SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants concluded their 2019 season with an emotional farewell to Bruce Bochy, who retired at the end of the regular season following a 25-year career as a Major League manager.

The Giants had hoped to send off Bochy with one final playoff run, but they fell short of their goal, finishing with a losing record (77-85) for the third consecutive year.

“I wish we had played better for him the entire year,” Giants first baseman Brandon Belt said. “We came into the season really looking to go out on a high note. We came in with a goal of making the playoffs and winning the World Series. We obviously came up short, so I think it’s a disappointment in that respect.”

With another tough season in the books, the focus will now turn to 2020. Here’s a look at five questions facing the Giants as they head into the offseason:

1. Who will be the next Giants’ manager?
The Bochy era officially came to a close more than a month ago, but the search for his successor remains ongoing. Though they were one of eight teams with a managerial vacancy at the beginning of the offseason, the Giants are being deliberate with their interview process and don’t appear close to making a hire.

The Giants have reportedly spoken to A’s quality control coach Mark Kotsay, Astros bench coach Joe Espada, former Phillies manager Gabe Kapler, Cubs bench coach Will Venable, Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro and Royals quality control coach Pedro Grifol, along with two internal candidates, bench coach Hensley Meulens and third-base coach Ron Wotus.

• Espada, Kapler receive callbacks from Giants

Bochy, for his part, believes his successor will inherit one of the best jobs in baseball.

“He’s going to be one fortunate manager,” Bochy said. “He’ll be with a storied franchise that has such a great history. Beautiful ballpark. Beautiful city. Beautiful fans. There’s not a better place to manage in baseball. I’m convinced of that.”

2. Is there enough rotation depth?
Veteran starters Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija are under contract for next season, but Madison Bumgarner is set to become a free agent this offseason, and it will be difficult to replace his durability and production atop the rotation. There should be mutual interest in a possible extension for Bumgarner, but if the two sides can’t hammer out a deal, the Giants could consider other free-agent starters such as Hyun-Jin Ryu, Gerrit Cole and Dallas Keuchel.

The Giants weren’t afraid to go young in their rotation in 2019, giving rookies Tyler Beede, Shaun Anderson and Logan Webb extended looks this season, so expect the trio to be in the mix to round out the club’s Opening Day rotation next spring.

“I think no matter what happens in terms of bringing in veteran starting pitching, we're going to need some of the younger guys that have made starts for us this year to step up and continue to develop,” president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said recently.

3. What can be expected out of Buster Posey moving forward?
Posey underwent major hip surgery last August and returned in time to start on Opening Day, but he endured another down season at the plate, finishing 2019 batting a career-low .257 with a .688 OPS and only seven homers. Posey's defense remained elite, but he ended up splitting catching duties with backup Stephen Vogt, as he struggled to solve his offensive woes.

Posey, who is signed through 2021, plans to make some changes this offseason, though he’s declined to disclose what they may be. Tough decisions will await the Giants if Posey doesn’t bounce back, as No. 1 prospect Joey Bart is on his way and could be ready to debut in 2020.

4. Will they be able to piece together an effective bullpen?
The bullpen emerged as the Giants’ most reliable strength and the driving factor in the club’s 38-16 record in one-run games this season, but a series of trades and injuries left All-Star closer Will Smith as the only reliever to begin and end the year on the active roster.

The Giants could enter 2020 without their top three bullpen workhorses, as Reyes Moronta will be rehabbing from right shoulder surgery and Smith will be eligible for free agency. Fellow left-hander Tony Watson will return, having exercised his $2.5 million player option for 2020.

Still, rebuilding a bullpen from scratch may not be as daunting as it sounds. The turnover allowed the Giants to audition quite a few relief arms in September, yielding promising results from the likes of Tyler Rogers, Jandel Gustave and Sam Coonrod.

“These guys have been called into high-leverage situations with the change in the bullpen,” Bochy said. “This is invaluable experience for them. It’s only going to make them better.”

5. Can they regain their home-field advantage in 2020?
The Giants went 35-46 at Oracle Park this year, tying the 1984 team for the worst home record in franchise history. By contrast, they finished 42-39 on the road, the fourth-best record in the National League, behind only the Braves, Dodgers and World Series champion Nationals -- all of whom played in the postseason.

The Giants’ offense proved far more productive on the road, so the challenge for the front office will be assembling a lineup that is capable of scoring runs more consistently at pitcher-friendly Oracle Park, which will undergo changes this offseason.

“Once we know exactly what the dimensions will look like, we can kind of focus on that more,” Zaidi said. “But the easy answer to that is power. We're improved in that category this year, but so is everybody else in baseball. I think from our standpoint, it's going to be kind of continuing along that trend. I guess there's two things: One is just [improving] the total power on the team. And the second is having guys that have hitting profiles or track records of hitting in this park.”