The San Francisco Giants are stepping into the 2026 season with a fresh look-new faces on the roster, a revamped coaching staff, and a front office that’s quietly reshaping the team’s identity. On paper, they might still feel like a .500 ballclub, the kind of team that hovers around mediocrity when you plug their numbers into a simulator. But according to a recent survey of MLB insiders, some see something more brewing in the Bay.
In a poll of 36 MLB insiders-including current and former executives, coaches, managers, and scouts-six picked the Giants as the most improved team in the National League. That’s no small nod, especially in a league where the Dodgers and Mets tend to dominate the offseason headlines. While L.A., New York, and the Cubs drew the bulk of the votes, San Francisco’s inclusion in that conversation is telling.
So what’s behind this unexpected respect?
Let’s start with the moves themselves. The Giants didn’t swing for the fences in free agency this winter.
There was no blockbuster signing, no nine-figure splash. But what they did do was make calculated, stabilizing additions.
Think of it as raising the floor rather than raising the roof.
The biggest needle-mover arguably came months ago, when the Giants pulled off a June trade to land Rafael Devers. That’s a franchise-level bat, and the kind of move that doesn’t always get lumped into offseason analysis but absolutely changes a lineup’s complexion. Beyond that, the Giants added veterans like Harrison Bader and Luis Arraez-names that might not light up the marquee, but offer reliability and versatility.
Sure, fans might’ve had their eyes on flashier targets. Bader isn’t Bellinger.
Arraez isn’t Hoerner. But both are proven contributors, and in a league where depth and durability often separate playoff teams from pretenders, those kinds of signings matter.
They give the Giants a stronger baseline-fewer holes, more consistency.
Then there’s the dugout dynamic. Tony Vitello steps in as manager, bringing a fresh voice and a new energy to the clubhouse.
He’s untested at the pro level, but sometimes a different perspective is exactly what a team needs to shake off the cobwebs. Whether or not Vitello’s approach translates to wins remains to be seen, but it’s clear the organization is betting on a culture shift as much as a talent infusion.
President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey recently addressed the gap between fan expectations and front-office reality. In his words, teams can’t chase every big-ticket free agent.
And he’s right. Building a sustainable winner isn’t just about landing stars-it’s about constructing a roster that can survive the grind of 162 games.
That’s likely what those six insiders saw when they cast their votes. A team that didn’t get caught up in the arms race, but quietly made itself better.
A front office that didn’t panic, but pivoted smartly. A roster that might not dazzle, but could surprise.
So while the Giants may not have won the offseason in the eyes of every fan, they’ve earned a nod of respect from folks who know how this game works from the inside. And that’s worth paying attention to.
Because sometimes, the teams that make the most noise in October are the ones that didn’t make all the headlines in February.