The Giants appear to be operating in Groundhog’s Day, with win totals of 81, 79, 80, and 81 over the past four seasons. That might begin to change as Buster Posey gets a full offseason, and new manager Tony Vitello assumes his role. San Francisco enters the offseason with a light load of arbitration-eligible salary, an expensive core of guaranteed contracts, and $58M of tax space to operate with.

A Bright Spot
Bang for Buck. 6 of the top 7 WAR grades for San Francisco stemmed from players on high-priced veteran contracts. In other words, money spent has been money earned, at least initially speaking. A full season of Devers, Adames, and Chapman in the lineup could prove to be very successful.

A Big Concern
Treading a little thin at the backend of the rotation, and throughout the bullpen. The Giants aren’t likely to be seeking a major free agent this offseason, but that shouldn’t stop them from considering a trade or two that adds MLB-ready arms to their equation for 2026.

Related Links
2026 Giants Financials
MLB Offseason Guides

Pending Free Agents

Verlander has expressed interest in continuing his career, and the Giants should be interested in bringing back the ageless wonder on an incentive-laden contract. Squeezing the juice out of one more season from Verlander/Robbie Ray isn’t terrible business for a team seeking depth in their rotation.

Option Decisions

Murphy missed all of 2025 with a back injury, setting up SF to take on the $250,000 buyout here and move on.




PLAYER
OPTION SALARY




Tom Murphy (C, 34)
$4M club option ($250k buyout)

Arbitration-Eligibility

Walker projects to be the opening day closer, and Bailey figures to slot back into the catcher role, but all other players here are fringe non-tender candidates as the Giants continue to seek upgrades.

Guaranteed Salary

Devers, Adames, and Chapman currently represent 33% of the $244M CBT threshold for 2026. Ray had a much needed bounceback performance in 2025 (3.65 ERA, 2.8 WAR in 32 starts), while Webb continues to prove he’s one of the best young pitchers in the game.

Team Tax Projections

Midseason moves kept the Giants around $23M below the 2025 tax threshold, and they begin the 2026 offseason with around $58M of space to work with. This could be the winter of the trade for a San Francisco team looking to improve without shelling out too much new guaranteed money.