This week's mailbag gets into potential offseason targets for the Giants and Nationals, the potential free agencies of Trent Grisham and Ha-Seong Kim, and the Mets' current six-man rotation.
Neil asks:
Giants fan here. They are killing me with this Jekyll and Hyde act on offense this year. It's the .500 team I was expecting but they need more team speed and the OF defense gives me a headache. Who should they target in free agency?
Todd asks:
I see my Giants are hanging on (barely!) in the West, but looking forward to next year, who do they need to acquire to be given an 'A' for their off-season next March? Obviously pitching is needed, I'm interested in specific names who they should be targeting. Thanks!
Let's do a Giants rundown!
- C: Having Patrick Bailey as the starter represents a choice to sacrifice offense at the position for Gold Glove defense. That strategy can work, but you'd ideally make up for the dead spot in the lineup in some other way.
- 1B: Rafael Devers seems to be improving defensively; he's been splitting time at first base with Dominic Smith. In August, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that the situation "could turn into a timeshare dependent on top prospect Bryce Eldridge’s development at the position." Eldridge, 21 in October, has a 100 wRC+ in 260 Triple-A plate appearances. He's still the 19th-ranked prospect in baseball, so if and when he figures out Triple-A, he's expected to share first base and DH with Devers.
- 2B: Tyler Fitzgerald, the Giants' innings leader at the position this year, was optioned to Triple-A a few weeks ago. Since then we've mostly seen Casey Schmitt, with rookie Christian Koss mixed in. Former top prospect Marco Luciano, at times mentioned as a potential future second baseman, has spent the entire year at Triple-A and has been playing left field.
- SS: Willy Adames is settling in with a 149 wRC+ since July.
- 3B: Matt Chapman has had a couple of IL stints for hand injuries, but he's still having a typical good year.
- LF: Heliot Ramos has hit decently with a 111 wRC+ (and no platoon splits), but he's been one of the game's worst defensive left fielders this year. As such, he's been worth only 1.1 fWAR. Ramos is under team control through 2029 and won't yet be arbitration eligible in 2026.
- CF: Jung Hoo Lee has been solid in his first full MLB season and has a 133 wRC+ since July.
- RF: With Mike Yastrzemski traded to Kansas City, the Giants have been giving Drew Gilbert and Luis Matos some run. The samples are too small to really tell right now, but perhaps they could form an adequate platoon.
- DH: It's been Devers, Smith, and Wilmer Flores here. Smith and Flores may depart as free agents, but the Giants shouldn't do anything major here given Eldridge's trajectory and Devers' defensive limitations.
The Giants' offense this year ranks ninth in the NL with 4.37 runs scored per game. Their wRC+ is an even 100.
That's all the way up to 118 since August, third-best in the NL. The club has been carried by veterans Devers, Lee, and Chapman in that time, with bonus contributions from Matos and Smith. For next year, the hope is that Eldridge can come up and contribute, but the Giants can't really count on it.
Second base seems like a clear need for the Giants. Gleyber Torres will be a free agent again, and the trade market could offer a few options such as Luis Garcia Jr.
The Giants could use a big bat in the corner outfield. Kyle Tucker is the obvious choice. The versatile Cody Bellinger would also fit well in San Francisco. Adolis Garcia would be a cheaper bounceback candidate.
For Neil's outfield defense concerns, moving on from Ramos would help. Defensive upgrades could include Bellinger, Wilyer Abreu, and Luis Robert Jr.
What's the outlook on the starting pitching side?
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Mets: I would use McLean, Peterson, Tong in a 3-game postseason series. Maybe Tong before Peterson.
And even Sproat (if he pitches well the rest of the regular season) instead of Peterson if the opponent is mostly RHHs.
Manaea and Holmes in the pen. Senga off the roster completely unless he totally turns his season back around soon at the MLB level.
Hopefully the Mets make the playoffs, they way they’re playing it isn’t a guarantee
jvent, that is certainly possible. The rotation so overachieved in the first half that Stearns didn’t aggressively upgrade at the deadline.
It’s good he brought up the prospects, and they are the main cause for optimism. It might not be enough if Peterson and/or Manaea don’t improve on recent performance.
And their offense is so streaky. We shall see.
Peterson pretty much had to be in top 3, but otherwise I agree.
I get that the metrics say Grisham is average at best, but as one who watches every inning of every game, I don’t see it. He seems to be above average – to well-above average, defensively.
Also, i think offering a QO for Grisham is a no-brainer . Belli is the obvious re-sign. He has been awesome.
The Yankees have been searching for a viable lead off option for the last several seasons and Grish seems to be the perfect option……..his defense is elite, regardless of these ridiculous analytics pundits and he can and does hit with power…….when league average is .240ish, he would seem to be a automatic QO candidate and hopefully the Yankees and Cashman in particular reexamine his outfield configuration in 26 and finds a way to re-sign him……that causes a logjam in the outfield and maybe the guy who has to go and has the best trade value in a one for one trade is……the Martian….if the Yankees indeed do believe that Jones is ready, and that they need to spell Judge in right on a regular basis……and I do agree Belli is a must re-sign as both a semi-regular first baseman and right fielder when Judge either DH’s or potentially plays first…..
IMO, Grisham is not the lead-off hitter. Yankees need Chisholm or Dominez. More speed at the top of lineup makes a HUGE difference. Yankees definitely have a big off-season ahead of them, so many decisions and choices need to be made. Yankees need Tucker LF, Dominez CF and Bellinger RF and Judge DH. Rice 1B Spencer Jones trade away. Say good bye to Stanton once and for all. Whatever it takes to unload him.
Voper must go too
Nats:
I’d trade Crews for help elsewhere in the lineup.
Let another team work on developing him in 2026, in the minors. Crews accrued 1 year of service time in 2025; burn an option year in 2026 down at AAA and have him ready for 2027.
Sign Dom Smith. He’s gained a lot of wisdom and the guy can still hit; as a utility player and mentor, he’d be worth every dollar he gets paid. I wish the Giants had a spot for him in 2026 but they don’t.
Trade for Luis Severino & entire salary
Sign either Cody Bellinger or Josh Naylor
Sign Shane Bieber
Finally, absolutely plunder during the Rule 5 draft
Nats can solve many short term issues through free agency. I just threw at examples but ton of variations to choose from. They’ve only got$70M committed to 2026 salary. Some smart signings will make this team respectable.
GIANTS: I don’t think the Giants should get anywhere near Bellinger (for a variety of reasons including that he’s LH, strikes out too much and will want too much money). Unfortunately, Tucker is probably in the same boat due to his salary requirements and his LH bat. Keep in mind that SF does not swing as well against lefties and will already have Lee, Devers and eventually, Eldridge. Plus SF current outfielders can all hit.
Starting pitching needs to be Buster’s #1 focus and there are plenty of solid rotation arms available. The Giants might need two as a hedge against Whisenhunt still needing time. Webb, Ray and Roupp are solid.
We’ll see how Casey Schmitt produces in the last 20 or so games at 2b, but second base and backup catcher (or even Realmuto) make sense.
Re-sign Tyler Rogers for the pen and maybe another option to Close since Rodriguez will be out all next season with TJ.
Schmitt might be very attractive trade bait for a team looking for a Gold Glove third baseman with pop. I’m not sure the Giants are ready to move on from Ramos—the guy can flatout hit. But, yes, his defense needs to improve.