3 key Buster Posey moves are reason SF Giants are still hanging around

The SF Giants have had a crazy, roller coaster season. After starting off the year well, they completely cratered in the summer months but have now rebounded and reinserted themselves into the playoff conversation.

There is no doubt this hasn’t been the season we were all hoping for after the fast start. It’s even harder to get over the fact that the San Francisco Giants were a top team in baseball for the first two months before the bottom fell out over the summer. 

3 key Buster Posey moves have kept SF Giants in contention

Even as the team enters the final stretch of the season on a heater, playoff hopes remain slim. However, that’s not to say the front office led by Buster Posey hasn’t made some good moves that have worked out. With that, let’s take a look at some of those very moves. 

Casey Schmitt proves the Giants right that he’s an everyday starter over a bench role

Coming into the season, Schmitt was viewed as more of a bench piece who could help you all over the infield, and that’s all he was expected to be. 

But as the season went on, it became evident that the Giants had found their primary second baseman. Granted, it took giving Schmitt every day at-bats for this to happen. It took Matt Chapman going down with a hand injury for this to happen, which is a negative. 

The Giants could have traded Schmitt in the offseason after Tyler Fitzgerald's hot 2024 since there was seemingly nowhere to put him. But Posey and the front office were wise not to.

Once Schmitt was inserted into the lineup, he was a force. So far this season, he’s hit a solid .241 with 10 homers and 32 RBIs. All of this has led to him having a respectable .723 OPS. He’s been able to do this by being way more patient at the plate, which is leading to him hitting better pitches and striking out less. 

But beyond the bat coming back to lift with the bat he’s given the team, he’s been extremely important with the glove. This season, he’s started at every position in the infield. His versatility, paired with a better bat, has at least given him a leg up on starting somewhere next season. 

Trading away relievers at the MLB Trade Deadline was a good decision

At the deadline, the Giants pivoted to being sellers. They did this after having their strong start. The identity of the team all year has been their strong bullpen. 

When deadline day came, the Giants sold off closer Camilo Doval to the Yankees. This is the biggest trade that looks like the front office won. Doval hasn’t been even close to the same pitcher since he put on pinstripes. 

However, the main part here is what the Giants got back. The biggest prize in the deal is catching prospect Jesus Rodriguez. He has an ETA of 2026 and could be well-positioned to push Patrick Bailey in spring training. 

The other reliever dealt away was Tyler Rogers. He has been good with the Mets. But this trade is something we’re seeing develop in front of us as the season progresses. 

In that trade, the Giants solidified their bullpen by getting José Buttó, who has been steady since coming to San Francisco. But more importantly, they got Drew Gilbert. Gilbert has shown the ability to add some much-needed speed and athleticism to the lineup. He has been getting more regular at-bats, which has seen him figure it out more at the plate and has allowed him to bring some unique energy to the team. 

The signing of Willy Adames

During the offseason, Buster Posey and the Giants made a massive move when they inked Willy Adames to a 7-year, $182 million deal. 

For the first few months of the season, Adames wasn't living up to the contract. He was even being compared to some of the worst free-agent signings in organization history. 

However, as he has done throughout his career, Adames has been much better and a key player in the final few months of the season. He is a middle-of-the-lineup power threat who has also been much better in the field this season. 

Trading for Rafael Devers

Then, the Giants made a splash in mid-June when they acquired Rafael Devers from the Red Sox in exchange for Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, James Tibbs, and Jose Bello. This move was intended to make the lineup deeper, but that wasn’t how things played out over the first few months after the move. Instead, the Giants nosedived and appeared to fall out of the hunt for a wild-card spot. 

But if you fast-forward to the middle of August, the Giants have taken off and currently sit on the outside of a playoff spot, and have plenty of momentum. The team has been better as a whole, but Devers has especially stepped up, as he was named the NL Co-Player of the Week last week. 

The Giants finally got the player they were hoping to get in the deal. As for who they traded away, it’s been a major loss for Boston as they dealt Tibbs to the Dodgers at the deadline. Kyle Harrison hasn’t been good and is now shaken up, and Jordan Hicks is going on the injured list. It’s clear who won the trade. The thing is, it just took a while for it to play out. 

All of these moves looked bad at one point or another, but with some time we now see the vision that Posey had with the team's hot streak. We will not fully know how some of these moves will be judged for some time, but for right now they seem like the right call by Posey and the front office.

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