giants set a franchise record for home runs in 2021, and despite some narrative to the contrary, they weren't a bad power-hitting team in 2022. Their additions of Michael Conforto and Mitch Haniger figure to add many more home runs to the mix, so it's not at all hard to envision the 2023 Giants being a top power-hitting team.

Going into Year Five of the Farhan Zaidi era, is it playoffs or bust? Will Zaidi be around for a sixth season if the Giants have another disappointing season in 2023? He probably won't be fired, especially if other things go right, but certainly the rope starts to get a lot shorter. If the Giants have a poor 2023 season and follow it up with one to three more disappointing seasons afterwards, Zaidi might not stick around. But the Giants value continuity, and Zaidi showed in 2021 what he's capable of. Developing young talent will be the most important thing moving forward.

What will it take to get Shohei Ohtani next offseason? Reports are that Ohtnai still prefers the West coast, which puts the Giants in a good starting position. Aaron Judge seemingly set the market for superstar players this offseason when he collected $40 million per year over nine years from the Yankees. It's not hard to imagine Ohtani also getting $40 million per year, but he will be a couple of years younger than Judge was at the time of his free agency. In that case, something like 11 years at $40M per year seems possible (that would come out to $440 million in total).

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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.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

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