The San Francisco Giants have work to do after posting a 65-97 record in the 2026 season.
After the Milwaukee Brewers won the World Series in five games on Wednesday, the MLB offseason officially starts.
Giants President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey will have important decisions to make. One of the glaring issues Posey has to address is the pitching staff, particularly the bullpen.
Giants Pitcher Officially Becomes Free Agent
Right-handed reliever JT Brubaker officially becomes a free agent now that the MLB season is over. He is the Giants’ lone player who is entering free agency.
Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area wrote on X: “The Giants only had one player (JT Brubaker) become a free agent on the first day of the offseason. A ton of old friends are on the initial list of 144 free agents, though: Arraez, Ray, Mahle, Dubon, Dom, Conforto, Gausman, Okert, Wade Jr. and Taylor Rogers.”
Brubaker was signed to a 1-year, $1.8 million contract ahead of the 2026 season.
It will be interesting to see whether Posey and the Giants want to bring back the reliever.
Brubaker pitched 60 1/3 innings and appeared in 41 games out of the bullpen. He posted a 3.58 ERA this season. In addition, the right-handed pitcher recorded 39 strikeouts to 26 walks.
Giants Need Bullpen Arms
One of the Giants’ glaring issues was the bullpen’s inconsistency. Right-handed pitcher Ryan Walker was the team’s initial closer, but he struggled throughout the season and lost the job.
Walker posted a 7.16 ERA and a -1.0 WAR this year.
San Francisco then turned to Caleb Killian. But the same inability to consistently close games continued. Killian recorded 8 saves and a 4.26 ERA before being packaged with All-Star second baseman Luis Arraez in a trade to the Philadelphia Phillies.
After Killian was traded, the Giants turned to right-hander Dylan Smith. The reliever also showed some inconsistency on the mound.
Smith recorded 4 saves and a 3.86 ERA.
Who Could the SF Giants Target in Free Agency?
Jim Bowden of The Athletic published an article listing the top 40 MLB free agents, along with contract predictions and potential team fits.
The Giants were listed as potential landing spots for 5 players (4 pitchers and 1 hitter):
- Infielder Brandon Lowe: 3 years, $45 million
- Pitcher Clay Holmes: 2 years, $44 million
- Pitcher Kaima Tara (Nippon Professional Baseball): 3 years, $30 million
- Pitcher Shota Imanaga: 3 years, $69 million
- Pitcher Hiromi Itoh (Nippon Professional Baseball): 2 years, $22 million
San Francisco’s starting rotation currently consists of Logan Webb and Landen Roupp. There are a lot of question marks outside of the two right-handers. So it makes sense that Bowden listed four starting pitchers as good fits for the Giants.
San Francisco Giants Pitcher Officially Becomes Free Agent After World Series