Giants Offseason Explained

The San Francisco Giants have filled their two biggest positions of need through free agency in the offseason, signing future hall of famer Justin Verlander to a one-year deal and superstar shortstop Willy Adames to a seven-year deal. Are they done in free agency? Do they have enough trust in their young pitching? 

Buster Posey has had a great start in offseason number one as President of Baseball Operations. His first big move was filling the number one position of need, shortstop. This has been the position the Giants have needed the most since Brandon Crawford's departure. It’s hard to replace a hall of fame level shortstop, but it seems like the Giants have done that. 

On December 7th, 2024, the Giants and Adames agreed to a deal worth $182 million over seven years. It’s the largest deal in franchise history, surpassing Buster Posey's contract worth $167 million over nine years. This is a home run signing for multiple reasons, one being the time they made this signing. At the time, Juan Soto did not sign with a team yet, Adames was seen as a plan b for the team that was short of landing Soto. Instead of bidding $775 million for a one-way player, the Giants get Adames for much cheaper than they would have if they waited until after the Soto sweepstakes. 

Adames not only hits for power, but he’s also elite with the glove. He has been worth 20 defensive runs saved and 14 outs above average from 2018-23, as well as being a career .250 hitter. 2024 was the best year of Adames career, he hit 32 home runs and knocked in 112 RBI’s and to top it all off, he finished 10th in MVP voting. Adames was an absolute steal for the Giants.

Adames is not only an all-star level player, but he also has an all-star level personality. In his introductory press conference, he said this when asked how he feels to be a Giant: "This is a dream come true for me. I'm thrilled to be here. I'm so excited, and hopefully I can win a few championships like [Buster] did. That's one of the main reasons I'm here." Adames raved during the press conference about how much he loves San Francisco, also saying: "I really like how it's been looking for the last year or so. It looks like it's going back to what it was." Adames was seen later that night at a 49ers game and exploring North Beach the very next day.

On January 7th, 2025, exactly one month after the Adames deal, the Giants signed future hall of famer Justin Verlander to a one-year deal worth $15 million. This is a no risk mid reward signing for the Giants. They can’t expect much out of the 42-year-old starter, but whatever they get, they should appreciate it. Verlander is only three years removed from this stellar Cy Young winning season where he finished with a 1.75 ERA through 28 starts. Obviously, the Giants will not be getting that version of Justin Verlander, but he’s much more than just a future hall of fame pitcher. 

Verlander is a mentor, the Giants expect him to mentor their young core of pitchers which include Hayden Birdsong, Kyle Harrison, Mason Black, and Keaton Winn. If the Giants can get 15-20 starts out of Verlander, that is a huge success. 

With roughly 3 months till opening day in Cincinnati the Giants seem to be done with any big-time signings in free agency, as a certain team in Los Angeles already signed any player teams had intentions of signing. 

Last year the Giants had many impactful young players who they expect to get even better in 2025. Outfielder/DH Heliot Ramos was an all-star in 2024 and someone this organization believes in to take that next step. INF/OF Tyler Fitzgerald had a booming 2nd half to the season, having a stretch where he homered in five straight games, and finishing with 15 home runs in just 96 games. Those are two players that need to have huge seasons if the Giants want to contend in 2025. 

As for the opening day lineup, expect it to look something like this:

1. CF: Jung Hoo Lee

2. LF: Heliot Ramos

3. SS: Willy Adames

4. 3B: Matt Chapman

5. 2B: Tyler Fitzgerald

6. C: Patrick Bailey

7. 1B: Lamonte Wade Jr

8. RF: Mike Yastrzemski

9. DH. Wilmer Flores

This lineup will get the Giants through May, but for the long run, they will need to find a replacement for Wilmer Flores, and that could be top prospect Bryce Eldridge. Eldridge was just ranked #15 in Baseball Prospectus top 101 prospects list. Although he is just 19 years old, he’s someone the Giants could call up in the summer. On KNBR Posey said this when asked if Eldridge is untouchable: "Yeah, I'd say that's accurate... To be a 19-year-old and put up the numbers he did last year is not very common." 

The NL West is one of, if not the best division in baseball, it consists of the reigning World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers/Japan National Team, as well as two teams who have made it very far in the playoffs in past years in the Diamondbacks and Padres. It’s not going to be easy to make the playoffs in this stacked division, but it’s not impossible.

With an improving farm system, and new management, the Giants are only getting better, this season should be a big step up from years past.