SF Giants set up for offseason spending spree after rosy arbitration projections

Arbitration projections have come out and the SF Giants should be in a pretty good spot. This is good news for the Giants as they look to improve the roster this offseason and they should be in a spot to spend big in free agency.

According to the projections from MLB Trade Rumors, the highest projected arbitration salary for the Giants is reliever Ryan Walker at $2.5 million. After that, the next highest is catcher Patrick Bailey at $2.2 million and the other arbitration-eligible players will not cost a ton. While both Walker and Bailey are getting nice raises, those are not onerous salaries at all.

SF Giants should be able to spend freely after arbitration projections

Obviously, the Giants have most of their money tied up in the big names like Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, and Matt Chapman. But the fact that they are getting other players at relatively affordable rates is going to help in any free agent pursuits this offseason.

San Francisco stayed under the luxury tax threshold in 2025 which reset the penalties after they went over the threshold in 2024. Their payroll on the books for 2026, roughly $140 million according to Spotrac, is well under what the $244 million threshold for 2026.

This means the Giants will be able to spend big. There are big fish free agents out there like Kyle Tucker who would be a major upgrade in right field and the Giants have been connected to him already.

The Giants could also commit some money to a big starting pitcher or two. Posey has already talked about how pitching is going to be a big priority this offseason so the Giants could spend big on a couple of starters and maybe add a free agent reliever or two to pad out their depleted bullpen.

Of course, just because the Giants are able to spend big does not necessarily mean they will land any big free agents. They have come up short many times before when trying to sign a big free agent so deep pockets will not automatically lead to anything.

But with other NL West teams like the Dodgers and Padres willing to spend big to improve, it is nice to know the Giants will be able to do that with their projected arbitration salaries not costing them much at all.