The Giants’ ninth inning has been a mess all season, and that’s exactly why the bullpen picture feels like it’s headed for a real offseason decision. San Francisco didn’t bring in a closer last winter, and the result was a constant shuffle of arms trying to handle the final frame with very little success.
That’s why the club’s next move may be less about rebuilding the whole bullpen and more about finding one reliable finisher. Several pieces - Dylan Smith, Sam Hentges, and Jason Foley - are expected back, so the Giants may prefer to patch the rest of the relief group with waiver pickups or minor league deals while adding a legitimate closer to stabilize the back end.
It would still be a gamble. Buster Posey already warned on KNBR earlier this season that paying for a big reliever is risky, and the Giants have lived through that reality before. Even so, after the year they’ve had, running it back doesn’t look like a serious option.
Among the pricier names, David Bednar stands out. He’s in the middle of a strong season with the New York Yankees, posting a 2.66 ERA across 60 appearances and converting 34 of 37 save chances.
Mariano Rivera even said Bednar reminds him of himself. That kind of resume would make him one of the safest ninth-inning answers available, though it would likely cost in the neighborhood of $15 million per season.
The Giants have already seen how a high-profile bullpen bet can go wrong, with Mark Melancon serving as the cautionary tale.
Adrian Morejon is another high-end possibility. He has been excellent over the last few seasons, and this year he owns a 2.87 ERA in 81 and 2/3 innings with 100 strikeouts for the San Diego Padres.
The catch is that he hasn’t had much success as a closer, so giving him a major contract would come with some risk. Still, there’s a case that he could settle in and flourish once he gets the role.
Raisel Iglesias also belongs in that top tier. The Atlanta Braves closer has turned in another steady year, putting up a 2.78 ERA while converting 32 of 35 save opportunities. He signed a one-year, $16 million deal with Atlanta last offseason and is expected to land something similar this winter.
If the Giants want to spend less, Kenley Jansen is the veteran alternative. He’s closing in on 500 career saves, and it would be a strange twist if he reached that milestone in orange and black after what figures to be a Cooperstown path tied to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
This season with the Detroit Tigers, he has a 3.43 ERA in 42 innings and has converted 20 of 26 save chances, one of the lowest rates of his career. At 38, there’s at least a question about whether he’s slipping a bit.
Still, the Tigers’ club option likely won’t be picked up, which could put him in the Giants’ range at around $10 million.
Pete Fairbanks is the more affordable swing-for-upside play. His 2026 season has been rough, with a 6.31 ERA and an injury-plagued year that would not exactly calm a frustrated fan base.
But he did pitch well as the Tampa Bay Rays’ closer from 2023 to 2025, and if he gets healthy, there’s a path back to that level. The price would be lower, though the risk is obvious.
However the Giants go about it, the goal is clear: they need a defined closer. After the way the ninth inning unraveled this year, they can’t afford to head into 2027 without one.
In Other News...
Three Giants May Have Already Lost Their Place In The Next Core
The Giants are already staring ahead to the next wave of roster decisions, and not every young player is trending toward being part of it. Grant McCray still offers defensive value, but his bat has lagged enough to make his path far less certain. Nate Furman has also slipped into a tougher spot, with a low batting average and a place behind other infielders on the depth chart, while Brett Harris has not done enough to make much of an imprint.
None of that guarantees a clean break, but it does leave San Francisco with a familiar offseason problem: making room for players who look more likely to fit into the 2027 picture. Harris appears especially vulnerable to a designation for assignment, and the broader point is hard to miss. The Giants are sorting out which young pieces can still grow with the club and which ones may already be fading from view before the next core fully takes shape. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Fans Are Sending A Message Oracle Park Cant Ignore
Attendance at Oracle Park has been trending the wrong way this season, and the drop has been hard to miss for anyone watching the stands as much as the scoreboard. The Giants have gone from drawing just over 36,100 fans per game in 2025 to just over 35,400 in 2026, and the slide has been even more pronounced during the year itself, with early-season crowds above 37,000 giving way to a dip below 32,000 in August before a modest September rebound.
The organization has responded by offering credits to season-ticket holders, a clear sign that the club knows fan turnout has become part of the conversation as the season wears on. Oracle Park has long sold itself as one of baseballs best atmospheres, so when seats start opening up more than usual, it becomes more than a business issue. It is a message from the fans, and one the Giants cannot afford to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Just Got A Loud Reminder About Next Years Lineup
The Giants spent much of this season searching for a leadoff answer, cycling through 15 different players in the top spot and setting a franchise record that says plenty about how unsettled the lineup has been. Even so, a recent 10-inning win over the Cardinals offered a glimpse of how much noise the younger fringe pieces can make when they get a chance.
Drew Gilbert delivered the biggest swing with a go-ahead two-run pinch-hit homer, Jonah Cox chipped in with multiple hits, steals and runs, and Anthony Molina turned in 5 2/3 scoreless innings before Joel Kuhnel finished it off for the save. It was the kind of all-hands contribution that can matter in the short term, but it also served as a loud reminder that the Giants still have some sorting to do before next years lineup comes into focus. [Read more 🡒]