Who stays and who goes amongst SF Giants' 9 arbitration-eligible players?

The SF Giants will head into the offseason with nine arbitration-eligible players on the roster. MLB Trade Rumors released its predictions for the salaries of every arbitration-eligible MLB player’s salary for 2027.

The Giants have a choice to make on all nine of these players. They can sign them to a deal to avoid arbitration or they can go to arbitration submit a salary number they think is fair and the player can do the same. Then there’s an arbitration hearing to decide which number is more fair which determines that player’s salary. They can also non-tender these players meaning they don’t want to offer them a contract which means they become free agents.

Let’s take a look at all nine of these players for San Francisco and predict who stays and who goes.

Predicting how Giants will handle their 9 arbitration-eligible players

José Buttó

The Giants were hoping Buttó would be a key part of the bullpen in 2026, but injury derailed him right from the start. He made just three outings and allowed five earned runs in two innings of work before he was placed on the IL and had to undergo multiple surgeries to address a blood clot in his arm.

He did not return in 2026 but assuming the issue has been resolved he seems likely to be back in 2027. MLBTR predicts he will have a salary of $800,000 which is reasonable for a reliever who put up a 3.90 ERA in 2025 between his time with the Giants and Mets.

Verdict: He stays

Camilo Doval

In case anyone already forgot, Camilo Doval did return to the Giants in 2026. No, that was not some weird hallucination on your TV screen when you saw Doval pitch in two of San Francisco’s last three games of the season, but one could be forgiven for thinking the 2026 season had so warped our brains that we began seeing things that didn’t really exist in the material world. A 65-97 record will do that do you.

Doval pitched quite well in that small sample size with San Francisco, but was it enough for the Giants to feel comfortable with the $6.6 million he’s projected to earn?

Maybe if they can get that number down to $6 million it’s more reasonable. He is a former All-Star who has proven he can be an elite closer even if his stints with the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t go well. Still, if he can turn back into his former self $6 million will be an absolute steal so I expect the Giants to bring him back.

Verdict: He’s coming back

Jason Foley

The Giants signed Foley last offseason knowing he was coming off a major injury and probably assumed that he would be getting his sea legs back in 2026. That’s basically what happened as he had a 4.15 ERA in 24 appearances.

His 15 strikeouts in 26 innings may be a bit alarming, but he’s never been a guy who strikes out a ton of batters as his sinker induces a lot of ground balls. He’s projected to get $2.3 million which is fairly reasonable for a guy who had 28 saves in 2024 so he will probably be back, but the Giants mildly surprised us last year by non-tendering Joey Lucchesi due to a low strikeout rate so it’s not a slam dunk for Foley.

Verdict: He probably stays

Sam Hentges

Like Foley, Sam Hentges was coming off injury so the Giants were thinking more about what he would do in 2027 than 2026. He put up a 3.19 ERA in 36 and 2/3 innings with 41 strikeouts and 25 walks. He’s projected to earn $2 million so he should be back especially since the Giants don’t have any other high-leverage lefties in the bullpen after trading Erik Miller.

Verdict: He stays

Andrew Knizner

While catcher Andrew Knizner returning to the Giants in 2026 was quite as surprising as Doval returning, it was a result of the team losing several catchers to injury. Knizner got quite a bit of playing time and hit .219/.288/.356 with two home runs and four runs batted in.

He’s projected to earn $1 million but with the looming roster crunch the Giants are going to face with their 40-man roster, Knizner seems like an obvious non-tender candidate but I wouldn’t be shocked if they brought him back on a minor league deal and give him a chance to compete for the backup job next year so they at least have one veteran in the mix.

Verdict: He goes (but might come back (again))

Randy Rodríguez

Unfortunately Rodríguez missed all of 2026 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He’s set to pitch in the Arizona Fall League though and the Giants will be hoping he can return to the All-Star form he displayed in the first half of 2025. He will be cheap too with a $800k projected salary.

Verdict: He definitely stays

Casey Schmitt

Of all the Giants that got hurt in 2026, the biggest shame may have been Casey Schmitt since he was truly having a breakout year. He’s projected to earn $2.5 million which is a great deal and is part of why he could be such an attractive trade chip to other teams.

Verdict: Giants give him a contract but might try to trade him

Ryan Walker

At long last, Ryan Walker’s time with the Giants seems like it is coming to a close. He was given several chances this year, initially to regain the closer role, then to simply have a spot on the roster. He didn’t take advantage of any of them and had a 7.16 ERA on the season. He should be a pretty obvious non-tender.

Verdict: He’s gone

Rowan Wick

San Francisco signed Rowan Wick last offseason knowing he’d be out all of 2026. He last pitched in the big leagues in 2022 but had a really good year in Japan in 2025. If push comes to shove maybe the Giants non-tender him to make space on the 40-man roster, but they likely want to bring him back and give him a shot in the bullpen.

Verdict: He probably stays

We’ll see how the Giants ultimately decide to handle things. They have a tougher call on some of their relievers so there might be some surprises especially if they decide they want to really change up the bullpen after how bad it was in 2026.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow