2 SF Giants veterans opt in to their contracts for the 2025 season

The SF Giants have not had any surprises on the options front. Blake Snell opted out of his contract like expected and Robbie Ray and Wilmer Flores both opted into their contracts. What does this mean for 2025?

Ray opting in means that the Giants should have a decent rotation piece for 2025 if he can stay healthy. The Giants traded for Ray last offseason with the understanding that he would likely not pitch until the second half and that ended up being the case.

Robbie Ray and Wilmer Flores both opt in for SF Giants

In 7 starts last year with the Giants, Ray had an ERA of 4.70 which was inflated due to a rough outing against the Atlanta Braves where he gave up 5 earned runs and did not make it out of the first inning.

Other than that he looked pretty solid even though he did finish the season on the IL. In an ideal world, the Giants will land another strong starting pitcher in free agency which would make Ray the third pitcher in the rotation. If they cannot land someone like Corbin Burnes or Max Fried in free agency, then Ray could end up being the number two starter.

With Wilmer Flores, it was no surprise that he exercised his $3.5 player option. He is coming off a really rough 2024 where he hit just .206/.277/.318 with 4 home runs and 26 RBI in just 71 games. Injuries played a big factor in his decline which came as a bit of a surprise after his exemplary 2023 season in which he hit .284/.355/.509 with 23 home runs and 60 RBI.

Now, the question becomes whether the Giants will cut Flores or not. He has been a fan favorite while on the Giants but the Giants could certainly try to upgrade his spot on the roster. He can really only play first base or serve as a DH at this point in his career and it is not clear whether he can hit well enough to make up for that lack of versatility.

My guess is that the Giants do end up moving on from Flores and try to get an upgrade at first base this offseason. He was a very good Giant but the team needs to improve at first base in 2025.

As Thom Yorke might say, "No alarms and no surprises," when it comes to player options thus far for the Giants. Now we will see how the Giants fare in free agency which officially begins on November 4th.