SAN FRANCISCO - The Giants are on the doorstep of a record no club really wants, but they may get there all the same before Sunday’s regular-season finale.
They have already used 70 players this year, blowing past the franchise mark of 66. And with a weekend homestand against the Dodgers beginning Friday night, manager Tony Vitello has one more name he wants to fit into the season’s final stretch: Zach Morgan.
Morgan, a 26-year-old catcher who grew up in Stockton rooting for the Giants, has been on San Francisco’s roster for eight games this season but still hasn’t appeared in a game. He was back on the taxi squad Wednesday after Osleivis Basabe’s hamstring flared up the day before, and Vitello said he intends to get Morgan on the field.
“Come hell or high water, I’d like to get him on that field and give him an opportunity to do something,” Vitello said.
If Morgan debuts, the Giants will match the 2025 Atlanta Braves for the most players used in a single season. Vitello was asked about the dizzying roster count before Wednesday’s 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins, and he leaned into the absurdity with a grin.
“I guess being first year in the organization, you’d like to get to meet everybody,” Vitello said. “So, this is one way to do it.”
What makes the number so jarring is how many regulars San Francisco had to start with. This wasn’t supposed to be a season of emergency call-ups and constant shuffling. Instead, it’s become one of the strangest and roughest years in franchise history, driven mostly by injuries that have ripped through the roster.
Since last Friday alone, the Giants have put four players on the injured list: Logan Webb, Bryce Eldridge, Jung Hoo Lee and Blade Tidwell. Eldridge entered concussion protocol after hitting his head at the team hotel in Los Angeles last week, while Lee took a groin contusion after fouling a ball off a sensitive area.
Tidwell’s situation may be the most severe. He has been diagnosed with a “high-grade” UCL sprain and is likely headed for surgery, which could sideline him for the entire 2027 season. He would become the Giants’ fourth young starter to undergo a UCL procedure this year, joining Hayden Birdsong, Trevor McDonald and Carson Whisenhunt.
The list of season-ending injuries has piled up since August. Casey Schmitt, Matt Chapman, Rafael Devers and Daniel Susac have all had surgery - Schmitt for a torn meniscus, Chapman and Devers for core issues, and Susac for a patella fracture. Willy Adames didn’t go under the knife, but a left elbow sprain in late August still ended his season.
Then there’s Harrison Bader, who managed only 30 games after dealing with multiple injuries and later crashing into a fire truck while riding a scooter in the early morning hours.
The toll has been severe enough that the Giants now have 16 players on the 60-day injured list. According to FanGraphs’ Jon Becker, the last team with that many players on the 60-day IL was the 2021 Texas Rangers. That kind of attrition also means major offseason decisions are coming, especially with prospects Henry Lalane and Marty Gair eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, though that may not happen because of the looming lockout.
Only two players from the Opening Day roster are still around: infielder Christian Koss and right-hander Landen Roupp, who has already been shut down for the rest of the season.
“Odd is a good word,” Koss said. “I would have to look up how many times it’s happened in a baseball season.
I imagine it’s pretty low. It’s kind of one of those things we’ve had to deal with this season.”
The injuries explain plenty, but they don’t tell the whole story. Seven Opening Day roster players were also moved out in trades: Patrick Bailey, Heliot Ramos, Luis Arraez, Robbie Ray, Erik Miller, Tyler Mahle and Caleb Kilian. Bailey was sent to the Cleveland Guardians in a stunning May deal, while the others were moved just before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
All that churn has produced some wild footnotes. The Giants have had a franchise-record 17 players make their MLB debuts, with outfielder Bo Davidson the latest. Vitello has also rolled out 15 different leadoff hitters, tying the most used by a single team in MLB history since at least 1898.
There’s more. San Francisco has had six different players homer while playing catcher this season, tying the 2022 Reds and 2019 A’s for the most in one year, according to Sarah Langs.
And five players - César Perdomo (No. 83), Seth Lonsway (No.
86), Braxton Roxby (No. 90), Scott Bandura (No. 91) and Davidson (No. 94) - have worn uniform numbers never before used in franchise history.
For Vitello, there has at least been a human side to the chaos. He said the season has brought “so many cool moments and be a part of kids’ lives.” He pointed to video of Davidson’s family celebrating his first career hit, a single that capped a nine-pitch at-bat.
“That’s been a huge bright spot on a year where there’s been a lot of days - full transparency - back in the locker room that aren’t too pretty,” Vitello said.
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