The San Francisco Giants are attempting to put a cherry on top of what would be an immensely successful offseason if they can sign Baltimore Orioles superstar ace Corbin Burnes.
While Burnes undoubtedly appeared as the most sought after name in the pitching market entering free agency, he has taken his time and let the market play out as most of the other bigger names have signed massive deals.
With Max Fried signing a massive deal with the New York Yankees and Blake Snell bolting south for the arch rival Dodgers, that likely crossed two teams off the list who could be a threat in the Giants pursuit of Burnes.
The Orioles have still been in play, though it has appeared unlikely even prior to free agency that Baltimore would be willing to pony up the cash it would take to retain their ace.
The Red Sox were seen as a major contender for Burnes as well, but their trade for White Sox ace Garrett Crochet seemingly lowered their desperation to land a big money free agent starter.
That really just left two teams in serious pursuit in San Francisco along with the Toronto Blue Jays. But according to a recent report, there may be a new team the Giants have to worry about bidding against for the 2021 Cy Young winner.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post named the Texas Rangers as a possible 'wild card' team even after re-signing Nathan Eovaldi. Heyman said that the Rangers could be looking to spend again after a quiet offseason last year coming off their first-ever World Series title as they did in the offseason prior to winning it all.
Heyman did note that while Texas is his mystery team to watch, he believes that San Francisco is still the favorite.
The Rangers are in a difficult position because they are the only team in baseball without a local television contract for 2025, the result of most teams' split with Diamond Sports Group. The Rangers are believed to be putting together their own network, but until things are solidified that could hamper their efforts to pursue a player like Burnes.
By all accounts including Heyman's, the Giants are still in pole position and if they are willing to give Burnes what he wants in a contract, they should be able to convince the Bakersfield native to join their rotation and upgrade from Snell.
But being in the lead for a guy who is likely going to draw a contract of $250 million or more and actually being willing to hand him over that kind of money are two very different things. It's now going to be up to Buster Posey and company to actually get this thing done and bring Burnes to the Bay Area.
Because if they don't, somebody else certainly will.