The SF Giants clearly decided to sell at the trade deadline after an atrocious start to the second half. President of baseball operations Buster Posey says he believes the Giants still have a chance at the playoffs, but actions speak louder than words.
Appearing on KNBR, Posey was asked whether the Giants had basically punted on the 2025 season and were instead focusing on 2026. He disagreed with that, saying: "That's not how I see it. Losing those guys definitely hurts. But we still feel like we've got our core group."
MURPH: "People look for narratives and say 'Did the Giants punt on the season?' That's the question. Are you playing for 2026 now?"
— KNBR (@KNBR) August 7, 2025
POSEY: "That's not how I see it. Losing those guys definitely hurts. But we still feel like we've got our core group."
Posey's not ready to throw… pic.twitter.com/4wMhNd6orZ
Buster Posey says SF Giants still have a chance but his actions say otherwise
Obviously, Posey cannot really say anything else as the lead executive of the organization. He cannot just come out and say that the team is cooked and the rest of this season does not matter because that would be pretty rough for both fan and player morale.
Yet, it is tough to fully believe Posey after the trades he made prior to the deadline. He got rid of two of the team's best bullpen arms in Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval as well as a well-liked veteran in outfielder Mike Yastrzemski. In exchange, the Giants got interesting prospects who may be able to help them in the future.
The Giants are already calling up one of the young players they got as outfielder Drew Gilbert made his MLB debut last night. Moves like that signal that the Giants are already looking towards the future.
San Francisco does have a blueprint they can follow in the 2024 Detroit Tigers as they got very hot after selling at the deadline and were a Cinderella story in the playoffs. The Giants still have roughly a 10 percent chance to make the playoffs according to FanGraphs so it is not impossible.
Yet, it is tough to see how the Giants can make up ground the rest of the year when their bullpen was their strength all season. They are already feeling the absence of the players they parted ways with.
Maybe in some way selling at the deadline will end up being the wake up call the Giants needed. Perhaps it will knock them out of their second half stupor and inspire good baseball down the stretch.
Still, the more realistic outcome is that the Giants will miss out on the playoffs for the fourth straight season. Posey can say he thinks the team has a shot, but that does not change the fact that this season is probably already lost for the Giants.
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