Which current Giants will be part of the next contender?

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Giants catcher Buster Posey. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images) /

The San Francisco Giants were no stranger to the playoffs during the 2010s, but after three consecutive losing seasons, the team is in the early stages of a rebuild.

The next San Francisco Giants playoff team is likely at least two or three years away. Is anyone from the team’s current 40-man roster part of that future contender?

The current 40-man roster is full of underperforming veterans with bloated contracts, and part of the rebuild involves getting those contracts off of the books.

The good news is that 2021 is not that far away. At the end of the 2021 season, Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt will both reach the end of their current contracts.

In addition to this, the Giants hold buyout options for both Buster Posey and Johnny Cueto for $3 million and $5 million, respectively. Wilmer Flores has a buyout option as well for 2022 for $250,000.

The only player who is currently under contract for the 2022 season is Evan Longoria.

At that point, Giants general manager Scott Harris and team president Farhan Zaidi will truly have a clean slate.

During these next couple of years, the hope is that the Giants can continue to rebuild their farm system while churning out a number of highly touted prospects, including Joey Bart, Heliot Ramos, Hunter Bishop, and Marco Luciano.

This upcoming season feels similar to the 2008 Giants team. That team did not necessarily have playoff aspirations, but it was then that key players from the championship run like Pablo Sandoval, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Sergio Romo began to establish themselves.

The Giants have yet to build up their roster in the same fashion as 2008, but rather they are focusing on giving opportunities to their internal options and players brought in on minor league contracts.

As the lucrative contracts come off the books, the Giants will have much more payroll and roster flexibility.

With that being said, the Giants have a handful of players on their 40-man roster who could still be with the team when they are ready to compete again. We’re only talking about players on the 40-man roster here, so prospects such as Joey Bart and Heliot Ramos are not included.

Additionally, relievers are excluded due to the volatility of the position. That said, it would not be surprising to see Reyes Moronta or Tyler Rogers be key cogs in the next playoff bullpen.

So who could still be around for the next contender?

Let’s find out.