The Giants moved six players at the trade deadline, but they stopped short of the kind of teardown some fans were hoping for. Logan Webb stayed put, and so did Jung Hoo Lee - a decision that could end up aging badly if Lee doesn’t keep building on what he’s already done.
Webb is the easier call. He’s the ace, and keeping him gives San Francisco some rotation stability to build around. Lee, though, is a tougher case.
August wasn’t his sharpest stretch. Lee hit .245/.312/.367 for the month with three home runs, nine runs batted in and six stolen bases. That wasn’t a disaster, but it did drag his season line down to .288/.331/.419 with nine homers, 49 runs batted in, 12 stolen bases, 50 strikeouts and 25 walks.
That’s still a solid season, and it’s an improvement from his numbers in 2025. But it also raises a fair question: should the Giants have sold high when he was on that summer tear and his batting average was sitting well above .300?
The age and contract situation only make the question louder. Lee is 28, and he’s set to make a little north of $23 million next season. That’s a lot of money for a player who is productive, but not necessarily the kind of bat who changes everything by himself.
He also isn’t quite the player the Giants imagined when they handed him that six-year, $113 million deal. The original plan was simple: everyday center fielder, leadoff hitter. Instead, Lee is in right field now after his defense in center came up short, and he’s batting No. 5 in a lineup that looks nothing like the one San Francisco opened the year with.
Even so, Lee’s value goes beyond the box score. He’s a fan favorite, one of the club’s most marketable players, and an important piece of the Giants’ push to expand their reach in South Korea. That matters, and it almost certainly shaped the team’s thinking at the deadline.
His contract structure likely played a role too. Lee has an opt-out after the 2027 season, which would have made any trade more complicated.
The Giants are betting that his bat keeps moving forward. The concern is that this might have been the peak value window, and if that’s true, the 2026 trade deadline may have been the better time to cash in. Instead, San Francisco is rolling the dice that he stays productive.
There are also outfield prospects pushing up behind him, including Bo Davidson, which only adds to the what-if element here. Maybe the Giants would make a different call if they could rewind the clock. But they were not ready to blow the whole thing up, and Lee’s popularity was a big reason he stayed.
If he keeps producing, the decision will look smart enough. If he slips, it could look like a missed chance the Giants should have taken.
In Other News...
Drew Gilbert Is Making One Giants Decision Look Much Worse
The Giants signed Harrison Bader to a two-year deal to sharpen their outfield defense, but the move has not aged the way the club hoped. An extended injured list stint after a scooter accident, followed by a suspension without pay, has left his time in San Francisco looking increasingly short, and it has opened the door for other options to matter much more than expected.
Drew Gilbert has been one of those options, and his case keeps getting stronger. He has turned in a .802 OPS against right-handed pitching with eight home runs and 35 RBI, while also drawing positive defensive marks in center field. Add in Jonah Cox, and the Giants have already gotten more value from that pair in center this year than they projected from Bader, which only makes the original decision look shakier as the season goes on. [Read more 🡒]
Rafael Devers Is Powering A Giants Surge Fans Havent Seen In Years
Rafael Devers kept adding to a season that has already given the Giants a jolt, launching another early blast in their makeup game win over the Braves. The Giants took the rubber-meets-the-road feel out of the afternoon quickly, then rode the rest of the game with the kind of confidence that has made this stretch feel different from recent seasons.
San Francisco finished its three-game set against Atlanta and came away with a 5-1 edge in the season series, a clean marker for a club trying to stack up meaningful results. The bullpen finished the job by holding the Braves scoreless over the final four innings, the latest sign that the Giants are not just getting power from the middle of the order, but also enough relief depth to protect it. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Fans Have Seen This Japan Pitching Story Before
The Giants are once again doing homework in Japan, with Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reporting that general manager Zack Minasian recently scouted there and could have his eye on right-hander Hiromi Itoh. A top pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball, Itoh is expected to be posted soon, putting him on the radar for clubs looking for pitching help without diving into the deepest end of the market.
For San Francisco, the timing makes sense. The rotation and overall staff carry plenty of uncertainty heading into next season, and the club may be looking for more affordable pitching fits under the current collective bargaining agreement landscape and after its recent spending patterns. Giants fans have seen this movie before, with the team linked to Japanese arms in the past only to watch them land elsewhere, so the interest alone is enough to stir familiar curiosity. [Read more 🡒]