LAS VEGAS -- Surrounded by dozens of reporters and multiple cameras, Scott Boras was working through a two-part question when a reporter interrupted during a brief pause. Boras noted that he wasn't done yet, that he still had to talk about the second player involved in the question, and the agent soon showed why he was so eager to finish his speech.
Boras was in his bag Wednesday at the MLB general manager meetings, bringing out clever puns and references for all of his marquee free agents. The second part of that question had to do with Carlos Rodón, and Boras came prepared.
"Last year, the thinking team chose Rodón," Boras said. "And this year, Rodón has sculpted yet another masterpiece, and I think in the marketplace, his definition of museum-level art is now clearly understood by the teams and he's looked at as a true No. 1 pitcher at a very young age, and frankly the only one of his kind in the marketplace."
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You don't need to be well-versed in French sculpting to know Boras will set a high bar for his top pitching client this offseason, and the Giants will have plenty of competition if they intend to bring him back.
If they do not have a reunion -- and that is the general expectation around team sources -- the Giants will at least recoup draft-pick compensation. A few hours after Boras spoke, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said the Giants will make the qualifying offer to Rodón, who will turn it down in search of a nine-figure deal.
The QO often impacts a player's market, but Rodón shouldn't be too worried. He is one of three pitchers well ahead of the other free agents in the class, and the other two come with massive questions about their injury history (Jacob deGrom) or age (Justin Verlander).
Rodón turns 30 next month and is coming off his best big-league season. Boras, speaking generally about his market, said "I assume that anybody who wants to really win is going to have interest in Carlos Rodón" and pointed out that left-handed aces are hard to find.
San Francisco Giants
Boras also gave a hint of what he might be telling front offices behind closed doors, saying Rodón's past injuries actually have served to keep him fresh into his thirties because he returns to free agency having thrown just 847 career innings.
"He is three of four seasons ahead in his pitching odometer," Boras said.
The marketing pitch will work on someone, but the Giants haven't handed out a pitching contract longer than three years since Zaidi took over, and their main focus this offseason is on upgrading the lineup and defense up the middle.
"We think the primary way for us to [improve] is to get more athletic and get better defensively," Zaidi said. "Our defense was a real liability last year. Just from a baseball standpoint, we're really focused on those areas."
The Giants enter the offseason in a better position than most when it comes to starting pitching. They currently have four starters locked up, although Anthony DeSclafani and Alex Wood both are coming off season-ending injuries. Jakob Junis will be back as a swingman, and top prospect Kyle Harrison is expected to be ready to help at some point next season.
That depth should allow the Giants to again be opportunistic in free agency as Rodón chases his life-altering deal. Most of the big-market teams -- including the Mets and Cubs -- need high-end pitching, and clubs on the rise -- most notably the Rangers -- could look at Rodón as the ace to get them over the top.
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The Giants experienced this last offseason when they lost Kevin Gausman and pivoted to Rodón, and Zaidi said he'll look to again go into a season with an ace-type alongside Logan Webb.
"It was obviously really effective for us, and one of the disappointments of not making the playoffs is that to have those guys at the front of a playoff rotation, I think we could have made it pretty interesting," Zaidi said. "We just want to aim as high as we can in that spot and just balance that against some of our position-player needs."