San Francisco Giants fans woke up to the heartbreaking news that Aaron Judge was re-signing with the New York Yankees. It was believed that Judge may actually choose to sign with the Giants. There were even reports yesterday that he had made his decision and he was going to sign with San Francisco. But in the end, the SF Giants got played. Aaron Judge used the Giants to get the best possible offer from the Yankees. That was his right, and it's how the process works, but it stings in an all-too-familiar way for fans of the SF Giants. The Giants' offer was reportedly the same 9/$360M that Judge ultimately secured from the Yanks.

But Judge wasn't the Giants' only option. While the market has thinned out considerably, arguably two of the three best players after Judge are still available, and the Giants are expected to pivot to them in a hurry. Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts, and Dansby Swanson are still out there, as is Brandon Nimmo, Carlos Rodón, Kodai Senga, and others. The Giants have $40M a year they were willing to spend on Judge, and they're still expected to be very active in bringing in talent this offseason. Correa seems to be the best fit, and he doesn't have loyalty to a team like Judge evidently did with the Yankees. The assumption is that Correa would sign with the highest bidder, but there are no guarantees in free agency.

Correa would be a perfectly strong fallback option after Judge. The Giants already signed Mitch Haniger to a three-year deal last night, and Correa would be a great addition as well. The San Francisco Giants are also in the market for another outfielder in addition to Haniger, a starting pitcher, and back-end relief help. In other words, expect the SF Giants to remain very active even after missing out on Judge.

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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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