Starting pitching, outfield spots are still things Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey, others must address.
It was a pretty quiet Winter Meetings for the San Francisco Giants and president of baseball operations Buster Posey still has some work to do.
What about the Giants' starting rotation? What will Posey and the Giants' front office do to address that situation? Then there's the outfield, where some help could be a big pick-me-up for San Francisco next season.
Well, the Giants definitely want to put themselves in position to challenge the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers for the top spot in the National League West Division.
Yet these needs must be met before Spring Training starts in 70 days.
What will they do? Giants reporter Maria Guardado put some thoughts out on this matter in a recent article for MLB.com.
"The Giants still need multiple starters to fill out a rotation that doesn’t have any locks behind Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Landen Roupp," Guardardo wrote.
"They don’t appear keen on giving out nine-figure contracts to top free-agent pitchers like Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez or Tatsuya Imai, but they could be fits for other options that won’t break the bank, such as Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Chris Bassitt, Justin Verlander or Max Scherzer.
"More possibilities exist on the trade market, where the Brewers’ Freddy Peralta, the Nationals’ MacKenzie Gore, the Reds’ Hunter Greene or the Royals’ Kris Bubic could be available."
San Francisco had Verlander pitch for them in the 2025 season and his numbers weren't great. He's a free agent right now and there has been a little chatter that he might want to go back to the Houston Astros for another run. It's highly possible that Verlander sees 2026 as his final season in the majors.
Scherzer is an interesting name as he pitched last season for the Toronto Blue Jays. Would he want to come back to the National League and pitch? That's going to be something worth watching.
As for the outfield situation, Guardado had some interesting thoughts on that as well.
"San Francisco currently has nine outfielders on its 40-man roster, but only two -- Heliot Ramos and Jung Hoo Lee -- are projected to have everyday roles next year," Guardardo wrote.
"Drew Gilbert, Luis Matos, Jerar Encarnacion, Joey Wiemer, Justin Dean and Grant McCray will be in the mix for the third outfield spot, but the Giants are expected to look for possible upgrades outside the organization," according to Guardado.
"Agent Scott Boras implied that the Giants are among the teams who have expressed interest in Cody Bellinger, though they could also make a run at fellow free agent Harrison Bader or try to acquire another veteran outfielder like the Guardians’ Steven Kwan via trade."
Anytime Boras' name comes up in conversation, some MLB fans might wrinkle up their noses. He's one of the toughest agents for any MLB general manager or president of baseball operations to deal with when it comes to his clients.
Bellinger has some history in the National League when he played for the Dodgers. Would Bellinger be willing to play for the Dodgers' hated rival? Bader played last season for the Philadelphia Phillies and has some postseason experience. His veteran leadership might be something that could appeal to San Francisco.
Giants general manager Zack Minasian offered up this summation of how the Giants did at the Winter Meetings, according to Guardado.
"I feel like some things are heading in the right direction," Minasian said. "It’s hard to handicap when a deal is going to get done, but we try to put our best foot forward. I think we’ve shown we’re willing to be aggressive. Some things we’re still working on, some things we feel like maybe there’s a path. We’ll see where it goes. Right now, it’s still kind of anyone’s guess."