The San Francisco Giants are heading into the offseason with a roster problem and a money problem, and the two are tangled together.
By the end of the 2026 season, nearly 20 players were on the 60-day injured list, setting up a brutal November decision when those players have to come off that list and onto the 40-man roster. That alone would make the winter messy. Add in a bullpen that was shaky from the start, a lineup that never quite found its footing, and Logan Webb’s uneven season - his most inconsistent since 2020, plus two trips to the injured list - and the Giants are staring at a long to-do list.
President of baseball operations Buster Posey also said after the season that he miscalculated badly with the bullpen. But before San Francisco can fix any of that, it has to figure out how much room it actually has to maneuver.
The answer: not much.
San Francisco already has seven veteran players under contract going into 2027, according to Spotrac, and that group - Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, Jung Hoo Lee, Webb, Harrison Bader and Adrian Houser - is set to count $152.9 million against the payroll. Every one of those seven finished the season on the injured list, which only made an expensive situation look worse.
Then there’s arbitration. The Giants have nine players headed through that process, and MLB Trade Rumors’ annual projections have them making a combined $18.4 million. That pushes the total to $171.3 million before San Francisco has added a single new player.
And the bill doesn’t stop there. A 26-man roster still has to be filled out, and the most likely placeholders are pre-arbitration players earning the league minimum.
The minimum was $760,000 in 2026, though that number is expected to rise under the new collective bargaining agreement. If that figure is rounded up to $1 million, then 10 more players would add another $10 million, bringing the total to $181.3 million.
So the Giants’ offseason spending power is already being eaten up fast. With a new financial system on the way and no clear sense yet of where it will land, San Francisco may not have much flexibility left at all.
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Drew Gilbert looks like a real answer against right-handed pitchers, where he has produced a .357 on-base percentage and gives San Francisco a more natural table-setter. The lingering issue is the other side of the matchup, because the Giants still need a platoon partner for left-handed pitching after cycling through more than 15 players in the leadoff spot this season. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Rotation Hunt Puts Buster Posey In A Tough Spot
The Giants have spent the early part of the offseason circling the same problem: a rotation that still needs a real upgrade if they want to be set for 2027. Reid Detmers, Michael Wacha and Bailey Ober all come up for different reasons, whether it is age, contract control or recent production, and each would give San Francisco a different kind of answer. What ties the group together is the same basic appeal for Buster Posey and the front office, since the Giants need someone who can stabilize the top end of the staff without forcing the rest of the pitching picture to keep carrying too much weight.
The catch is that this is not just about landing one name and moving on. San Franciscos pitching shortages have made usable depth almost as important as the headliner, and that narrows the lane on how aggressive the Giants can be in talks. Posey is being asked to balance upside, cost and fit all at once, which is why the target list feels useful but unfinished - the kind of winter puzzle where the real answer may depend on how far the Giants are willing to go once the asking price becomes clear. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Face One Offseason Shakeup That Could Reshape Their Bullpen
The Giants have already spent part of the winter sorting through their outfield depth, but the bigger roster pressure point may be on the mound, where the offseason is expected to bring a lot more movement. A number of pitchers were brought up late in the year or promoted from the minors, and that kind of churn usually forces a front office to decide which arms are part of the next wave and which ones are simply covering innings.
San Francisco also has several relievers headed toward arbitration, which puts added weight on every non-tender discussion and makes the bullpen picture even less settled. With turnover in pitching depth expected before next season begins, the Giants are staring at one of those winters where the roster can look noticeably different by the time camp opens. [Read more 🡒]