The San Francisco Giants have enjoyed a lot of success since the turn of the century. The Giants have 13 winning seasons, eight playoff appearances and three World Series titles since 2000.
That strong run has stalled out over the last eight years, with only one postseason appearance during that span. That 107-55 squad in 2021 is not only San Francisco’s lone playoff team since 2016, it’s the only one they’ve had with a winning record.
That eight-year dip isn’t the Giants biggest problem, in fact they are only six total games under .500 over the last three years. San Francisco hasn’t been great, but they’ve been competitive for the past four seasons. Unfortunately, the National League West is loaded with three playoff-caliber teams, which puts the Giants in a tough spot.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the defending champs and the universal favorite to win the 2025 title. The Arizona Diamondbacks lost to the Texas Rangers in the 2023 World Series. Arizona didn’t make the playoffs last season, but they won 89 games and remain a factor. Then you have the San Diego Padres, who have stacked three-winning seasons in a row. The Padres have made the playoffs in three of the last five years.
The Giants have a good enough roster that they could compete for the division crown in both the American League and National League Central. As you know, San Francisco does not play in either of those divisions. They are instead stuck behind three quality rivals, including the best team in baseball in the Dodgers.
That brings us to the Giants biggest problem: San Francisco is stuck in purgatory. They have a good enough roster to be a competitive team, but it would take a small miracle for them to leapfrog the Diamondbacks and Padres, not to mention the Dodgers.
The Giants aren’t good enough to contend, but they aren’t bad enough to start loading in blue chip prospects. Outside of a borderline miracle championship run, the Giants are trapped in the middle. That’s the worst place to be in professional sports.
Ace Logan Webb will turn 29-years-old in November, so he’ll be a mainstay in San Francisco long term. So will newly acquired shortstop Willy Adames, who walks right in as the best every day player on the team. Center fielder Jung Hoo Lee and left fielder Heilot Ramos are both promising young talents with upside. The rest of the team’s core is made up of veterans that would make more sense as short-term upgrades on contenders.
Former Cy Young winner Robbie Ray will turn 34-years-old in October. Future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander will turn 42-years-old in roughly a week. As things stand today, the best-case scenario is one, or both pitchers have a resurgence that spearheads a spike year for the team.
Chances are, Ray and Verlander help keep the Giants in baseball purgatory by being good, but not quite great. If the Giants are hovering around .500 at the trade deadline, maybe they can trade both veteran pitchers to help rebuild their future. That might actually be the true best-case scenario for the club.
Veteran third baseman Matt Chapman is a solid player, but he’ll turn 32-years-old in April and he’s signed through 2030. Lamonte Wade Jr. is a 31-year-old first baseman that has yet to reach 20 home runs in a season. Mike Yastrzemski turns 35-years-old in August and has spent his career as a slightly above average outfielder.
The 2025 Giants are an odd collection of a solid long-term core supported by several declining veterans in important spots. San Francisco is built more like a team trying to hang onto some shred of relevance, rather than one that is designed for long term success.
The Giants will likely be adjacent to .500 again, where a first round exit would be considered a good year. Long term, some rebuilding teams, like the Washington Nationals, might actually be closer to contention, even if they finish 2025 with a worse record than the Giants.
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