Important dates for SF Giants fans to know in the 2025-26 MLB offseason

The 2025 - 2026 offseason is officially here. The SF Giants will begin the offseason with a lot of roster landscaping. We highlighted some important dates for Giants fans to know.

Important dates for SF Giants fans to know in the 2025-26 MLB offseason

Players elect free agency (November 2)

The Giants have a handful of players slated to elect free agency this winter. This group includes Justin Verlander, Wilmer Flores, and Dominic Smith.

Smith performed well during his stint with San Francisco. The Giants are open to bringing him back, but recognize that it is a tough roster fit. Verlander finished strong down the stretch, and both sides left the door open for a reunion. Flores was a popular player in the clubhouse and among the fanbase, but he will likely be playing elsewhere, if he continues his career.

Option decisions and qualifying offers (November 6)

By November 6, teams will need to act on their option decisions, and it is the deadline to issue prospecting free agents a qualifying offer. The Giants hold a $4 million club option on Tom Murphy for 2026, but they will almost certainly decline that option, thereby making him a free agent.

The Giants do not have any candidates for the qualifying offer. Verlander has received it once before, so he is not eligible. Smith and Flores are not candidates for it either.

Protection from the Rule 5 draft (November 18)

Teams can protect players from the Rule 5 draft by adding them to the 40-man roster. The Giants do not have any obvious examples of players who need to be protected from the Rule 5 draft this year, but a case could be made for a handful of prospects.

Will Bednar, Diego Velasquez, Juan Sánchez, and Nate Furman are all worthy of consideration. We will have a more in-depth analysis as this deadline nears.

The non-tender deadline (November 21)

The Giants only have three players eligible for arbitration this winter. This include Joey Lucchesi, Andrew Knizner, and JT Brubaker. Ryan Walker and Patrick Bailey were candidates to reach Super Two status this offseason, which would make them eligible for aritration one offseason early. However, they fell just a couple of days short of that cutoff.

It is a good bet that the Giants tender a contract for Lucchesi. He is projected to earn $2 million through arbitration. Knizner and Brubaker are more of a toss-up.

Winter meetings (December 7 - 10)

This is often the most eventful part of the offseason. Top front-office executives meet each year to discuss trades with other teams and to speak with prospective free agents. The Rule 5 draft takes place on the final day of the winter meetings.

Deadline to exchange arbitration figures (January 8)

Teams will tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players in November. Oftentimes, they will agree to terms on a salary for the upcoming year by that deadline. The official deadline to exchange numbers is January 8. If the team and player cannot agree on terms, then it is a sign that they are likely heading to arbitration. This will likely be an uneventful day for the Giants.

Opening of the international signing period (January 15)

The 2026 international signing period opens. The Giants will likely have one of the smaller bonus pools after signing Willy Adames last offseason. Adames had rejected a qualifying offer from the Milwaukee Brewers, and with that came a stiff penalty. They surpassed the luxury tax in 2024, and they forfeited $1 million in international bonus pool money for this year's class after signing Adames.

Nevertheless, the entire class is usually announced within days of when the period opens. The Giants have been tied to one of the top names in the class in middle infielder Luis Hernandez.