The San Francisco Giants missed the playoffs for the fifth year in a row and posted their worst record since 2017, which begs the question: What went wrong? 

There is more than one answer to it. 

Part of it is that president of baseball operations Buster Posey has struggled as an executive in ways that he never struggled as a player. The woes of first-year manager Tony Vitello were also a contributing factor. 

Injuries and inconsistencies also played a part, and eventually, the Giants chose to move off talented players like Luis Arraez, Heliot Ramos and Robbie Ray. Even with the departures of those players at the trade deadline, San Francisco still has plenty of other veterans on the roster. 

For certain veteran players, the contracts attached to them may age poorly. When putting the contract of right-hander Adrian Houser into consideration, there is a chance he will be a signing San Francisco regrets. 

Houser was one of the Giants' free agent signings last offseason, and he inked a two-year, $22 million contract. This season, his payroll number was $7 million, but in 2027, his base salary will increase to $9.5 million, and he will carry a total salary of $11 million. 

On the surface, this may not seem like a bad deal at all for an experienced pitcher who can start or come out of the bullpen. The problem is that Houser was just average for San Francisco, and he ended up missing all of September with a right forearm strain. 

The time that Houser missed near the end of what was already a lost season for the Giants is not as big a deal as the 4-7 record and 4.02 ERA he posted over 26 appearances (16 starts) and 109.2 innings of work. Now, he is set to receive an increase in pay. 

Among the issues plaguing San Francisco this season was the production of the pitching staff. Overall, the Giants need an overhaul on the mound, and it may not be worth keeping Houser on the roster. 

Out of the 30 MLB teams, the Giants finished 23rd in ERA (4.33), 24th in WHIP (1.36), and 18th in opponent batting average (.248). They also gave up the eighth-most earned runs (688) while finishing 27th in strikeouts (1,204). 

If San Francisco wants to reclaim the success that has eluded it for so long, improved pitching is non-negotiable. 

Unfortunately, it does not feel like Houser can be part of a successful equation moving forward. The Giants' pitching woes hardly fell on him alone, but he was not good enough to justify an increase in salary in 2027.