Armchair GM: Does Buster Have One Last Move?

Per Cot's Contracts website, the signing of Harrison Bader leaves the Giants approximately $26 M under the CBT threshold.  For the sake of this discussion, Buster Posey is willing to use half of that to sign at least one more player while leaving a bit of room for midseason upgrades.  

Question:  What position do you upgrade with that $13 M?  Here are the choices:

Second Base

DH

Starting Rotation

Bullpen

None, keep your powder dry for a bigger midseason move

*Warning:  Rants about ownership not spending enough will not be posted.

DrB's 2026 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #17 Carlos Gutierrez

17.  Carlos Gutierrez OF.  DOB:  8/22/2004.  B-L, T-R, 5' 10", 174 lbs.  Rule 5 Eligible Dec. 2027.

2025(A):  .351/.445/.452, 11 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 26 SB, 12.6 BB%, 13.4 K%, 293 PA.

The numbers speak for themselves.  I saw Gutierrez play for the San Jose Giants last season.  He was easily the best, most athletic looking player on the field.  Unfortunately his season was cut short by a lower back injury and 2025 was not the first season he's missed significant time with injury.  If he can stay healthy, and that's a big if, he could be a breakout prospect in 2026, maybe even into top 100 status.

DrB's 2026 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #18 Dakota Jordan

18.  Dakota Jordan OF.  DOB:  5/9/2003.  B-R, T-R.  6' 0", 220 lbs.  Rule 5 Eligible Dec. 2027.

2025(A):  .311/.377/.497, 15 2B, 6 3B, 14 HR, 27 SB, 8.9 BB%, 22.8 K%, 416 PA.

Dakota Jordan is an extraordinarily physical player.  He looks more like a football linebacker or running back than a baseball player.  Another way to describe him would be a bulked up version of Heliot Ramos.  The Giants drafted him in round 4 2024 draft on the strength of his raw power/speed tool kit.  The big question was the hit tool.  The 2025 season quieted those concerns but I point out A ball is very conservative placement for a 4'th round college draftee.  I am not sure why he wasn't promoted to A+ after a strong first half.  Perhaps he might have been promoted late but he suffered an oblique strain which he aggravated when he tried to return.  

I have him ranked lower as a prospect based on strength of competition and concerns that the football type physicality might not translate well to baseball.  I will add that Jordan is another example of how the Rule 5 Draft rules need to be adjusted to the reality of the later draft date.  He burned up a year of service time toward eligibility in 2024 despite recording just 7 PA's. As a fan of both the player and the team, I find that frustrating.

Hot Stove League Update: Giants Sign Harrison Bader

 One of the Giants goals going into the Hot Stove League was to upgrade their outfield defense.  Over the course of the winter they made some minor acquisitions of Justin Dean and Joey Wiemer who were definitely defensive upgrades but probably not upgrades of overall value due to terrible hitting numbers.  Those guys are long gone and the Giants finally got their upgrade and at a reasonable price.

Harrison Bader OF.  DOB:  6/3/1994.  B-R, T-R.  5' 11", 210 lbs.  2 yr/$20.5 M(+ $500 K in incentives)

2025(Twins/Phillies):  .277/.347/.449, 17 HR, 11 SB, 7.8 BB%, 27.1 K%, 3.2 fWAR.

Bader is coming off the second best season of his career the best being all the way back to 2018.  He had a comparable season in 2021 but a weak bat held him back in the intervening years.  He is a plus defensive CF which the Giants desperately needed. I am sure they will take whatever he can give at the plate.  The other part of this equation is Jung Hoo Lee.  It makes no sense to sign Bader if moving Jung Hoo to RF is not part of the plan.  I assume he was duly informed of this reality at the appropriate time.  Lee has limited range but a strong throwing arm so RF should be a good fit for him.  If he continues to make contact, use all fields and get on base as opposed to trying for Splash Hits, he can be a strong contributor and Bader will improve at least 2 OF positions by his mere presence.  Nice pickup for a reasonable price by the Buster/Zach tandem.

DrB's 2026 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #19 Argenis Cayama

19.  Argenis Cayama RHP.  DOB:  9/15/2006.  6' 1", 180 lbs.  Rule 5 Eligible Dec. 2028.

2025(ACL):  1-1, 2.25, 48 IP, 10.31 K/9, 3.38 BB/9, 3.32 GB/FB.

2025(A):  1-0, 8.16, 14.1 IP, 4.40 K/9, 6.28 BB/9, 2.69 GB/FB. 

Cayama is drawing some national buzz with MLB Pipeline rating him the Giants #9 prospect.  Put up elite numbers in the ACL before a late season stumble after promotion to A San Jose.  Cayama is praised for an advanced feel for pitching.  He leads with both 4 and 2 seam fastballs which range from 92-97 MPH, a tight slider and a promising changeup.  Even after his promotion he maintained elite groundball rates.  He should be assigned to A San Jose to start 2026 and will try to master that level at age 19.

DrB's 2026 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #20 Luis De La Torre

20.  Luis De La Torre LHP.  DOB:  9/6/2003.  6' 0", 188 lbs.  Rule 5 Eligible Dec. 2026.

2025(ACL):  2-1, 3.72, 38.2 IP, 14.43 K/9, 3.72 BB/9, 0.95 GB/FB.

2025(A):  2-2, 1.77, 35.2 IP, 11.86 K/9, 2.78 BB/9, 2.16 GB/FB.  

MLB Pipeline scouting report says FB sits 94-96 MPH, touches 98.  Slider is a plus pitch at times.  Changeup a work in progress.  I saw him pitch in San Bernardino and was impressed with his pitch mix and command.  Not sure why his groundball rate jumped after promotion to San Jose.  Maybe the coaches there were able to add a 2-seam sinker?  Should move up to A+ with a chance to advance to AA during the season.  Will likely need to be added to 40-man roster after the season to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.  Starting to generate some national buzz but still a sleeper/breakout prospect in the system.

DrB's 2026 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #21 Carlos De La Rosa

21.  Carlos De La Rosa LHP.  DOB:  11/30/2007.  5' 11", 178 lbs.  Rule 5 Eligible Dec. 2029.

2025(DSL- Yankees):  0-1, 5.32, 22 IP, 14.73 K/9, 2.05 BB/9, 2.17 FIP.

2025(DSL- Giants):  0-0, 3.48, 10.1 IP, 13.06 K/9, 3.48 BB/9, 2.58 FIP.

Acquired from the Yankees in the Camilo Doval trade.  Signed by the Yankees in the 2025 international class with a bonus of $400 K.  MLB Pipeline scouting report says FB 92-96 MPH, 2 types of slider and a changeup.  A little undersized for a MLB pitcher but delivery is relatively low effort.  Should be able to develop pitch mix into a MLB starter role.