3 puzzling offseason decisions SF Giants already have to be regretting

It’s early in the season which means it’s time to be patient and wait to see how things develop…kidding! That means it is time to overreact. The SF Giants are off to a bad start at 3-7 on the season so far, so let’s take a look at the offseason moves Buster Posey and the front office probably already regret making (or not making). 

3 odd offseason decisions SF Giants must already regret

Not addressing rotation more adequately

One of the biggest concerns coming into the season was how the starting rotation would hold up over the course of the season. So far the answer is…not all that great. 

It’s too early to know how it will shake out for sure, but Tyler Mahle got roughed up pretty badly on Friday night and Landen Roupp struggled on Saturday night. Logan Webb has bounced back after a rough first start and Robbie Ray has been solid. Adrian Houser was pretty good in his first start.

The big question is how healthy the rotation can be as Roupp, Houser, and Mahle have all dealt with recent injury issues.

The rotation has been very okay so far. That would be acceptable if the offense was on fire but, uh, about that…

Not having a good plan at first base

In the offseason, it was assumed that Rafael Devers would be the starting first baseman for much of the season. If he was injured or better suited as the designated hitter, then surely Bryce Eldridge would be there to fill in.

But what if Eldridge didn’t hit well enough to make the team out of spring training? Well, surely they could use Luis Arraez there, right? Well, not if you promise him that he’s going to play second base and that’s the primary reason he signed with your team.

That’s how you end up with Casey Schmitt and Jerar Encarnacion making mistakes defensively at first base to begin the season.

Devers got his first start of the season at first base on Sunday and provided a reminder of how the Giants do not have any strong options defensively at first base as he struggled to corral a ball in the dirt from Matt Chapman late in the game which led to a run. It wasn't an easy play by any means, but guys like Brandon Belt and LaMonte Wade Jr. have made it look easy over the years.

Letting Dominic Smith, who was solid both offensively and defensively at first base in 2025, sign somewhere else looks worse and worse especially since he is hitting .333 and already has two home runs with the Atlanta Braves this season while the Giants have four homers as a team. 

Not getting an established closer

Adding a closer seemed like an obvious thing for the Giants to do in the offseason. They struggled closing games last season and their three best relievers from 2025, Randy Rodríguez, Tyler Rogers, and Camilo Doval are either injured or with different teams.

The Giants are seemingly opting for a fluid, closer-by-committee approach which may work in the short term, but it’s hard to see that working over the course of 162 games. We saw the first bullpen blow up of the year on Sunday which does not inspire a ton of confidence going forward.

We are less than three weeks into the new season so it’s far too early to write 2026 off as a failure, but based on the early returns maybe the front office would have done things a little bit differently in the offseason.