The SF Giants 40-man roster will look a bit different by the end of this week

The SF Giants have some roster landscaping to check off this week, including protecting players from the Rule 5 draft and the non-tender deadline. By the end of the week, the 40-man roster will look a bit different.

The SF Giants 40-man roster will look a bit different by the end of this week

The deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft is on November 18, followed by the non-tender deadline on November 21. If the Giants follow tradition, then they will wait until the absolute last minute to announce these decisions. It is a tradition like no other.

Every team has a long list of prospects eligible for the Rule 5 draft each winter. They become eligible if are not on the 40-man roster, were signed prior to their 18th birthday and have five years of minor league service time, or they are not on the 40-man roster, signed after their 18th birthday and have four years of minor league service time.

Generally speaking, players who signed through the draft are eligible after four years  of service time. Players who signed through international free agency are eligible after five years of minor league service time. That is a general rule of thumb, but there are always exceptions.

The Rule 5 draft takes place in December, and is usually one of the last orders of business at the Winter Meetings. Teams retain a player if he remains on the active roster throughout the following season, or else they need to be offered by to the original team. More often than not, players drafted through the Rule 5 channel are returned to their original team.

The Giants have a handful of players to consider. This includes Will Bednar, Braxton Roxby, Ryan Watson, Spencer Miles, Nate Furman, and Jack Choate. This is generally a risk-based exercise, so teams protect players who they believe they could potentially lose. This is to say that not every eligible player will be protected.

Bednar arguably has the best case to be protect. He has struggled to a 6.05 ERA across two seasons in Double-A, but throws hard and records a lot of strikeouts. Those qualities tend to appeal to other teams. You can make a case for the remainder of the group as well.

On the other hand, the non-tender deadline is on Friday. The Giants only have three arbitration-eligible players this winter, including Joey Lucchesi, Andrew Knizner, and JT Brubaker. Arbitration can be a costly channel for many teams every offseason, but it will be a relatively small portion of the Giants’ overall payroll in 2026. 

Lucchesi has the best chance of being tendered a contract for 2026. You can never have enough catching, which might also be the justification to keep Knizner. Brubaker made a handful of appearances down the stretch.

The 40-man roster is full, so any addition will require a corresponding deletion. What part of the roster is the most vulnerable? The Giants do have a lot of outfielders, and few have carved out a role for the 2026 club.