The SF Giants have a left-handed pitching problem, and it’s not a small one. This season, they hit just .233/.289/.369 against southpaws, good for an 84 wRC+ that was tied with the Colorado Rockies for the worst mark in baseball. Their 6.7 percent walk rate, 23.8 percent strikeout rate, and .136 ISO all pointed in the same direction: too many empty at-bats, not enough damage.
That weakness matters even more when you start looking at the outfield. If Jung Hoo Lee and Drew Gilbert are in the mix next season, the Giants are going to need help from the right side.
Lee posted a .613 OPS in same-sided matchups, while Gilbert was down at .210 OPS. If Gilbert doesn’t improve, he’s essentially unplayable in those spots, and even Lee hasn’t done much to punish left-handed pitching.
That’s where Victor Bericoto enters the conversation.
Bericoto’s case is interesting because the Giants may need more than one right-handed platoon bat to really patch over the issue. But he could be part of that answer.
A right-handed platoon outfielder is a tricky assignment, and teams usually prefer not to pin a young player to that kind of role. The playing time can be scattered, and the job demands readiness every time the phone rings.
Austin Slater made that role work because he handled it so well.
Against lefties, Bericoto did produce respectable surface numbers: .273/.284/.439 with two home runs and six RBI in 67 plate appearances. The problem is the sample is small enough that it’s hard to treat it as a clean verdict on his future in that role.
The deeper numbers are a little less flattering. Bericoto’s .290 xwOBA against southpaws in 2026 sat below the league-average .314 mark, which suggests the results may have been helped by hard contact that didn’t quite translate as fully as it could have. The profile hints at a player who may not be pulling the ball in the air enough, with just a 7.5 percent pull rate in the air, while also putting too many balls on the ground at 48.8 percent.
The power is real enough to keep him on the radar, but there’s a catch: the plate discipline still needs work. He walked in only 3.4 percent of his plate appearances, which means the bat has to carry a lot of the load. If the power cools off, there isn’t much on-base value to fall back on.
So could Bericoto grow into a platoon role? Sure, that’s in play.
But based on what he showed in 2026, the Giants still don’t have enough evidence to say he’s the kind of bat who can truly lift the floor of the lineup against left-handed pitching. He might be better than some of the alternatives, but that’s not the same thing as being the fix.
In Other News...
Giants May Have A Familiar Free Agent Fit They Can't Ignore
After a disappointing 2026 season that left the club fourth in the NL West, the Giants spent the summer resetting at the deadline, moving several players and sending Luis Arraez to the Phillies. Even so, Arraez left San Francisco as one of the more interesting short-term fits on the roster, a contact-heavy hitter who gave the lineup a different look despite the defensive questions that have followed him throughout his career.
That is why a reunion has at least enough logic to linger as the Giants turn to the offseason, even with pitching expected to be the priority. Arraez is set to hit free agency, and San Francisco could use another steady bat if it decides the fit is worth revisiting. The bigger question is whether the front office sees enough overlap between need and comfort to keep the conversation going. [Read more 🡒]
Heliot Ramos Could Be On The Move Again After Rough Yankees Stint
Heliot Ramos never got much runway after the Yankees picked him up from the Giants at the trade deadline, and now the question around him is whether his stay in New York will be even shorter than expected. The Yankees are out of the playoffs, the front office is facing obvious offseason turnover questions, and Ramos remains one of the more intriguing names on a roster that could look different before spring training.
For San Francisco, the wrinkle is familiar: a player moved once already, still young enough to draw interest, and under team control long enough to matter to other clubs looking for upside. Ramos is 27 and has the kind of contractual situation that can keep him in the rumor mill even after a rough stretch, which means the Giants could wind up hearing from teams again if New York decides to reshape its outfield mix. [Read more 🡒]
Jung Hoo Lee Could Be Headed For Another Giants Change
The Giants spent much of 2026 looking for cleaner defense across the outfield, and the results never really came together. As a unit, the group landed in the bottom third of baseball by the numbers, and Jung Hoo Lees first full season in right field did not provide the improvement the club had hoped for after moving him there last offseason.
Lees bat still gives San Francisco a lot to work with, but the defensive fit remains under review as the organization keeps sorting out the best way to maximize him. A change could be on the table again, with the Giants also aware of the broader roster stakes tied to Lees future, including the opt-out he holds after the 2027 season. [Read more 🡒]