3 'blow it up' moves Buster Posey can make to bring about a SF Giants rebuild

The SF Giants are 20-30 on the season. It’s just May but the team is nearly a third of the way through the season and it has not given us any real reason to believe the playoffs as a possibility. The organization has never really done a full-scale rebuild in recent memory, but if ownership and president of baseball operations Buster Posey, who is a member of the ownership group, decide that now if the time to start over then there are definitely some moves they can make to do that.

Posey said on a contentious KNBR appearance on Thursday that the Giants are not engaged in a "quiet rebuild." Well, if the Giants continue on their current pace, which would mean they'd lose 90-something games, then calls for a rebuild, or at least selling off veteran players, will become quite loud. Calls for a rebuild are already gaining steam among the fanbase.

Moves to foment a rebuild would be very controversial and polarizing and they are not all that likely, but maybe this season has proven that there are deeper, more structural issues at play for the Giants.

Keith Law of The Athletic appeared on 95.7 The Game and talked about how it seems like ever since the Giants had that miracle 2021 season they have been trying to replicate that approach when clearly that was just one magical season, not a sustainable model for success.

Maybe this season will force the Giants to throw out that playbook and start anew by trading off some of their players to try to build for the future. Here are three moves that could happen if they choose to go down that path.

If Giants eventually decide to rebuild, there are three big moves they could make

Trade Logan Webb

This would be the big move Posey could make to signal that the Giants are no longer in “win now” mode. Logan Webb has had a down year by his standards and is currently on the IL. He has a 5.06 ERA in 8 starts and maybe some of that has to do with his knee issue, but maybe this is the beginning of his decline.

If the Giants feel that is the case, or if they rationalize that they will not be willing to sign Webb to a contract extension before he becomes a free agent after the 2028 season, then maybe now is the time to try to shop him while he still has value.

They could get a decent haul for him. He’s been one of the most consistent pitchers in the game for years and is on an affordable contract for a few more years so he is not a rental. A team in need of pitching would certainly be willing to part ways with a shiny prospect or two to get Webb.

Trade off at least one of the big contracts

If the Giants eventually decide they do want to shop some of their expensive players like Matt Chapman, Willy Adames, Jung Hoo Lee, or Rafael Devers, it will not be easy. Recent reporting from Robert Murray of FanSided suggests the Giants have no plans to do that, but if the wheels fall off by the trade deadline, and at this point if we’re being honest they already have a flat tire or two, then that could change the team’s calculus.

Chapman and Adames have full no-trade clauses but those can be waived to get a trade done. Still, it won’t be easy getting any team to take on these huge deals for guys who aren’t exactly living up to them. The Giants may have to agree to pay off some of those deals in order to get a team to bite but maybe that’s the price they have to pay to rebuild.

Trade Luis Arraez

This would be the most immediate way for the Giants to get Bryce Eldridge into the lineup permanently. Arraez has arguably been the team’s best player this season and any contending team in need of a second baseman would love to have the three-time batting champ.

Fans have grown fond of Arraez since he’s been one of the few bright spots, but it seems unlikely the Giants would be willing to extend him so they may as well trade him, move Casey Schmitt to second base, and let Eldridge be the designated hitter.

The Giants almost certainly do not want to rebuild and tear it down, but if things continue on their current trajectory they may be left with no other choice.

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