Three burning questions facing the Giants as the season dwindles

This story was excerpted from Maria Guardado’s Giants Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

KANSAS CITY -- The Giants were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Thursday, marking the fifth time they’ve missed the postseason in six seasons under president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi.

The disappointing finish raises a host of questions for the Giants, who will soon have to decide how to move forward with several key figures in the organization. Here are a few topics that will likely dominate the conversation over the final stretch of the regular season:

1. What’s Zaidi’s job status?
Despite bringing in a free-agent haul that pushed their payroll over the luxury-tax threshold for the first time since 2017, the Giants entered Saturday four games under .500 (75-79) and a distant fourth in the National League West, putting Zaidi’s future with the club in question.

Since taking over as the Giants’ head of baseball operations in November 2018, Zaidi has produced only one winning season -- the franchise-record 107-win campaign in 2021 -- and struggled to close the gap between the talent-rich Dodgers, Padres and D-backs in the division.

There are signs Giants’ ownership may be losing patience with Zaidi, as Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reported earlier this week that Buster Posey felt the need to step in and help finalize the club’s six-year, $151 contract extension with Matt Chapman. That news came after John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reported (subscription required) that Zaidi and manager Bob Melvin are only guaranteed contracts through 2025, not 2026 as previously believed.

“We just made the decision for simplicity to say the contracts ran through ’26 because there is language through ’26 in them,” Zaidi told KNBR’s Adam Copeland and Ray Ratto on Sept. 12. “But it’s accurate what was reported that it’s not fully guaranteed. Bob and I are continuing to work really well together. We’re focused on finishing the season strong. We’re looking forward to next year. We’ve had conversations about what changes we need to make personnel-wise to get us to where we need to go.”

2. What’s the long-term fit for Marco Luciano?
It’s been a season of ups and downs and mixed messages for the 23-year-old Luciano. The Giants hoped their longtime top prospect would establish himself as their new shortstop this year, but Luciano lost the job to veteran Nick Ahmed during Spring Training. He quickly emerged as a defensive liability after being promoted in May, prompting the Giants to send him back to the Minors. Luciano was expected to get another look at designated hitter after the Giants shipped Jorge Soler to the Braves, but those at-bats dried up following the arrival of other right-handed hitters like Jerar Encarnacion and Mark Canha.

The Giants had been experimenting with Luciano at second base after outrighting Thairo Estrada to Triple-A Sacramento, but he visibly stumbled while learning the new position on the fly and started only seven of the club’s last 16 games at that spot. Luciano didn’t play at all during the Giants’ three-game series at Baltimore and briefly returned to the starting lineup on Friday before being sent down again on Saturday.

Melvin said the plan now is for Luciano to head to Arizona to get some work in the outfield, where most scouts have long predicted he would end up moving. The Giants already have a fairly crowded group of controllable outfielders, so it’s unclear where the move leaves Luciano heading into 2025. If they can’t get him comfortable at a defensive position and he continues to struggle to tap into his power -- he hit only .211 with a .562 OPS and no homers over 27 games this year -- they might have to consider trading him over the offseason.

(This section was updated with the news of Luciano being optioned to Triple-A on Saturday)

3. How will Bryce Eldridge’s emergence impact the Giants’ plans at first base?
One of the biggest bright spots for the organization has been the meteoric rise of Eldridge, a 19-year-old first baseman who climbed from Single-A San Jose to Triple-A Sacramento in 2024. Zaidi has said the Giants’ No. 1 prospect could break into the Majors as soon as next year, which could have ramifications for two incumbent hitters in LaMonte Wade Jr. and Wilmer Flores.

Wade, 30, will be entering his final season of arbitration, but he doesn’t hit for as much power as a prototypical first baseman and is batting only .214 with a .650 OPS and four homers since returning from a left hamstring strain on June 28. The 33-year-old Flores, meanwhile, underwent season-ending right knee surgery last month and has a $3.5 million player option for 2025. The Giants will have to decide whether to bring back both veterans or leave a path open for Eldridge to break into the first-base mix as soon as possible.