In my last post, I covered what I would like to see prioritized by the Giants with free agents. In this post, I want to cover the Giants lineup and position possibilities.
ogc thoughts
The Giants Seem Poised to Stand Pat
I feel the Giants are pretty set with their lineup and position player options. Of course, they have a ton of huge contracts in Devers, Adames, Chapman and Lee, so that's basically half the lineup right there. Furthermore, the beat writers have been reporting that the Giants are focused on pitching and it seems to me like there’s about enough money to the penalty threshold to get the two starters and two back end relievers they need, but to get a position player too would push them over.
As badly as the offense played over the season, in transitional seasons like 2025, the team at the beginning is not always the same as at the end. Like getting Devers mid-season. After Devers started hitting regularly like he did with Boston (after July 21st), the Giants averaged 4.79 runs per game, which basically placed them at where the 5th best NL offense of 2025 was, at 4.80 runs scored per game. That’s even with Bailey being one of the worse hitters during the middle of the season.
That is roughly the traditional second half, after the All Star Break, starting July 18th, and the Giants hit .242/.314/.410/.724 in that period, averaging 4.71 runs per game. Among hitters with 100 PA, Devers hit .861 OPS, Adames hit .828, Chapman hit .766, Lee hit .759, Schmitt hit .684, Ramos hit .674, Flores hit .656, and Bailey hit .647 (which is okay when he’s elite defensively).
All that looks repeatable, on an overall basis (Adames will probably be lower, but Ramos higher, and Flores will likely be replaced by Encarnacion, who hit .750 OPS), so the Giants 2026 offense should be at least NL average, which was .719 OPS and 4.47 runs scored per game. As I discovered in my playoff study, having an average offense plus a Top 3 Runs Allowed defense (which is driven by great starting pitching) usually resulted in 85-89 wins and a playoff spot.
And with some good free agent pickups, the Giants should be able to achieve a Top 3 RA. In the first half, the Giants had a 3.52 ERA, tops in the NL, which drove their 52-45 record. That was driven by the trio of Ray, Webb, Roupp (2.65 ERA, 2.94 ERA, 3.27 ERA, respectively), even as bad as Verlander, Hicks, Harrison pitched. The third ERA in the second half had a 3.61 ERA (Giants had 4.37 ERA). Adding an ace level starter would replicate what Roupp provided in the first half, and then anything he contributes is great, plus Ray should be more physically able to continue to pitch well in the second half as well. Adding an okay FA 5th starter should keep the starting pitching on a good foundation for the season.
I see some people suggest 2B and RF players to sign or trade for. As I'll explain below, Koss played 2B well enough (and on a min contract) that any upgrade over him would cost a lot, plus Schmitt looks to be not as good, but good enough, should Koss falters. Plus there's Fitzgerald, who is likely the backup MI. And the Giants have traditionally kept one position open for their prospects to fight over, and with so many (over a handful), especially so many with no more options, I just can't see the Giants adding an expensive RF free agent.
So I don’t believe the Giants front office will do anything major with position players this offseason, other than the traditional journeyman veterans to push the young players.
Set 26-man Roster Spots
The lineup positions are mostly set:
- C: Patrick Bailey
- 1B: Rafael Devers
- 2B: Christian Koss and Casey Schmitt
- 3B: Matt Chapman
- SS: Willy Adames
- LF: Heliot Ramos
- CF: Jung Hoo Lee
- RF: battle among options
- DH: various, whether resting starters or using bench
That’s roughly how the Giants have done it since Sabean took over as GM: most starters are set, with journeyman veterans signed to minor league deals to battle the young players. While it would be nice to pick up huge upgrades at 2B (Bregman, Bichette) or RF (Tucker), the Giants have greater pitching needs and have already signaled that spending is limited.
With five open backup spots, one is for backup catcher, which Jesus Rodriguez is battling Knizner for, two will be backup infielders, which likely be Tyler Fitzgerald and someone among Schmitt and Encarnacion, and two will be backup OF, among many choices who don't win the starting role, but especially those with no options left, like Matos and Luciano, perhaps.
Second Base and First Base and DH
As I noted in an earlier post, Koss had a great first MLB season: he was so great defensively that his bWAR was 1.8 although he only played 74 games. That’s roughly 3-4 bWAR season if he was the starter. Thairo Estrada produced 2.5 bWAR in his last good season with the Giants, and Koss appears ready to match that.
I think the Giants are going to eventually make Koss the starter, but will still get a journeyman middle infielder to fight for the role, along with Schmitt. And will be using Casey Schmitt in a super utility role playing mostly 1B, 2B and DH, switching out sometimes with Koss. Overall, he and Devers will be sharing 1B/DH starts, depending upon how the Giants want Devers to be mostly doing. I also can see Encarnacion getting DH starts as well.
I still believe Devers should just be the full time DH, to avoid injuries, but after they played him at first so much in 2025, they probably wll still do that. I think Schmitt will mostly start somewhere, to see if he can earn a starting position, and if so, be a valuable backup, as well as a trade chip.
They will likely get a journeyman to battle with Schmitt at 1B/DH, and win that role with Devers. I expect Schmitt to win the role, but Encarnacion could force his way in, and make Schmitt a backup.
Right Field
Speaking of journeyman, they will likely get one battling for RF as well (though possibly a corner player who can play 1B and RF and compete for both spots). There are so many RF options in spring training: Drew Gilbert, Luis Matos, Marco Luciano, Grant McCray, Jerar Encarnacion (who is in the mix for DH as well). Some might be cleared out before spring training, because Matos, Luciano and Encarnacion don’t have options left. They likely are battling for backup OF roles as well.
Wade Meckler technically is an option, as he is out of options, but I am not sure he will be around to battle. I expect him to be DFAed to clear 40-man spot for someone at some point, and then we might lose him. After seeing Mason Black DFAed and traded, I think Posey is being more aggressive in getting rid of players, once they fall out of favor.
I also think Luciano will eventually be gone (as a last minute cut before OD), as a result, unless he can break out this spring. I see one of Gilbert, Matos, and McCray taking the RF starting position, and the other two taking the backup OF positions. Gilbert and McCray still have an option, I believe, so it is possible one will get sent down so that the Giants can retain Luciano, but he didn't even get to sniff the majors in 2025, and wasn't even that good in AAA, so that doesn't seem likely, especially given Gilbert's relationship with Vitello.
Left Field and Center Field
Heliot Ramos and Jung Hoo Lee both had horrible defensive seasons in 2025, leading many to believe that Ramos might be traded and/or to move Lee to RF and find a better fielding CF. I think that with the choice of Vitello, the idea is that both can be coached to be at least average defensively, which would make both good starters.
But if either isn’t able to do it for 2026, then maybe the proposed changes will be realized. However, I can't imagine that both couldn't be taught to be better. Both were not all that bad in 2024, nor previously in the minors or KBO. Also, Vitello is at heart a teacher, as that's a key function of college coaches, and should be able to help as well. Moreover, Ramos will be 26 YO, which is when most players start to stabilize their performances, and Lee will be in his second MLB season, which should mean less adjustments and learning.
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