Casey Schmitt’s place on the SF Giants still looks unsettled, and that uncertainty could end up pushing him out the door.
Buster Posey didn’t exactly lock anything down when he was asked at the end-of-season press conference earlier this week where Schmitt will fit in next year. His answer left plenty of room for interpretation.
“I don’t think that there’s anything set in stone at this point. He showed that he could hold his own in left field.
You look at the metrics, he grades out better at third than anywhere else. We’ve got arguably the best third baseman in the game there defensively there right now.
Probably look at second a little bit, but that’s gonna be a decision for another day.”
Second base looks like the cleanest answer on paper. Luis Arraez is gone after being traded, and Schmitt logged plenty of time there during the 2025 season, showing he can handle the position.
But Posey’s cautious wording hints that the Giants still may not have a firm plan for him. That matters because Schmitt was one of the better stories on the roster in 2026 before a knee injury ended his year early. He hit .271/.301/.483 with 21 home runs and 55 runs batted in, production that stands out even with the obvious red flag in the low walk rate and modest on-base percentage.
That’s where the trade conversation starts to make sense. If San Francisco decides Schmitt’s value is at its peak, the front office could try to flip him for pitching - especially with the roster in need of arms. Seattle has been mentioned as a logical fit, and a deal built around Schmitt and Emerson Hancock would line up needs for both clubs, with the Giants chasing pitching and the Mariners looking for offense.
None of that means a trade is inevitable. Schmitt proved in 2026 that he can be a useful big leaguer, and moving him would carry real risk.
But the Giants’ other options at second base aren’t exactly bulletproof either. Marcelo Mayer would likely be the favorite there, though his big league track record has been uneven and injuries have been part of the story.
Christian Koss is another possibility, but even after improving through 2026, he still profiles more as a bench piece.
So the Giants are left with a familiar kind of roster puzzle: keep Schmitt and find a way to fit him in, or use him as one of their most attractive trade chips and try to land a quality arm in return. With Matt Chapman blocking him at third, that choice may end up defining Schmitt’s future in San Francisco.
In Other News...
Giants Suddenly Have A Big Camilo Doval Decision To Make
Camilo Doval is back in the Giants orbit after being designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates, giving San Francisco another look at a reliever who once looked like a foundational piece at the back of the bullpen. Buster Posey has already acknowledged the club will sort through where Doval fits as the team gets ready for the upcoming season, and that matters because the Giants are still trying to settle a relief group that can hold up over a full year.
Doval, for his part, has made it clear he wants to stay in San Francisco and get back to the All-Star level that made him such a difference-maker in the first place. The reunion creates an interesting decision point for the Giants, who now have to weigh past production, current bullpen needs, and how much runway to give a pitcher looking to reestablish himself in familiar colors. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Rotation Need Makes A Kevin Gausman Reunion Hard To Ignore
Kevin Gausmans path back onto the market is starting to look like one the Giants will at least have to consider. After being traded to the Chicago Cubs during the season, the veteran right-hander finished with a 4-2 record and a 4.83 ERA in nine starts, and he is set to hit free agency after the season. For San Francisco, the appeal is obvious: the rotation has room, and Gausman already has a history there that makes the fit feel less theoretical than most winter speculation.
The bigger complication is the calendar. Contract talks and timing are always tricky enough, but the possibility of an MLB lockout adds another layer of uncertainty to what kind of market Gausman will find and when it will fully materialize. For the Giants, that means a reunion is easy to imagine and harder to map out, especially if they want to fill a rotation need without getting caught in a winter that could slow everything down. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Tried To Sell Progress Fans Saw A Very Different Finish
In a post-mortem press conference, Giants leadership tried to point toward the future, leaning on a younger roster and a few individual developments as signs that the season ended with something to build on. Manager Tony Vitello and Buster Posey both framed the last stretch through the lens of progress, even floating names like Csar Perdomo, Anthony Molina and Yunior Mart as potential rotation depth options for 2027, a reminder that the organization is already looking well ahead.
The problem is that the final month left a harsher impression than the rhetoric around it. San Francisco went 8-16 in September, its worst month, and the upbeat spin on the season's closing stretch landed with plenty of skepticism from fans who watched the finish firsthand. The disconnect between what the team said it saw internally and what supporters experienced outside the ballpark felt hard to ignore, even with the promise of younger talent and long-term upside still on the table. [Read more 🡒]