Lack of activity at Winter Meetings for SF Giants points to slow offseason

The SF Giants walked away from the Winter Meetings in Orlando this week with very little to show for it. They are not alone in that respect, but it does not feel like a major splash is on the horizon for the Giants this offseason.

It was a fairly dull Winter Meetings overall as the deals were sparse. Kyle Schwarber returned to the Philadelphia Phillies and the Baltimore Orioles landed Pete Alonso. The Los Angeles Dodgers are taking another spin on the free agent closer wheel with Edwin Díaz.

SF Giants' quiet Winter Meetings point to slow offseason

The Giants had some nice off-the-field news but the only real acquisition they made was catcher Daniel Susac. Backup catcher depth was certainly a priority this offseason, but it was way down on the list compared to other concerns like the two gaping holes in the starting rotation.

With reports suggesting the Giants are unwilling to spend big to address the rotation or the bullpen, it seems the team may be preparing for a buy in bulk strategy in which they get a lot of cheap arms and use the first half of the season to try and sift through what they got at the thrift store.

Or, maybe president of baseball operations Buster Posey is gearing up for a big trade to try and address some of the team's deficiencies. A trade of top prospect Bryce Eldridge feels unlikely as teams seem to be asking for a lot in trades right now, but if some of those asking prices come down then maybe we will see more deals.

Giants fans are going to give some patience to Posey since he has proven he is willing to make big moves with the Willy Adames signing and Rafael Devers trade, not to mention the fact that he is a franchise legend and helped the team win three World Series titles.

But that patience will wear thin if more free agents come off the board in the coming weeks and months and the gap between the Giants and Dodgers gets even wider.

The fact that the Dodgers have won two straight World Series titles is bad enough, but the Giants seemingly being unwilling to spend adequately to try to remain somewhat competitive may frustrate a segment of the fanbase even further.

If the plan is some modest additions and a hope that new manager Tony Vitello and his staff can take existing players to the next level, that is not going to excite a lot of people but that may be what San Francisco is planning to do entering 2026.