The Giants’ roster has turned into one of those late-summer puzzles where the names change fast and the point is obvious: this should be a stretch built around younger players getting a real look.
Instead, a handful of veterans and fringe pieces are still occupying spots that could be used to find out more about the organization’s prospects. If San Francisco wants to squeeze anything useful out of a bad season, it has to clear some room. Right now, these five players are in the way.
Buddy Kennedy is the easiest place to start. The Giants already DFA’d him in June, then brought him back anyway, which makes this little encore feel even more temporary.
He has just one hit in 26 plate appearances this year between the Seattle Mariners and Giants, and he’s hit .161/.256/.250 in 81 career big league games since 2022. That’s not the kind of production that should be blocking Parks Harber, who has been raking in Triple-A and could get some at-bats at third base with Matt Chapman possibly out for the rest of the season because of his abdominal injury.
Tristan Beck is in a similar spot, only with a much shakier case on the mound. The Giants already moved on from one Stanford product when they traded Erik Miller to the Boston Red Sox, and Beck could be next.
He’s sitting on a 7.07 ERA this season, and it’s fair to question whether he still fits into the club’s plans. A Triple-A arm like Trent Harris, who has posted a 3.12 ERA, would make a lot more sense as a look toward the future.
Adrian Houser is another arm who feels like he’s running on borrowed time. San Francisco likely would have preferred to unload him at the trade deadline, but his contract for next season probably made other teams hesitate.
He opened the year in the rotation and has since moved to the bullpen, though the Giants may need him back in the rotation after trading Robbie Ray and Tyler Mahle. Even so, the better move would be to give Carson Seymour or Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson a chance.
It’s been a bad year, please just give us the Tugboat.
JT Brubaker has been solid enough in relief that it was a little surprising he stayed put at the deadline. He’s a free agent after the season, so he’s not exactly part of the long-term picture. That makes him a logical candidate to step aside and let William Ramos get another shot in the bullpen, especially if the Giants want to see whether Ramos has taken a step forward since earlier in the season.
Then there’s Willy Adames, whose situation is the most delicate of the bunch. It’s been a rough year for the shortstop, and he has tried to keep playing through his back injury.
At this stage, though, the smarter move might be to shut him down for the rest of the year and let him recover. That would open the door for some infield experimenting, with Osleivis Basabe at shortstop and different options at second and third.
If recently acquired Marcelo Mayer is healthy enough to play this year, he could also get reps at shortstop.
That’s the shape of the rest of the season for the Giants: “Let the kids play” as much as possible. These five players are standing between the club and that goal, and San Francisco will need to get creative if it wants to make the most of the final weeks.
In Other News...
Giants Landed Marcelo Mayer Amid A Wild Rumor Boston Can't Escape
The Giants added Marcelo Mayer in a deadline deal that sent Erik Miller and Carlos Gutierrez to Boston, giving San Francisco another former top draft pick to work with as the season tightened up. Mayers time with the Red Sox never quite settled into the kind of run Boston hoped for, with injuries and development hiccups making his path in that organization a rocky one.
What has followed the move, though, is a swirl of unverified noise out of Boston that refuses to die down. There are rumors floating around about personal drama tied to Roman Anthony and his family, but nothing has been confirmed, and for the Giants the only part that matters is whether Mayer can turn a change of scenery into the kind of production that once made him such a prized prospect. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Fans Can Already See The Krukow Succession Taking Shape
Mike Krukows retirement after this season has already pushed the Giants into thinking about what comes next in the broadcast booth, and the early signs suggest the club is trying to make the transition feel as natural as possible. Former Giants players Hunter Pence, Shawn Estes and Javier Lopez all have ties to the job already, along with some previous broadcasting experience, and the team has been giving them chances to get comfortable in that lane while Krukow is still around.
For a franchise that has long leaned on familiarity and personality behind the microphone, the succession planning matters almost as much as the replacement itself. Pence brings a big personality and a fresh connection to the modern Giants, Estes has already spent time in the booth, and Lopez remains in the mix as a respected former player with media experience, even as his own role with the organization adds another layer to the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Buster Posey Got The Perfect Last Laugh On KNBR
Buster Poseys first return to KNBRs Murph and Markus morning show since the hot-mic episode came with the kind of easygoing timing that only made the setup better. Posey spent the interview talking through the usual Giants topics, including the recent trades and the shape of the roster, but the conversation also carried an obvious backdrop after a producer was caught on a hot mic making a negative comment about him.
Posey didnt ignore it, either. He handled the moment with a joke, telling the hosts to check their microphones before talking trash about him, and the booth took it in stride with good humor. For a team and a radio station that had already lived through the awkwardness once, the exchange worked like a neat little reset, though it also left room to wonder how many more chances Posey will have to turn that old slight into a running punch line. [Read more 🡒]