The Giants Are Years Away From Being a Playoff Team
This team made some good moves in Buster Posey's first offseason at the helm, but they still don't look like true postseason contenders.
In the early 2010s, the San Francisco Giants built what few franchises ever achieve: a true dynasty. Winning the World Series three times (2010, 2012, 2014) in the span of five seasons is nothing short of remarkable.
A blend of homegrown cornerstones and timely free agents allowed the Giants to sustain success as their roster changed over the years. Like all good things, the Giants’ dominant run had to come to an end. After staying in the mix for two more years, the Giants bottomed out in 2017, winning only 64 games.
Since then, the Giants have struggled to regain even a hint of that success, reaching the playoffs only once in what has proven to be a fluke season. Hovering around .500 while missing out on big-name free agents has made the dynasty years feel like decades ago, but changes are underway.
Giants Legend Now Calling the Shots
After seven seasons as the president of baseball operations, Farhan Zaidi was replaced with the heart and soul of those championship teams, Buster Posey. A local legend with a winning pedigree now tasked with reshaping the organization and bringing those cold October games back to Oracle Park.
Despite his lack of front office experience, Posey just *feels* like the right guy for the job. You won’t find many people who have earned the respect of Giants fans the way Posey has, and his love for the organization runs through his veins. Fans trust him, and, most importantly, he truly wants to build back a winning organization. That was evident from his first offseason.
Posey was a primary lead in the Matt Chapman extension back in September before inking Willy Adames to a seven-year deal and bringing in veteran Justin Verlander to add experience to the rotation. Those two moves proved that a rebuild was not going to be in order, but maybe more important were the moves Posey didn’t make.
San Francisco did not move on from long-time Giants Mike Yastrzemski, Wilmer Flores, or Camilo Doval. Instead of some variation of a retool, the Giants prioritized keeping key voices and experience in the clubhouse to help their young talent entering the league.
As much as I value continuity, experience, and leadership, I keep asking myself if the Giants did enough to really change the trajectory of their team. Are they in a better place now and, looking into the future, than they were a year ago?
San Francisco’s Roster
The addition of Adames was massive for the Giants. Addressing the shortstop situation was not only important for the team this season, but also takes pressure off Marco Luciano, Casey Schmitt, or any other unproven minor league option to have to perform immediately.
Adames now gives the Giants another 30 home run-level bat to pair with Chapman, making for a more comfortable power duo than Chapman and Jorge Soler from last season. After missing out on other notable free agents, landing Adames did feel like a big win for the Giants and gives them another proven bat, which they needed.
I trust Adames and Chapman to produce, but how many other bats? I love what Heliot Ramos showed as a rookie, putting up 22 home runs and a .791 OPS, but I need to see a repeat before I truly trust him. I’d want much more out of first base than LaMonte Wade Jr.‘s high-walk, low-power output. Nothing wrong with that, he’s a good player, but from a position like first, you’d expect more production.
Jung Hoo Lee might be the difference maker. His rookie season was cut short due to injury, but his elite contact skills showed up and, over the course of the season, could propel him into the “trust” category.
Tyler Fitzgerald falls into a similar boat, where certain skills have shown up, but can the Giants really feel comfortable relying on him? The bench is full of fringe major league talent to pair with Brett Wisely, who I think can be useful.
I’m sure some of you will disagree with me, and we all have various degrees of trust in these players. That’s fine, we can go back and forth about a lineup, but how about the rotation?
Logan Webb has cemented himself as the ace, and rightfully so. He’s a true workhorse and provides consistency and upside. Past Webb, I have major questions about each starter. Robbie Ray has to prove he’s healthy and can make it a full season, while Verlander is coming off the worst season of his career and is now 42 years old.
Jordan Hicks has some highlight reel stuff but a litany of reasons as to why he isn’t what many think he could have been. While I could be sold on the idea of Hayden Birdsong or, to a lesser extent, Kyle Harrison making up for some of the slack, we still need to see it first.
I understand that no team is perfect, and question marks are littered across rosters in every division. I just struggle to look at this roster — which is once again rolling out some veterans with limited ceilings, doesn’t have a rotation I trust at all, and lacks depth to a concerning degree — and think the Giants are close to being a bona fide playoff team.
State of the Division and Farm
Oh yes, the National League West. A division of four teams with excitement and one team with, well, a really cool ballpark. Winning in this division has never been easy, and 2025 will be no different. We all know what the Dodgers did last season and the moves they made this past winter to create a super team, but what about the rest?
San Diego is in a confusing place with ownership changes, however, their front office has shown an ability to reload through the draft, giving me reason to believe in their long-term success. Arizona has a fun and talented team with depth and playoff experience that should not be overlooked. Finally, Colorado is actually going to field their best roster in some time, but it is still years behind those of the others.
So, where do the Giants sit this season? Third? Fourth? Our friends at BetMGM have the Giants’ win total at 79.5, six wins less than the Padres, seven than the Diamondbacks, and 25 behind the Dodgers. I doubt this is a surprise to many, considering this is around the win total San Francisco has lived in the past three seasons.
More bad news: The farm system is not exactly loaded with talent. Granted, the Giants have done well finding talent elsewhere or capitalizing on overlooked prospects. I’ll give them that. But, this year, the system is even worse than the average year.
According to MLB’s recent farm rankings, the Giants rank 28th, the lowest ranking in the division behind San Diego at 25, Arizona at 22, Colorado at 18, and the Dodgers at four.
First base prospect Bryce Eldridge, who has looked fantastic, is their lone top-100 prospect. Not exactly a system a fourth place team would hope for.
Final Thoughts
I love that Buster Posey was given the keys to build the team how he sees fit. Adding Adames was a perfect move and showed the fans that winning is at the forefront. But, should it be?
San Francisco climbing above .500 level play each year is going to be hard without making some difficult decisions. Avoiding a rebuild and still winning is possible, but something else will have to change. The Giants either need to draft and develop at a higher hit rate or become more comfortable moving veterans before they are past their primes.
Posey is going to need multiple years before we can say if the direction of the team is headed the right way. Until then, I feel confident that the Giants are not a playoff team in 2025 and will need to make drastic changes before I see a path for them in the near future.
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