It’s no secret that the 2026 season has been a disaster for the San Francisco Giants. One prominent Major League Baseball writer and reporter feels that the disastrous first half of the season makes President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey an executive facing the most pressure as we move towards the MLB Draft and trade deadline.
When listing the executives facing the most pressure, Ken Rosenthal listed Posey’s name second, behind only New York Mets President of Baseball Operations, David Stearns.
Ken Rosenthal Cited Multiple Failings by Buster Posey
One issue Rosenthal cited was “Posey’s embarrassing refusal to answer questions about the team’s Pride Night,” though he also acknowledged that it was “arguably was more of an organizational failure; the Giants should have better prepared him, or had team president Larry Baer address the matter.”
But even without that controversy, the pressure would be on Posey. The Giants entered play on Thursday, June 25, at 33-49, the fifth-worst record in all of baseball. Even in the era of expanded postseason, San Francisco is 9.5 games out of a postseason spot. And for a team that went 81-81 and 2025 and entered 2026 with designs on at least contending for a postseason spot, that’s not close to good enough.
Rosenthal noted the team’s offseason, which has yielded few positives. He did credit the front office for one good move, acknowledging “Posey and general manager Zack Minasian hit on second baseman Luis Arraez as a stopgap free agent.” That said, outfielder Harrison Bader, as well as pitchers Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle, were rightly cited as misses.
“Creativity has not been this front office’s strong suit,’ Rosenthal said. “And fixing this mess will take yeoman’s work.”
Other failures were also noted by Rosenthal. But in discussing those, he also wondered if Posey should be the person charged with fixing them.
“The Giants obviously would love to move on from their enormous commitments to third baseman Rafael Devers and shortstop Willy Adames,” Rosenthal said. “But it might be easier and cleaner for Posey’s successor to undo those missteps, as well as his hiring of Tony Vitello as manager.”
Trade Deadline Will Be Significant Test for Posey
San Francisco would likely be eager to move on from Devers, Adames and Matt Chapman, high-priced veterans who have not performed well in 2026. But as Rosenthal noted, that’s easier said than done. Their contracts will make those players hard to trade. Additionally, Adames and Chapman have full no-trade clauses.
But even if those players are kept, there are moves to make.
Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors listed his “Top 35 Trade Candidates For The 2026 Deadline.” Arraez was No. 2 on the list while pitcher Robbie Ray was No. 14.
“There hasn’t been any reporting about extension talks,” Franco said of Arraez. “San Francisco could make him a qualifying offer, but they’d only receive a compensatory pick after Competitive Balance Round B (roughly 75th overall). They should find a more valuable trade return than that.”
Arraez and Ray are both pending free agents. So, the Giants would be unlikely to get a huge haul in return for a trade. But even without landing any of the league’s top prospects, San Francisco could still get something of value in return. Posey’s job at the deadline will be to give the Giants a better feeling about the direction of the team going forward than exists right now.
Doing that won’t take him off the hot seat, but it might make the seat a few degrees cooler for the time being.
Buster Posey Under Pressure During Disastrous Season