By the time the season wound down, the SF Giants were younger, thinner, and less experienced than they had been earlier in the year. That part was obvious. What was harder to square was the idea that the finish itself should be treated as a success.
In Tuesday’s post-mortem press conference, the Giants’ leadership group leaned into that angle anyway. Tony Vitello said he felt more comfortable as the season went on.
Buster Posey pointed to a handful of younger pitchers who gave the club something to think about. But the overall picture was still bleak.
Posey highlighted César Perdomo, Anthony Molina, and Yunior Marté as arms who pitched well enough to be considered for the club’s rotation depth chart in 2027. That’s a useful development on paper. It also doesn’t change the fact that the year ended with a roster that was still not good.
Vitello’s growing comfort in the job was presented as another bright spot. Maybe it was.
Maybe it reflected personal growth. Or maybe he was simply managing a group that became younger and better aligned with his style.
Either way, the on-field results never caught up.
The Giants finished September 8-16, their worst month of the season. That came with plenty of context - by the final week, almost every veteran had been traded or injured - but it still didn’t make the month look any better.
There were a few individual performances worth noting. Jonah Cox had a promising year overall, though he faded late and finished with a strikeout rate just below 40 percent.
Victor Bericoto showed intriguing power, but the bat still has to do enough for him to earn a role next season. Anthony Molina did enough to at least put himself in the conversation for a rotation spot.
Trent Harris looks like he could settle in as a useful reliever in a strong bullpen.
Beyond that, the list gets thin fast. César Perdomo, Yunior Marté, and Matt Wilkinson all look like depth options for now.
That’s why the upbeat tone coming out of the press conference rang hollow. The Giants were clearly trying to frame the end of the year as a step forward, a chance to sell fans on a path and build some trust in the direction of the organization. But the results didn’t back it up.
The year was still a disaster. The roster may have been younger and played with a different energy than the veteran-heavy group earlier in the season, but the energy never turned into wins.
The in-game decisions were still questionable. The fundamentals were still sloppy.
And there still wasn’t enough meaningful progress to suggest the roster’s outlook had truly changed.
The messaging may have been aimed at confidence. The performance, though, told a different story. And with Buster Posey’s contract running only through 2027, there may not be much time left to prove that the vision is more than talk.
In Other News...
Casey Schmitt Just Became A Real Giants Offseason Flashpoint
Casey Schmitts 2026 season gave the Giants one of their more interesting young success stories before a knee injury shut him down, but it also left the club with a real offseason decision on its hands. Buster Posey has said the team has not settled on where Schmitt will play next season, and the options on the table are wide-ranging enough to tell you how much the Giants still value his bat and athleticism.
Third base, left field and second base are all under consideration, which is why Schmitt has suddenly become more than just a lineup question. If San Francisco decides the best way to use that versatility is as a trade chip, the conversation shifts from position fit to roster-building, with pitching needing help and the Mariners among the teams that could come up as a possible partner. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Suddenly Have A Big Camilo Doval Decision To Make
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Doval, for his part, has made it clear he wants to stay in San Francisco and get back to the All-Star level that made him such a difference-maker in the first place. The reunion creates an interesting decision point for the Giants, who now have to weigh past production, current bullpen needs, and how much runway to give a pitcher looking to reestablish himself in familiar colors. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Rotation Need Makes A Kevin Gausman Reunion Hard To Ignore
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The bigger complication is the calendar. Contract talks and timing are always tricky enough, but the possibility of an MLB lockout adds another layer of uncertainty to what kind of market Gausman will find and when it will fully materialize. For the Giants, that means a reunion is easy to imagine and harder to map out, especially if they want to fill a rotation need without getting caught in a winter that could slow everything down. [Read more 🡒]