The Giants have three key players who are about to become free agents, all highly respected in the clubhouse, and all having experienced some fabulous moments in the 2025 season.
But with just one game remaining, the question is: Who among the three — Justin Verlander, Wilmer Flores, and Dom Smith — will be Giants next year? It might be a stretch for any to return with Buster Posey aiming to reshape the roster in his pursuit to build a playoff team, but all figure to suit up somewhere in big-league uniforms in 2026.
In Saturday’s 4-3 victory over the Rockies, the 42-year-old Verlander pitched six innings and gave up two runs on two hits (both homers) and struck out seven. He earned his 266th career win, and in his final 13 starts he posted a 2.60 ERA. Manager Bob Melvin predicted Verlander will get plenty of free-agent offers, even for multiple years. The pitcher might prefer to pitch closer to his family in the East; his wife, Kate Upton, gave birth to the couple’s second child this summer.
Flores, 34, also played Saturday and hit one of his patented opposite-field singles in the second inning in front of Casey Schmitt’s three-run homer. Melvin said he intends to play Flores on Sunday, too, out of respect for the veteran who collected 92 homers and 313 RBIs in his six years as a Giant.
Smith, 30, hasn’t played since Sept. 12, the day he did the splits at first base to catch a throw by Matt Chapman and strained his hamstring in the process. His bat-to-ball skills are elite, and he looked smooth around first base, but that’ll be a position shared by Rafael Devers and Bryce Eldridge. Smith plays the outfield, too.
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All have goals going forward, and none is bigger than Verlander’s of notching 300 wins. He was a disappointing 4-11 this season, though many more of his 29 starts were winnable. Seven times, he exited games with leads only to watch them disappear. The bullpen had nine blown saves on his watch.
No. 10 almost came Saturday. Ryan Walker pitched the ninth and immediately gave up a homer and double, and Spencer Bivens bailed him out by getting the final two outs and stranding two runners. A superstitious sort, Verlander watched in the clubhouse from a different seat and with a different beer than usual: it worked. He tied the great Bob Feller on the all-time wins list.
“I don’t think it’s out of the question,” Verlander said of becoming the 25th pitcher to reach 300 wins. “I think if I can maintain my health and make 29, 30-plus starts, give our team a chance to win for a few more years, then it’s possible. Look, I’m not going to say it’s not.”
Despite the poor record, Verlander said his time as a Giant could help him in future seasons. He dealt with a nerve issue in his neck last season and worked his way back to the mound after signing a one-year, $15 million contract but experienced “one of the more frustrating first halves of my career.”
Though a future Hall of Famer, Verlander constantly tweaked his mechanics, studied video, and absorbed the analytics to turn his season around. In the end, making 29 starts at his age was a major accomplishment, the shortage of wins notwithstanding.
“If you make 29 starts, you’d like to win 10, 15 games,” he said. “It wasn’t in the cards, but maybe this year wasn’t meant to be for wins. Maybe this year was meant to be for health and kind of refinding myself and getting used to taking the ball every five, six days.
“Maybe a few years from now, I get that 300th win, and it’s, like, ‘Man, that first half that I grinded through in San Francisco really taught me a lot and allowed me to get to where I wanted to go.’ ”
The Giants have two rotation spots open beyond Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Landen Roupp, so there’s certainly room for Verlander if he and the Giants have mutual interest.
As for Flores and Smith, the Giants already have a surplus of first basemen with Devers and Eldridge coming back, which would make it easier for them to move on from the two free agents. But Flores is the lone right-handed hitter in the bunch, and Smith is the smoothest defensively.
The answers will come in the offseason. Meantime, the Giants have one game remaining, and ace Logan Webb gets the start. A win would conclude the Giants’ season at .500, 81-81.