The Giants finished 2025 at an even 81-81, their fourth consecutive season without posting a winning record. The club, which recently hired Tony Vitello as its new manager, is clearly hoping to improve that performance in 2026. General manager Zack Minasian said as much in speaking to John Shea of the San Francisco Standard, noting that the Giants will be active in acquiring pitching depth during the offseason.
“Right now there are holes,” Minasian said. “It’s not to say that some of those holes can’t be filled from within… But obviously, if we can bring some pitching in from the outside to continue to build up depth and try and find quality, we’re going to look at that as much as possible.” Minasian later added that the club will be cautious of adding pitchers on long-term deals due to the risk of injury.
San Francisco pitchers had a 3.84 combined ERA in 2025, ranking 10th-best in the majors. The team’s 45.3% ground ball rate was the third-highest in the league, and they also did well at limiting hard contact, with a 39.6% hard hit rate that was sixth-best. In the rotation, much of that success came from ace Logan Webb, who posted a 3.22 ERA in 207 innings and got grounders at a well-above-average 53.2% clip. He was worth a career-high 5.5 fWAR.
Robbie Ray, Justin Verlander, and Landen Roupp gave solid performances behind Webb, each having an ERA under 4.00. However, the club’s depth was sorely tested throughout the season. Hayden Birdsong had a 4.80 ERA in 11 starts before he was optioned in July. Jordan Hicks made nine starts before being sent to the Red Sox as part of the Rafael Devers trade. Beyond Webb, Ray, Verlander, and Roupp, no other Giant reached 100 innings. Roupp went on the injured list twice with right elbow and left knee inflammation, and 10 pitchers (including Hicks) made between one and nine starts.
The Giants could also use a few more arms in the bullpen. That unit was a strength for the team until it was gutted by trades and injuries. San Francisco shipped Camilo Doval to the Yankees and Tyler Rogers to the Mets at the trade deadline. Standout setup man Randy Rodriguez stepped into the closer role, only to suffer an elbow injury that ultimately required Tommy John surgery. The Giants ranked second in bullpen ERA through July. They sank to 13th over the final two months of the season. As Shea pointed out, Ryan Walker and Spencer Bivens were the only relievers on the Opening Day roster to make it through to the end of the season.
Minasian and company have plenty of names to choose from on the free agent market, though any long-term commitments seem unlikely. Team chairman Greg Johnson recently mentioned trepidation about signing a pitcher to a nine-figure deal, and Minasian echoed those sentiments. “I would just say it’s important for us to make good decisions no matter what players are making,” Minasian said, “but also understanding when you’re getting into very lengthy deals, I think you do approach it with some caution because if there is a major injury, it becomes a very difficult hurdle.”
San Francisco hasn’t handed out more than $100MM to a free agent pitcher since handing Johnny Cueto a six-year, $130MM deal back in 2015. The approach could rule out the Giants from shopping in the Dylan Cease/Framber Valdez tier, making them more likely to dabble in the Zack Littell range. A reunion with Verlander would fit the short-term strategy, and president of baseball operations Buster Posey has said he’d be open to bringing the veteran back.
Johnson didn’t give a firm answer regarding spending, though the club’s financial situation is in a decent spot. FanGraphs’ RosterResource tool has them at around $170MM for next year’s payroll. The recent signings of Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, and Jung Hoo Lee, along with the midseason addition of Devers’ massive contract, will eat up a significant portion of the payroll for the next several seasons, but Webb is the only pricey commitment on the pitching side. Ray’s deal is expiring at the end of 2026. There should be room for additions in the rotation and in the bullpen.
Photo courtesy of D. Ross Cameron, Imagn Images.
They should sign Tucker, Imanaga, a few cheaper bullpen arms, and call it an offseason.
As a Giants fan I would be both thrilled and surprised if this happened.
Easy peasy
I fear that this would put them in an Angels type position where they are spending a lot, but never a complete enough team to win with a mountain of long term commitments limiting future flexibility.
A team with long term deals to Tucker, Devers, Adames and Chapman needs to win ASAP as each year that core is likely to decline.
One year of Freddy Peralta then? That’s immediate depth, albeit short term.
Walker is a marginal closer. They might make due with him. Time will tell. But, their bullpen is thin. They need to add a couple arms. They also need another good starter … or two.
Walker is not a closer IMO.
Teams are looking for pitching in the offseason, film at eleven.
My unsolicited wish list:
Steven Kwan (trade)
Michael King
Brandon Woodruff/Zac Gallen
Tyler Rogers
Ryan Helsley
An easy add for bullpen is bring back Tyler Rodgers who would probably love to come back home. If so what a steal for the Giants for loaning him out for a couple of months for some very promising prospects. This is a no brainer.
Might have cost them a playoff birth. But yes, I agree, nice prospect return and the right decision at the time.
I think the Mets offer him something the Giants won’t go to.
They should as he’s worth a big contract for a reliever but after the Mets gave up a lot to get Rogers they’ll offer him a bunch to stay. Unfortunately.
Bit off topic, but Jordan Hicks was mentioned in the article. What a net positive to acquire Devers and move Hicks (and his salary).
You never hear Red Sox fans say they’re happy to have Hicks. They’re not! But I do wish him well. He has tremendous “Stuff”. Command is the issue.
Giants are laying in the weeds for another good bat though. It’s obvious they need more pitching but they really need one more above average bat to lengthen the lineup. Might have to trade for a bat or overpay but I think they’ll add a bat.
I agree. People talk about Devers salary, but don’t mention that some of it was offset by unloading Hicks contract.
It seems that subtlety is lost on these writers, AJ Eustace and Charlie Wright. They automatically ruled out the Giants signing a pitcher from the Cease and Valdez tier, because both Johnson and Minasian have said they’ll be cautious about a long-term deal for a pitcher.
Planning to be cautious is not the same as determining not to do something. Minasian even indicated that the caution they’d use in signing a pitcher would involve looking at injury history.
Every team should be cautious about giving a pitcher a long term deal, even without a bad injury history. But that caution doesn’t completely rule out signing a pitcher like Valdez or Suarez, both of whom have been durable, to a 5 year deal.