SF Giants were decimated by injuries, but that should not be used as an excuse by front office

In the coming days, the SF Giants front office will meet with the media to discuss what went wrong. While they were decimated by injuries toward the end of the year, that should not be used as an excuse.

Incredibly, none of the players who faced off against the New York Yankees on Opening Day were active in the final game of that season. That was due to a combination of injuries and trades.

The Giants traded away Heliot Ramos, Luis Arráez, and Caleb Kilian at the trade deadline. All three players appeared with the club on Opening Day. Of course, injuries have also factored into this as well.

The Opening Day lineup also featured Matt Chapman, Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, Jung Hoo Lee, Casey Schmitt, and Harrison Bader. Every player finished the year on the injured list, and there is a chance that Bader has already played his final game with San Francisco.

Injuries affected the Giants late in the year, creating opportunities for some of their younger players to get a look. However, they had good luck on the injury front earlier in the year. Logan Webb, Tyler Mahle, and Ramos all missed extended time, but that is part of baseball, and good teams need to have the depth to cover those gaps.

The Giants were out of the playoff picture early in the year. By the end of June, they had a 35-50 record, and most of their roster was still intact. The injuries did not truly start to pile up until later in the year.

Chapman and Schmitt were some of the only players with truly extended stints on the injured list. Chapman played his final game on June 30, followed by Schmitt on July 27. Much of the rest of the group was shut down more as a precaution with the season out of reach.

Injuries were more of a subplot to a disastrous season for the SF Giants

Injuries were part of this season. There is no question about that, but more so as a subplot to the final outcome. The front office, lead by Buster Posey and Zack Minasian, will try to explain what went wrong in 2026. It would be shallow to highlight some external factor like injuries.

There were plenty of other reasons. Most notably, the pitching staff was among the worst in baseball. This included a bullpen that struggled badly in all facets. That was an area of concern heading into the year, and those concerns were immediately realized.

There were stretches where the Giants strung together a potent offense, but not nearly with enough consistency. Bryce Eldridge and Rafael Devers anchored the lineup, and now the Giants need to find a way to augment that core.

Of course, the lineup was also relatively easy to match up against. They put up an 84 wRC+ against left-handed pitching, tied with the Colorado Rockies for the worst mark in baseball. If they are going to invest a lot of money into the team and have playoff aspirations, they cannot be so vulnerable in these matchups. This was another known weakness heading into the year that played out as expected.

When the front office looks at what went wrong this season, they ought to be honest in their assessment. They did not do enough to build a competitive roster.

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