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The Giants are winding down another playoff-less season, which means changes are coming.
For a team that had postseason aspirations but played subpar baseball for too much of the summer, the status quo isn’t acceptable for the front office, the clubhouse or the fans.
The Giants’ offense needs help after it went into hibernation through many anemic stretches even with newcomer Rafael Devers. The rotation needs two more starters to accompany Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Landen Roupp. And the bullpen needs an overhaul after losing key components to trades and injuries.
That’s an awful lot to ask of president of baseball operations Buster Posey and his staff, who also need to evaluate the front office and coaching staff in an effort to make a better run in 2026.
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Manager Bob Melvin is signed through next season after Posey exercised the club option in his contract on July 1. Team leaders have expressed their support for Melvin while Posey and general manager Zack Minasian have kept their thoughts on Melvin’s future to themselves, apparently waiting until season’s end.
Following the Giants’ 6-3 win over the Rockies Friday night, the Giants (79-81) have two games remaining.
“I trust Buster,” Willy Adames said after winning the Willie Mac Award as the Giants’ most inspirational player and also homering in his first at-bat. “I know he’s going to do whatever he can do this offseason to try to put the team in the best position that he can for next year.
“The guys that are here, I’ll go to war with them. I know they’re going to do whatever it takes to come back next year as ready as they’ve ever been and try to go out there and win the division next year.”
Several positions already are spoken for: Adames at shortstop, Matt Chapman at third base, Devers at first base and Webb and Ray in the rotation. What the brain trust does to round out the roster is the big question.
Is Heliot Ramos the best fit in left field? Jung Hoo Lee in center? Who’s in right? Where does Drew Gilbert fit in? Jerar Encarnacion? Is it Casey Schmitt or Christian Koss at second base? Will top prospect Bryce Eldridge make an impact? Ditto for Jesus Rodriguez, who might be a nice catching complement to Patrick Bailey.
Who’ll be added to the pitching staff?
Soon it’ll be time to exhale, reflect on a so-so season, and do what’s necessary to make a legitimate playoff run next year. Adames echoed Webb’s recent thoughts about liking the nucleus of the roster but also said there’s a key ingredient that was missing in the second half and needs to be in place all next season: energy.
“I’m already thinking about it,” Adames said. “It’s something that we need to address. I feel like the core guys that are here, we need to maybe have some dinners throughout the offseason and figure out a way that we can keep the clubhouse together with the same energy throughout the year. We need to figure out something to keep that energy that we had in the first half this year.”
The Giants were 12 games above .500 at one point in the first half and 52-45 at the All-Star break. Since then, they’re 27-36.
With so many young players getting their first taste of the majors or playing close to a full season for the first time, Adames said the stress might have carried over to performance. He said it sometimes got to him, too, when he put too much pressure on himself to perform.
“We need to make a lot of adjustments,” Adames said. “When the second half hits, we’ve got to continue the same mentality that we had in the first half. I feel like we lost it after the All-Star Game. It’s something that would need to be better next year. Obviously, we have a lot of talent in this room.”
Adames has 29 homers and needs to hit one more over the weekend to experience the first 30-homer season by a Giant since Barry Bonds.
“Everybody’s been mentioning it. Obviously, it’s a big deal,” Adames said. “For me, I just want to win, man. For me, I don’t really care about hitting 30. Obviously, I want to do it. It’s not something that I’m, like, ‘Oh, if I don’t do it …’ If I don’t do it this year, I’ll do it next year. Rafi’s going to do it for sure and Chappy if they stay healthy.”
Heliot Ramos also homered Friday, a three-run shot for his 21st. Trevor McDonald struck out 10 batters in seven innings in his second big-league start after holding the Dodgers to one run in six innings last weekend, giving him nice momentum heading to spring training. And reliever Joel Peguero threw a scoreless inning to lower his ERA to 2.53 over 16 outings.
Eldridge, playing first base, used every bit of his 6-foot-7 frame to stretch for a throw by Chapman from foul territory off the third-base line, an indication that height matters for first basemen.
It was a festive night by the bay with the 28th sellout of the season and Adames’ memorable moments. After winning the Willie Mac Award, the shortstop gave a speech to the crowd and caught ceremonial first pitches delivered by his parents.
“It’s the biggest award you can get as a Giant, and for me to be right next to Willie McCovey, it’s an honor, truly special for me,” said Adames, who called the ensuing homer “something that was meant to happen, I guess.”