The Giants have bigger pitching questions to answer this offseason than just who closes out games or fills in the middle innings. With San Francisco cycling through more arms than ever and still finishing fourth in the NL West, the organization’s next step is pretty clear: shore up the rotation depth.
Logan Webb’s 2026 season left some questions around his ace label in San Francisco, but he’s still firmly one of the best starters on the staff. Buster Posey could shop for veteran help, sure, but the Giants may already have two internal arms worth testing in spring training.
Matt Wilkinson and Anthony Molina both gave the club something in the second half, and both have done enough to merit a real look for a 2027 starting role.
Wilkinson arrived near the end of August and immediately made himself hard to ignore. The 23-year-old finished his season with two straight starts against the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, and he didn’t get swallowed up by the moment. Over those eight combined innings, he gave up four hits, one run and one walk while striking out eight Dodgers.
That late-season run produced a 3.58 ERA, along with 20 strikeouts in 27.2 innings. Tony Vitello sees more than just a short burst of success there.
“He's equally good on lefties and righties, so I think he can be that one-inning guy. He's already shown that he could be a long relief guy.
So why not find out if he can start and push it to the brink?" Vitello said of Wilkinson.
Wilkinson also brings a little flair, thanks to one of the better nicknames in the sport right now: Tugboat. And in a division packed with heavyweights, the Giants could use that kind of personality on the mound as much as the stuff itself.
Molina’s path has been different, but the result is the same: he put himself in the conversation. After struggling with the Colorado Rockies and Atlanta Braves, he came to San Francisco and found a better rhythm. In 29 innings with the Giants, Molina posted a 3.73 ERA and made five starts, giving him a 3.97 ERA for the season after three appearances earlier in the year with Atlanta.
The bigger picture matters here. With several Giants pitchers posting inflated ERAs this season, Molina has earned a chance to compete for a rotation job this winter. And if he doesn’t win one, he still looks like a useful piece for the bullpen.
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Giants Farm System Just Delivered A Prospect Surge Fans Will Notice
The Giants minor league pipeline had plenty to point to this season, and two managers helped make that case even louder. Ydwin Villegas was honored in the California League, while Jacob Heyward took Manager of the Year in the Northwest League, recognition that usually says as much about organizational depth as it does about the men in the dugout. It also underscored that the clubs at the lower levels were winning for a reason, with player development showing up in the standings.
The more eye-catching part for Giants fans is the company kept by Bo Davidson, Lisbel Diaz and Cam Maldonado, three prospects who each put together a rare power-speed blend with at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 2026. Davidson already pushed his way onto the major league roster and wasted no time making an impact by swiping a base in his debut, a little glimpse of the kind of athleticism that has made this group stand out. The question now is how quickly the rest of that surge starts showing up in San Francisco. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Big Bets On Chapman And Adames Look Riskier Right Now
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.s recent comment about his contract being a reward for what he has already done, not a bet on what comes next, landed poorly with plenty of fans. For the Giants, though, it also feels uncomfortably familiar. Their big swings on Matt Chapman and Willy Adames were built on the idea that proven players could steady the roster for several seasons, and both deals now look a lot heavier after each player turned in a down year.
That is the bind San Francisco is facing. Chapman and Adames remain key pieces, but they are also carrying significant money into the next several seasons, and the margin for error gets thinner when production dips and age starts to matter. The Giants do not have much choice but to keep leaning into those commitments, even as the early returns make the long view harder to trust. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Injuries Can't Hide The Front Office's Biggest Failure
The Giants spent much of the 2026 season trying to patch together a roster that kept changing under them. They dealt away Heliot Ramos, Luis Arrez and Caleb Kilian, then watched injuries pile up around the core, with Matt Chapman, Rafael Devers and Harrison Bader among the regulars who ended the year on the injured list. Add in a pitching staff that never found steady footing and an offense that drifted in and out of rhythm, and the reasons for the disappointing finish were easy to see.
Still, the injury count only told part of the story. Even as the roster thinned out, the Giants problems against left-handed pitching kept showing up, and that was where the larger frustration lived for the front office and the people evaluating what this team was supposed to be. Health can explain a messy season, but it cannot fully cover for a club that never looked settled, never looked balanced and never found a consistent answer when the matchup turned against it. [Read more 🡒]