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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Buster Posey isn’t desperately looking to further enhance the Giants’ roster. Instead, he’s focusing on how best to utilize the players already in house.
In other words, the president of baseball operations likes his team as is.
“I think we’re probably more in the listen mode as much as anything,” Posey said. “I don’t know at this point how aggressive we’re going to be as far as trying to go out and be the aggressor on some of these deals. You’ll listen and try to weigh what makes sense, but we’re happy with the roster that we have. Yeah, high hopes for this group.”
Depth could be an issue in both the rotation and bullpen, but Posey anticipates his young starters stepping up and his mix of relievers holding down various roles. It’s a big ask on both fronts especially in a long season when depth is paramount, but Posey continues to express faith in his personnel.
Posey signed two starters in the offseason, Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle, to join Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, and Landen Roupp. Beyond that, it’s a list of young pitchers trying to get established: Hayden Birdsong, Carson Whisenhunt, Blade Tidwell, Trevor McDonald, and Carson Seymour.
Meantime, free agents Zac Gallen, Lucas Giolito, and Chris Bassitt remain unsigned. Along with Max Scherzer, a good buddy of new Giants manager Tony Vitello.
The bullpen is more unsettled and the biggest concern. Posey signed relievers Sam Hentges and Jason Foley, who’ll open on the injured list. There’s just one true closer candidate, Ryan Walker, and other roles have yet to be determined.
“I think there’s opportunity for a lot of guys,” Posey said. “It’s exciting to me to see who wants to grab that opportunity and run with it.”
Without Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers, both traded last summer, and Randy Rodríguez, who’s rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, the Giants must rely on the next tier of late-game relievers. Lefty Erik Miller is healthy again, and Joel Peguero will compete for a setup role.
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Other relievers include José Buttó, Spencer Bivens, Tristan Beck, Keaton Winn, JT Brubaker, Gregory Santos, and lefties Matt Gage and Reiver Sanmartin.
It’s nothing like Posey’s championship teams of 2010, 2012, and 2014 when bullpen roles rarely were in flux. That changed in 2016 when the bullpen collapsed and cost the Giants a bid for another even-year championship.
“It was pretty rare,” Posey said. “You’re not going to have many bullpens that have that many guys that stay consistently in a role for that long. We’re all somewhat creatures of habit, and that’s beneficial, but at the same time, we want these pitchers to understand their role one week might look different the next week, depending on where we are with health or who’s been used, so we’re going to need some malleability in that bullpen.”
The biggest question on the position player side is what to do with top prospect Bryce Eldridge, the 6-foot-7 slugger who won’t be the full-time first baseman because that’s Rafael Devers’ position. Eldridge could be the designated hitter or start in Triple-A for further seasoning.
Based on Posey’s sentiments, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the 21-year-old broke camp as a Sacramento River Cat.
“I think it’s really important for him to understand that he’s still pretty young in his career and that we all hope that he’s going to be that guy that carries the offense one day,” Posey said, “but I don’t think that’s any of our expectations right now. We hope. That’d be great if he decided that now is the time to do that. But for him just to continue to work in all facets of his game is the most important thing.”
On a back field at Scottsdale Stadium on Wednesday, Eldridge was seen shagging in left field during batting practice. He later said Vitello told him to work on tracking the flight of the ball in both left and right. Just in case. Because emergency situations come up.
Eldridge said his mother is shipping him his outfielder’s glove, and how cute is that? Wednesday, he borrowed Lee’s glove and got pointers from Drew Gilbert. Last time Eldridge played outfield didn’t go well. The Giants tried him in right field his first year in pro ball but canceled that experiment and moved him to first base.
“I was kind of just running around there,” Eldridge said of his Wednesday experience. “I would run for one, then I saw another one in the air and go sprint. [Gilbert] is like, ‘Dude, just take a rep, take it seriously, go reset.’ I was kind of out there doing cardio.”
Eldridge’s defense won’t get him a full-time job in the bigs. It’s mostly about his bat, but Posey is hoping all aspects can materialize.
“It’s really just all-encompassing playing well,” Posey said. “It’s defense, it’s base running, it’s obviously the offensive side of it. So, to me, somebody that has the potential, the ceiling that he has, you’re hoping to see little strides forward in every part of his game.”
Posey signed center fielder Harrison Bader and second baseman Luis Arráez, solidifying the lineup. The infield is full of stars – Devers, Arráez, Willy Adames, and Matt Chapman – while Heliot Ramos and Jung Hoo Lee will flank Bader in the outfield. Gold Glover Patrick Bailey will catch.
The Arráez signing shouldn’t have been surprising because Posey has preached the importance of contact, especially with so many swing-and-miss hitters in the lineup. Arráez led the majors with a 95.9% contact rate in 2025, but most modern-day front offices don’t value him highly because of his so-so advanced metrics and defense.
To which Posey says poppycock. Arráez, who’s already working with infield guru Ron Washington on upping his glove game, is a three-time batting champ. He hit a career-low .292 last season, but it would have been the highest average on the Giants.
“I’m a big believer in being the aggressor, and it’s hard to be the aggressor if you’re not putting the ball in play,” Posey said. “I think contact hitters for us right now do balance out some of the other profiles of the hitters that we have. I’m not going to sit here and say that I believe you build a lineup strictly with contact hitters. I draw a little bit on my playing experience — the best teams I was on, when you get to the playoffs and you’re facing the toughest pitchers, the teams that can put the ball in play and force the defense to make plays are usually in a better position than the ones that are going to strike out 15, 16 times a game.”
If Eldridge opens in Triple-A, the DH role could open to Arráez, but he turned down other teams because the Giants offered him the second base job. With Arráez aboard, infielder Casey Schmitt is expected to join Christian Koss as a utility role. Tyler Fitzgerald could also be in the mix.
The outfield depth includes Jerar Encarnación and Luis Matos, both of whom are out of options (if the Giants try to send them to the minors, they could get claimed on waivers by other teams), and Grant McCray and Gilbert. Catcher Daniel Susac is the top candidate to back up Bailey.
Other options are out there. Posey could make a trade or bring in another pitcher – the Giants checked in early in the offseason with Justin Verlander, who signed this week in Detroit – but the plan is to focus only on players in camp.
“We’re happy with the group that we have,” Posey said.
The past meets the present
Under Posey’s administration, the Giants again are inviting former players to appear in spring training as guest instructors. Here’s the list*:
• Dave Righetti: Feb. 11-28
• Yusmeiro Petit: Feb. 11-16
• Joe Panik: Feb. 15-20
• Gregor Blanco: Feb. 16-19
• Chili Davis: Feb. 17-25
• Jeff Kent: Feb. 21-24
• Jeremy Affeldt: Feb. 23-28
• Brandon Belt: Feb. 23-27
• Marco Scutaro: Feb. 25-28
• Rich Aurilia: Feb. 28-March 4
• Sergio Romo: March 1-6
• Jeffrey Leonard: March 6-12
• Pablo Sandoval: March 9-14
• Hunter Pence: March 12-15
• Will Clark: March 13-15
* Matt Cain and Ryan Vogelsong could be added at a future date.