Christian Koss got more runway than almost anyone on the SF Giants’ roster shuffle, and the results were mixed at best.
When injuries piled up and the trade deadline thinned out the roster, Koss ended up with the kind of extended look most players only get in a crisis. Once Willy Adames was done for the year, Koss became the everyday shortstop. He did provide some useful moments, particularly as the season wound down, but he never fully seized the job.
Across 70 games, Koss hit .217/.257/.305 with four home runs and 12 runs batted in. That marked a clear drop from 2025, when he again found himself in the lineup because of injuries and posted a .264/.309/.368 line with three homers and 23 RBIs.
The glove told a similarly uneven story. Koss was likely stretched at shortstop because the Giants were so short-handed, and he would be better suited for second or third base. Overall, he held his own, but there were also some rough errors at short that stood out.
For the last two seasons, Koss has basically filled the club’s de facto utility-infielder role after turning heads in spring training before the 2025 season. He’s got a little bit of Matt Duffy in him if Duffy had a bunch of tattoos, and he should still be part of the conversation next year. But the path is no longer clear.
Marcelo Mayer, acquired at the trade deadline from the Boston Red Sox in the deal for Erik Miller, is now the most obvious threat to Koss’ spot. Mayer got a brief look with the Giants late in the season and didn’t do much, but the former first-round pick is likely to be Koss’ biggest competition for a roster spot in 2027.
That matters because San Francisco will probably carry only one infielder on the bench if there are no trades, with Matt Chapman, Adames, and Casey Schmitt all in the mix on the dirt. Schmitt could be used more as a utility option, but either way, the Giants need to do a better job of managing their veteran players next season.
Manager Tony Vitello leaned on his veterans in year one, but in year two they need to be getting regular days off more often after all the injury carnage the team had to deal with.
If that opens the door for Koss again, he’ll need to do more with it than he did in 2026.
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Knizners stint with the Giants covered 29 games, and his production looked a lot like what the club already knew from him a year earlier. After the season, San Francisco put him on waivers, then outrighted him to Triple-A when no one claimed him, and he is expected to elect free agency. Even so, a return on another minor league deal is still on the table, which leaves the Giants with one more familiar name in a spot they clearly still need to sort out. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Suddenly Have A Real Center Field Question This Offseason
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Drew Gilbert has emerged as the likeliest answer if Bader needs more time, after starting 83 games in center field in 2026. Jonah Cox gives the Giants another layer of depth, but the clubs center field picture now hinges on how much Bader can rebound and whether Gilbert is ready to carry the job for a full season. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Risk Another Costly Rotation Mistake With Former All-Star
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But the recent version of Gallen is a far tougher sell. He struggled to a 6.07 ERA in 2026, posted a career-high 1.547 WHIP and was limited to 20 starts by an elbow injury, which is exactly the sort of durability concern that can turn a seemingly sensible target into another expensive misfire. If San Francisco does decide to take a chance, the safest path would seem to be a short-term, inexpensive deal, because the upside is obvious but the risk is just as clear. [Read more 🡒]