Giants’ Chairman Downplays Possibility Of Long-Term Deals For Free Agent Pitchers

Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey kicked off his team’s offseason last month by declaring that pitching would be his focus this offseason. That led to plenty of speculation about the possibility of the Giants being major players at the top end of the free-agent rotation market, but chairman/owner Greg Johnson threw some cold water on those hopes this week. In a Q&A with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Johnson pushed back against the idea of a long-term deal for any pitcher this offseason and specifically called out a preference for shorter-term arrangements.

“We’re in need of one, possibly two [starting pitchers],” Johnson told Slusser. “We’ve got a lot of options in the organization and hopefully somebody emerges, but I’m not sure you can count on that at this point, and it’d be nice for some of those younger arms to get another year of experience in Triple-A as well. As Buster has said, I think we’re hesitant about any pitcher on long-term deals when we have a young core sitting there. So it’s a question of what is available in the marketplace and what we can do on a shorter term basis.”

Certainly, the definition of “shorter term” is subjective. That doesn’t mean the Giants will traffic exclusively in one-year contracts when looking to address the rotation. However, it seems quite clear that at least for the time being, ownership doesn’t have a strong appetite for the weighty long-term deals expected to be commanded by top free agent names like Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease and star NPB right-hander Tatsuya Imai (assuming Imai is ultimately posted for MLB clubs).

The Giants’ rotation is headed by ace Logan Webb. He’s followed by veteran Robbie Ray and 2025 breakout righty Landen Roupp. After that trio, free agent Justin Verlander — whom the Giants have interest in re-signing — was the only other San Francisco pitcher to start more than 10 games this season. The Giants thinned out their rotation depth this summer when trading longtime top prospect Kyle Harrison to the Red Sox as part of the Rafael Devers blockbuster.

As Johnson alluded to, the Giants have plenty of in-house options, but there’s no certainty among the group. Hayden Birdsong shined in the bullpen early on but struggled so much after a move to the rotation that the Giants optioned him to Triple-A. He was tagged for a 6.23 ERA in another 10 Triple-A starts. Right-handers Kai-Wei Teng and Trevor McDonald got looks late in the season, but the former struggled badly while the latter made only two MLB starts after posting a 5.31 ERA in 29 Triple-A outings. Prospect Carson Whisenhunt and deadline pickup Blade Tidwell have varying levels of upside but haven’t proven themselves in the majors yet. Righty Keaton Winn missed much of the season due to injury and was hit hard in Triple-A when healthy.

Both the trade and free agent markets offer plenty of rotation possibilities for Posey & Co. to explore. Seven of the top ten names on MLBTR’s list of the offseason’s top 40 trade candidates were starting pitchers. Another 16 starting pitchers cracked our Top 50 Free Agent list. Not all of the free agents will command long-term deals, and none of the trade candidates in question are signed beyond the 2028 season.

If the goal is to pursue shorter-term arrangements — presumably three or fewer years — the free agent market would have options like Merrill Kelly, Chris Bassitt, Nick Martinez, Zack Littell and Tyler Mahle, among others. A reunion with Verlander remains possible, and plenty have already pointed out the fact that new Giants skipper Tony Vitello coached Max Scherzer in college. Right-hander Cody Ponce set the single-season and single-game records for strikeouts in the Korea Baseball Organization this season and has drawn MLB interest. His brother-in-law is a plenty recognizable name in San Francisco: George Kittle.

Suffice it to say, there’s a wide array of options on the market even if the plan is to forgo lengthy commitments. An aversion to another long-term deal is somewhat understandable, given that the Giants have Devers signed through 2033, Willy Adames signed through 2031, Matt Chapman signed through 2030, Jung Hoo Lee signed through 2029, and Webb signed through 2028. That said, there’s room on the payroll for another hefty contract, particularly with Ray’s contract drawing to a close at the end of the 2026 season (thus subtracting a $25MM salary from the 2027 books).

At present, RosterResource projects the Giants for a payroll of roughly $170MM. That’d be right in line with last year’s Opening Day figure. That mark includes projected arbitration salaries for non-tender candidates Andrew Knizner, Joey Lucchesi and JT Brubaker. Dropping that trio would lower the projected mark, but only by a few million dollars. Still, the Giants trotted out an Opening Day payroll as high as $208MM just two seasons ago, in 2024. Johnson was amenable to raising payroll when asked by Slusser and even acknowledged that he’s comfortable crossing the $244MM luxury tax threshold “in the right situation.” The Giants’ current tax number sits just north of $193MM.

The rotation stands as just one area of need. San Francisco clearly has needs in the bullpen — Johnson acknowledged as much to Slusser — and has holes in the lineup at second base and in right field. Unless the team puts together a trade for one of its currently weighty contracts, the Giants will have to increase payroll to meet those needs. Of the contracts on the books, only Ray’s $25MM salary seems plausible to move. (The Giants aren’t going to consider trading Webb.) However, trading Ray would only further create a need for innings, making that scenario at least somewhat counterproductive.

One way or another, the Giants will need to add at least one starter (ideally two), multiple relievers and at least one bat (again, ideally two). It’s a long to-do list for Posey and general manager Zack Minasian — one that portends an active winter in the Bay Area.

Readers — Giants fans and otherwise — are highly encouraged to read the entire Q&A. It’s packed with candid comments from Johnson on a variety of topics, including his thoughts on the forthcoming implementation of the ABS challenge system, Posey’s first year on the job as president, and his early impressions of Vitello — among many other points.