SF Giants seem to be abandoning tried and true pitching and defense strategy

When Buster Posey took over as president of baseball operations in 2024, he emphasized that the team needed to lean into pitching and defense as its two strengths. Now, it seems like the Giants may be moving away from that philosophy to more of an offense-first approach.

Posey saw with his own eyes how effective a pitching and defense approach can be for the Giants. Those were the team’s strengths during those championship runs in the 2010’s. Given Oracle Park’s pitcher-friendly nature, it has always seemed like a smart move to lean into that department as a strength.

Pitching and defense are not strengths for the SF Giants

However, going into 2026 it is hard to see how pitching will be a strength. The rotation is likely complete after two reasonable additions, but one cannot confidently say the rotation is in a better spot than it was last year. Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle would be No. 5 starters in strong rotations, but they are probably going to be the No. 3 and No. 4 starters for the Giants in 2026.

Then turning to the bullpen. The Giants have added a lot of affordable arms, many of whom are coming off injury. Perhaps that is a wise way to construct a bullpen because we have seen that throwing money at a closer does not always work.

But still, looking at the bullpen right now it is anyone’s guess who will be pitching the late innings. If one had to guess right now, Joel Peguero may be the 7th inning man after making his MLB debut late last season. Erik Miller may be the setup man assuming he’s healthy. Then the Giants may have no other choice than to run it back with Ryan Walker as closer even after a tough 2025.

Maybe the staff will surprise us all, but right now pitching cannot be considered a strength.

Now turning to the defense. The Giants should be in a pretty good spot with their infield defense. They have five-time Gold Glove winner Matt Chapman at third, Willy Adames at shortstop who was great defensively after a rough start in 2025, and Rafael Devers will likely play the most first base in 2026. 

Second base is still a bit up in the air right now as the Giants could potentially make a move, but their internal options of Casey Schmitt, Christian Koss, and Tyler Fitzgerald are all solid defensively.

The addition of infield guru Ron Washington should help the team out defensively especially at first base as Devers and Bryce Eldridge get used to the position. 

However, looking at the outfield things look bleak. Jung Hoo Lee and Heliot Ramos graded out as two of the worst defensive outfielders in baseball last year. Maybe they can improve but that is asking a lot for them to raise their level that much.

The Giants would feel better defensively in right field by sticking Drew Gilbert out there, but he has not done enough with the bat to warrant being an everyday starter. 

They could add someone like Harrison Bader to shore up the outfield defense a bit, but as things stand right now the Giants could only be considered an average team defensively at best with a above average infield on paper and a well below average outfield.

Posey wanted to make the team’s identity about pitching and defense, but even when squinting and giving the benefit of the doubt it is nearly impossible to make the case that those are the team’s strengths. Maybe more moves are incoming, but it seems like the Giants may be hoping their high-priced lineup will help bail them out next season.