SF Giants veteran has become too valuable to lose this offseason

Perhaps the biggest surprise for the SF Giants this season has been the emergence of Dominic Smith as a solid everyday player for the team. He has played so well that the Giants may have to make a strong push to retain him in the offseason.

The Giants signed Smith earlier this year mainly to be a stopgap option at first base after the team moved on from LaMonte Wade Jr. due to his struggles at the plate. Smith has turned into much more than the Giants could have expected.

SF Giants lucked out with resurgent Dominic Smith

In 62 games with San Francisco, Smith is slashing .286/.335/.419 with five home runs and 33 runs batted in. He has just been a solid all-around hitter as he has diplayed a great eye at the plate while also flashing his power and coming up with clutch hits in good situational at-bats.

He is the exact kind of hitter the Giants need on a team with a lot of bats in the lineup who go all or nothing and have a lot of swing and miss in their game. Smith is one of the few guys in the lineup who seems to employ a two-strike approach and tries to get the ball in play rather than swing for the fences.

Not only has he been great at the plate, but he has been a superb defender at first base as well. All season he has shown off great glove work and has made difficult plays look rather routine repeatedly throughout the year.

With everything he has done this year, there could even be teams looking to make him a starter at first base next season. At the very least there are teams that would surely like him as a platoon partner with a right-handed bat at first base.

However, the Giants have to feel like he could be a key part of their team next season. The only problem is they may not have a ton of places to put him.

First base is a position that could become log-jammed quite quickly in 2026. Rafael Devers has already started to play there and is sharing time at the position. Plus, top prospect Bryce Eldridge plays first base so the math becomes a little bit difficult if all three are on the roster at once.

However, if the Giants do not plan on having Eldridge with the big league club to begin 2026, then they could bring Smith back and have him be a first base or designated hitter option along with Devers until Eldridge gets promoted. Then, Smith could shift to more of a bench option who can play first base or the corner outfield spots where he also has experience.

Of course, after such a solid 2025 campaign Smith may want to go somewhere where he will get more consistent playing time and does not have to worry about a prospect waiting in the wings. He has talked fondly about his time in San Francisco though, so maybe he would be okay with a flexible role in 2026.

We will see how it plays out, but in a perfect world the Giants would certainly love to get Smith back in 2026 with how valuable he has been for them this season.

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