SF Giants wanted Buster Posey to revive championship years, but he brought back a much darker era

When the SF Giants hired Buster Posey to be the president of baseball operations, it was done with the hope that he would restore the team’s championship era. While it was a risk given the fact he had no experience in an executive role and he was essentially putting his legacy on the line, it wasn’t entirely crazy.

The team’s dynasty run from 2010 to 2014 coincided pretty directly with his arrival on the scene. He saw what worked and what didn’t during those years and the last time the Giants made the playoffs was in 2021 when Posey was in his final year as a player and had a great comeback season.

Sure, he didn’t have experience but he was smart and knew baseball. Surely he’d surround himself with the right people. It would work out eventually…right?

Maybe it still will, but as Posey’s second season at the helm draws to a disappointing close, he has restored a different era of Giants baseball that fans would like to forget: 2017 to 2019.

Those were rough times for the Giants. The championship years and dynasty era came to a close in 2016 when they lost in the playoffs and 2017 was a big reality check as  many of the team’s veterans underperformed and it became clear that the Giants were stuck with large contracts to both position players and pitchers that would be tough to get out of.

The team went 64-98 that season and the 2026 Giants seem poised to finish with a similar record. Instead of re-setting after 2017, the Giants doubled down and traded for Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen, hoping it would bring about better results.

It didn’t as San Francisco went 73-89 in 2018 and the Giants were left with yet another big contract to a veteran past his prime in Longoria. 

2019 was the start of the Farhan Zaidi era and the final year with Bruce Bochy at the helm as manager so it was a strange sort of gap year as it was clear change was coming and Bochy saw the writing on the wall and stepped away. The team finished 77-85.

Now the Giants find themselves in a similar situation. They’re on track for one of the worst years in franchise history and are saddled with three onerous contracts that are going to last for a while. Posey even brought back Bobby Evans, the guy who was the GM back during 2017 and 2018 so he knows what this kind of baseball looks like.

There’s always a chance a team can come back from a bad year and contend but it would not be surprising to see the Giants finish 2027 around the 75-win mark if there is a full season which is far from guaranteed.

Farm system may be SF Giants' best way back to contention

The Giants are no longer actively trying to contend and chances are they may not truly be a competitive force again until the end of this decade or perhaps even 2030 when some of their top prospects start to debut in the big leagues if things go according to plan.

The farm system’s strength may be what keeps Posey in charge for a while. For whatever miscues he’s made at the big league level, the farm system is stronger than it’s been for a long time which at least gives some hope for the future.

Still, the Giants may have to suffer through some late 2010s seasons before they hopefully get back to some early 2010s seasons if their farm system ends up producing the next crop of homegrown stars.

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