Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Giants face a tough NL West with the Dodgers, Padres, and Diamondbacks all strong contenders.
- Internal issues and strategic missteps have left San Francisco trailing even the Rockies in the division.
- Critical roster gaps remain unaddressed, with no clear solution in sight for the struggling team.
The San Francisco Giants knew they had a battle ahead of them. When you share a division with the Los Angeles Dodgers, it’s never easy. Add in a San Diego Padres team that’s always a threat plus an Arizona Diamondbacks club that rarely takes its place as a doormat, the Giants had to do a lot more than what Buster Posey has to remain competitive.
Trailing even the Colorado Rockies heading into action on Sunday, the Giants are in a world of hurt with no signs of coming out of it. Sans playoffs since 2021 when they somehow won 107 games, the ball club has been the definition of .500 ever since. They’ve won 79, 80, or 81 games in each of the four years since. They’ll be lucky to get there this year.
Leading the charge since late 2024, Posey only receives blame for what the team has done since. Unfortunately, they’re headed in the wrong direction. These mistakes appear to have doomed them in 2026.
Hiring Tony Vitello is something Buster Posey won’t live down
The Giants got “creative” by hiring Tony Vitello, a college manager with no experience in the pros. If this wasn’t baseball and you were rewarded for things like thinking outside of the box, this would have been a good choice.
There are no style points in MLB. Vitello shared early on in the season how there were already “clubhouse incidents” within the Giants locker room. Something can be said about keeping those problems in-house rather than sharing them to the world.
Vitello’s record will ultimately determine whether or not he’s a fit in San Francisco. With this in mind, it’s about as awful as it gets.
Trying to build around Rafael Devers is a mistake that continues to haunt the Giants
Posey got bold and traded for Rafael Devers last June. The disgruntled ex-Boston Red Sox slugger underperformed for the remainder of 2025 and has gotten off to an incredibly slow start in 2026. Through his first 136 plate appearances, Devers hit .211/.250/.297 with 30.1% strikeout rate.
The trade for Devers is complicated because many of the players given up by the Giants have since left the Red Sox, damaging their reputation as well. However, the Giants chose Devers to be one of the main pieces they’d build around. A converted third baseman now playing first base (and not well), it’s the lack of offense that’s most alarming.
Worst of all, his contract is for another 7 seasons. He has salary dump, and maybe even outright release, written all over him in a few seasons.
Letting Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser headline the starting pitcher additions is brutal
The two starting pitchers added this offseason by the Giants were Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser. Stop the presses! The oft-injured Mahle came into Sunday’s start with a 5.87 ERA. Houser has been even worse at 7.12 on the year. Fine options for a team with no intentions of contending, pairing both together in a free agent market that included Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, and more feels cheap.
The Giants failed to give Logan Webb an added help behind him in the rotation. Robbie Ray and Landen Roupp have each pitched well, but just a trio of starting pitchers makes them much more incomplete than if they had some sort of significant stopper behind them.
Mahle and Houser have both been around long enough for everyone to realize where their ceiling is. Apparently, Posey didn’t get the memo.
Buster Posey completely ignored adding any power
The team’s biggest bats added were Harrison Bader (already hurt) and Luis Arraez. Bader is fine if he’s your number nine hitter with room to grow. Arraez has done his usual thing of hitting for a high average and keeping his home run trot close to the vest.
With 19 home runs through 34 games heading into Sunday, no team has gone deep fewer times. Okay, so you play in a ballpark where home runs just aren’t your thing. Then why not add better pitching? With 4 longballs, Casey Schmitt is the team’s early leader.
What should worry fans most is how the Giants seem kind of “set” with several of their players. Devers, Willy Adames, and Matt Chapman are all signed long-term. None are having exceptionally good years and are exiting what feels like the prime of their careers.
The Giants failed to acknowledge they lacked a true closer
Fans who haven’t followed the Giants closely might have trouble naming who the team’s closer even is. It’s Ryan Walker, a guy who had a 4.11 ERA and 17 saves for San Francisco last year. He has two blown saves and 3 successful ones to begin the year.
Closers are tough to figure out. This offseason included Edwin Diaz changing teams and landing on the IL early. Many of the league’s top closers in terms of saves have shaky ERAs as well. The problem isn’t who the Giants missed on. It’s more about not doing anything at all.
The bullpen has performed well for the Giants thus far with their biggest hindrance being the lack of run support. Even if not having a closer is further down on the list of Posey mistakes, it’s one that shouldn’t be ignored.
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