GM search and more offseason questions facing Giants

October 9th, 2024

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.

The Giants opened the offseason by undergoing a major regime change, with franchise legend Buster Posey stepping in to replace Farhan Zaidi as the club’s president of baseball operations.

Posey hasn’t offered many details about his future plans for the Giants, but his vision should start to come into focus in the coming months. Here's a look at five questions he and the Giants will need to answer this winter.

1. Who will be the next GM?

Given his lack of front-office experience, Posey is expected to hire a general manager to work alongside him and help with the day-to-day operations of the organization. Posey said he would ideally like to bring in someone with a scouting background, though he also figures to receive plenty of administrative support from current assistant GM Jeremy Shelley, who has worked in the Giants’ front office for over 30 years. Possible external candidates include A’s assistant GM Billy Owens, D-backs assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye, former Marlins GM Kim Ng and Thad Levine, who recently stepped down after eight seasons as the Twins’ GM.

2. Will the Giants retain Blake Snell?

Snell is widely expected to decline his $30 million player option for 2025 and become a free agent, so it remains to be seen if he’ll be back for a second season in San Francisco. The two-time Cy Young winner endured a disastrous start to his Giants tenure, but he rebounded by posting a 1.23 ERA over his final 14 starts, including his first career no-hitter, which came on Aug. 2 against the Reds.

The Giants shied away from giving out long-term contracts to free-agent pitchers under Zaidi, but perhaps they’ll take a different approach with Posey.

“Blake’s one of the premier starting pitchers in the big leagues and has been for a while,” Posey said last week. “He’s obviously somebody who’s going to be a priority for us to take a hard look at and make a decision as a group.”

3. What will they do in the middle infield?

Matt Chapman is locked in at third base through the end of the decade, but the Giants will need to figure out who will be playing alongside him in the infield. Tyler Fitzgerald ended the season as the club’s starting shortstop, but he recorded -4 Outs Above Average at the position and could be a better defensive fit at second base in the long run. Brett Wisely, Casey Schmitt, Marco Luciano and Donovan Walton all saw time at second after Thairo Estrada was outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento, but the Giants still struggled to find consistent production there, ranking 28th in the Majors with a .618 OPS out of the spot this year.

Fitzgerald’s versatility should enable the Giants to pursue a free-agent shortstop such as Willy Adames or Ha-Seong Kim, either of whom would help upgrade the lineup and stabilize the defense up the middle. Kim could be especially appealing, given his relationships with countryman Jung Hoo Lee and Bob Melvin, who managed the Gold Glove-winning infielder in San Diego. But Kim recently underwent season-ending surgery to repair a small tear in his right labrum, so he may come with question marks.

4. Will Bryce Eldridge’s emergence keep the Giants out of the first-base market?

The Giants are in need of a power-hitting first baseman, though they seem to have an internal answer coming in the form of Eldridge, who rose from Single-A San Jose to Triple-A Sacramento in 2024. Pete Alonso will be available in free agency this winter, but San Francisco seems unlikely to target any players who might block Eldridge’s path to the Majors. Still, the Giants could consider bringing in other veteran options such as Paul Goldschmidt or Carlos Santana, who could hold down first base until Eldridge is ready and then possibly shift to designated hitter duties.

5. How will they handle their arbitration-eligible players?

The Giants have four players who will be eligible for arbitration this offseason: first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr., outfielder Mike Yastrzemski and right-handers Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers. Doval and Rogers seem all but certain to return to the bullpen, but the Giants could have tougher calls to make on Wade and Yastrzemski.

Wade is an on-base machine, but his power numbers dipped this season and he’s been hampered by hamstring injuries in recent years. The Giants also have Eldridge on the way, so the 30-year-old Wade could be a non-tender candidate if the club decides to make changes at first base.

Yastrzemski, 34, remains a solid contributor, though his salary is likely to rise to approximately $10 million in his final year of arbitration. Heliot Ramos and Lee are already in line for two starting spots in the outfield, so the Giants will have to decide whether to keep Yastrzemski in the mix or create more opportunities for younger players like Grant McCray, Luis Matos, Wade Meckler and Luciano.