The SF Giants don’t look like a team about to chase the splashiest names on the market, but they do look like a club that needs to get busy. With the MLB lockout looming, president of baseball operations Buster Posey has a roster to patch together, and pitching sits at the center of the whole operation. At minimum, San Francisco needs help in the rotation, help in the bullpen and probably one more outfield bat to keep the group from feeling thin.
If the Giants do attack the market that way, here’s one possible five-player haul.
Kevin Gausman stands out as the most familiar name in the mix. He was a big part of the Giants the last time they made the playoffs, and after a rough season, a reunion makes sense on paper.
Gausman posted a 4.51 ERA in 32 starts split between the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs, his worst year since leaving San Francisco. Still, the idea here is simple: bring him back, pair him with Logan Webb and hope the Bay Area reset helps him find the form he showed with the Giants before.
A two-year, $50 million deal is the guess.
Another starter who fits is Shota Imanaga. The Cubs connection matters, but so does the profile.
He doesn’t walk many hitters, and while the home run rate is a concern, Oracle Park could help soften that edge. The projected price tag here is a two-year, $38 million contract, which lines up with what MLB Trade Rumors had forecast.
The back end of the bullpen needs attention too, and Kenley Jansen is the kind of veteran name that would make sense for a Giants team not looking to dive into the top tier of relievers. San Francisco needs a closer after ninth-inning issues last season, and Jansen could even reach 500 career saves in a Giants uniform.
That would be a neat little jab at Dodgers fans. A one-year, $12 million deal is the estimate, with the comparison being a closer version of the Justin Verlander signing that worked out well for the Giants.
For a left-handed bullpen arm, JoJo Romero fits the bill. He struck out Dodgers stars in the NLCS with the Milwaukee Brewers, and he also brings a 3.36 ERA over 55 appearances between Milwaukee and the St.
Louis Cardinals. San Francisco could use another lefty beyond Sam Hentges, and Romero would give them that option.
The projected deal: two years, $15 million.
The final piece is Randal Grichuk, who looks like the kind of depth signing the Giants could make without blocking the younger players they want to keep moving forward. San Francisco is in a tricky spot in the outfield, not eager to hand over the job too quickly but also not wanting to shut down someone like Bo Davidson.
Grichuk brings right-handed power and some veteran insurance, and he hit .287/.314/.566 with 15 homers and 46 RBI in 2026 with the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox, doing most of his damage against lefties. A one-year, $2 million deal feels like the type of low-risk move that could work, and if it doesn’t, the Giants could move on or turn to Victor Bericoto.
None of these signings would turn heads on their own, but together they would give San Francisco a sturdier pitching staff and a little more pop in the outfield. That might be enough to matter in 2027.
Crazier things have happened. The White Sox lost 102 games in 2025 and then made the playoffs in 2026 so maybe the Giants are due some good luck.
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