Randy Rodríguez's strong return in Arizona Fall League could give SF Giants a convenient offseason excuse

The only SF Giants action we get this time of year when MLB playoffs are going on is the Arizona Fall League. We’ve highlighted some of the young prospects doing well in the desert, but 2025 All-Star Randy Rodríguez is using the AFL as something of a rehab assignment as he comes back from Tommy John surgery and he looked really good in his first outing.

Rodríguez pitched on Tuesday night and delivered one scoreless inning as he retired the side in order and struck out one batter. It’s an encouraging sign for the 27-year-old but it might also give the front office an excuse to not go all-out to boost the bullpen in the offseason.

President of baseball operations Buster Posey has accepted blame for the lackluster bullpen in 2026 and has said that’s something the team will address in the offseason, but just how aggressive they are in shoring up the bullpen remains to be seen.

Will they try to go for one of the top arms on the market like Adrian Morejon or David Bednar? Will they choose to go on the cheaper end with someone like Kenley Jansen or Pete Fairbanks? Maybe Raisel Iglesias could be a nice middle ground between those options.

We don’t know at this time what they plan to do, but if Rodríguez looks healthy and like he could potentially recapture his form from the first half of 2025 then the Giants may decide to go for a cheaper option or two and call it an offseason.

That wouldn’t necessarily guarantee more bullpen struggles in 2027 since many expensive contracts to free agent relievers don’t pan out all that well. The Giants have lived that reality with Mark Melancon. 

Giants must be more aggressive when it comes to the bullpen

Yet, the Giants can’t just do nothing or employ the same strategy they did last offseason which amounted to minor league deals and a few major league contracts to guys like Jason Foley and Sam Hentges who were coming off major injuries.

Rodríguez’s return could allow the front office to get away with signing Jansen and JoJo Romero and calling it an offseason especially if they decide to bring back Camilo Doval as well.

Maybe that strategy would work out well or maybe not, but Rodríguez is an X-factor in the bullpen next season since no one fully knows how he will look coming off Tommy John. The promise of what he could be might be used as a justification to avoid the deep end of the pool in free agency though. 

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow