The San Francisco Giants missed the playoffs again in 2026, sending the team back to the drawing board in building a contender.
While the Giants did have a strong offseason last year, the moves didn’t translate to much success, leading to more questions around the organization. San Francisco had problems all over the roster, with both offense and pitching being an issue.
President of baseball operations Buster Posey is looking to rebuild this offseason, with pitching being a priority once again for the team. Posey understands that to win in this league, teams need quality arms up and down the roster.
But for the Giants, it has been tough sledding on getting top free agents to come to town over the last few years. San Francisco may need to overpay for players again, with the team looking to get back to the playoffs after a few years.
Giants Linked to All-Star
One name that could help the Giants out greatly going forward is left-hander Shota Imanaga, who is a free agent this offseason. Imanaga isn’t expected to return to the Chicago Cubs this offseason, leaving the door open for a team like San Francisco to land him.
MLB Trade Rumors predicted that Imanaga would land with the Giants, with three different analysts having him sign with San Francusoc. The contract projection for the left-hander came in at two years, worth $40 million, which seems accurate for his production.
“Imanaga does plenty of things well. He’s spent three years in MLB since coming over from Japan and proven himself a durable source of innings who can miss bats and limit walks at plus levels. He’s pitched just under 500 innings across three major league seasons and done so with a 3.45 ERA, a 23.6% strikeout rate and an elite 4.5% walk rate. All of that is good! So, why the relatively pedestrian contract prediction? Home runs,” MLB Trade Rumors wrote.
There is concern around Imanaga and the home runs that he gives up. This could hurt his free agency, which is why the veteran may only land a short-term deal.
With the Cubs last season, Imanaga posted a 3.77 ERA over 32 starts. The veteran threw 174.1 innings for Chicago, striking out 174 batters over this time.
Should the Giants Make This Signing?
While there are real concerns around the home runs allowed from Imanaga over his career, playing in a park like Oracle could help. Oracle Park is widely considered to be more of a pitcher’s park, and this could help keep the ball inside for the left-hander.
But Imanaga is also capable of putting together very strong outings, and the Giants do need help within the rotation. The veteran left-hander could help solidify the San Francisco rotation, giving this team someone who can eat innings.
Imanaga may not be the perfect pitcher, but he would be a good start for a Giants team that lacked many quality arms this year. Putting him behind ace Logan Webb would be a decent way for San Francisco to start building out the rotation, and the veteran could thrive playing for this team this coming year.
Giants Predicted to Land All-Star in Massive Offseason Move