2025 Season Reviews: San Francisco Giants(The Narrative)

 The Giants 2025 season was one of the odder ones in my memory characterized by a great start, several strong player performances, some bitter disappointments and several brutal losing streaks.  In the end they finished 81-81, another mediocre,  middling, lukewarm performance that left both fans and upper management frustrated culminating in Bob Melvin being fired as field manager.  The reasons behind this outcome have already been hashed and rehashed.  I am not sure I have anything left to add to all the shouting but I did piece together a timeline which I think sheds some light.  

After getting off to a hot start despite early struggles by Matt Chapman 3B and Willy Adames SS, the Giants stood at 41-29, 12 games over .500 on June 13 after Logan Webb RHP outdueled Yoshinobu Yamamoto RHP to beat the Dodgers.  12 games over .500 on June 13.  Let that sink in.  It was disappointing but unsurprising they lost the next two games in LA but they went 4-11 over the last 15 games of June including a stretch where they went 1-6 against the Marlins, White Sox and D'Backs.

They recovered a bit in early July and defeated the Dodgers at home on July 8 behind Logan Webb.  They again lost the last two games of that series and spiraled to a 2-12 record over the rest of the month including a brutal home series sweep to the Mets and Pirates leading up to the trade deadline.  At that point, Buster Posey had seen enough and sold impending free agents Tyler Rogers RHP and Mike Yastrzemski OF as well as Camilo Doval RHP for a shipload of prospects.  

The Giants went 5-2 immediately after the trades but then went on a 7-game losing streak, part of a 2-11 stretch.  They were now 7 games below .500 and all but out of it.  Inexplicably they then went on an 11-1 stretch to get 3 games over .500 and back in the wild card race.  They reached another high-water mark when they beat LA 5-1 in extra innings on Patrick Bailey's walk-off grand slam.  For the third time after a series-opening win against the Dodgers they faceplanted and went 2-9 before a 4-game win streak to end the season got them back to .500.  

So whatheheck happened?  Bob Melvin didn't have answers which probably contributed to him losing his job.  Buster Posey struggled for words at his end-of-season press conference.  The beat writers keep asking questions but offer few answers.  I don't think it was any one thing but a series of confounding factors.  Matt Chapman went on the IL with a hand injury on June 9 and was clearly limited by the hand until late in the season.  By the timeline, his loss seems to be a huge factor.  I think the June 16 trade came as a shock to Rafael Devers who needed time to get settled into his new situation.  While Devers eventually made a major contribution, the trade initially seemed to destabilize the team(although the dark clouds had already gathered).  The team seemed to struggle with the pressure of winning.  Three times they went on prolonged losing streaks after reaching high-water marks in series-opening games against the Dodgers.  Is that on Bob Melvin or a part of the basic mental makeup of the core players?  That's kind of a scary question and one which may reveal itself next season.

Giants Fire Bob Melvin

Buster Posey did not wait around for a season postmortem to make his decision, which he obviously made several days or weeks ago.  He's making a change in the manager's office.  I gave my thoughts on Bob Melvin's tenure as Giants Manager last week so you know this comes as no surprise.  The tea leaves became more ominous yesterday as Melvin stated that he had no assurances he would be back next season and expected to speak with upper management today.  His tone and body language telegraphed that he did not expect today's conversation to go well and it didn't.  

Having already written my thoughts on why I thought Melvin's time as Manager was up, let's turn our attention to who will replace him.  As I have said before, I have little insight into who would make a good MLB field manager.  I wasn't happy when Bruce Bochy replaced Felipe Alou which shows you how much I know.  Speaking of Bruce Bochy, his contract with the Rangers is up, but he is coming off two consecutive disappointing seasons himself.  To me, bringing him back is trying to bring back a time and place that will never happen again and it diminishes the youthful energy and optimism Buster Posey brings to the organization.  Time to bring in a new perspective. 

It's my understanding a MLB field manager has 3 major responsiblities:  1.  Maintain a positive, united attitude in the clubhouse.  2.  Manage the the pitching.  3.  Hold players accountable and provide effective feedback.  By all accounts Melvin was very good at #1.  He didn't make anyone forget Bruce Bochy in his pitching management.  If he provided effective feedback to the players, it was not evident to us fans.

I hope Buster will carefully consider the qualities he needs in the next manager and make sure he does his due diligence in finding that person.  Ideally it should be someone who understands advanced baseball metrics and how to apply them to in-game management while at the same time being more aware of how to effectively communicate and get buy-in from the players so they know they are not being managed by a computer.  

Some names I have seen proposed:  Bochy, of course.  Former Giants back up catcher, Nick Hundley.  Guardians coach Craig Albernaz.  Mark DeRosa.  Former Marlins Manager Skip Schumacher.  Giants coach Mark Hallberg.  Again, I don't have an opinion which of these names or any others might be the best for the job. That's why Buster is getting paid the big bucks.

Game Wrap 9/28/2025: Giants 4 Rockies 0

The Giants closed out the 2025 season with a crisp win behind home runs by Willy Adames and Rafael Devers and inspired pitching by Logan Webb and the bullpen.  Key Lines:

Willy Adames SS- 1 for 3, HR(30), R, RBI.  BA= .225.   Adames was moved into the leadoff position just before game time to guarantee him the most PA's in the lineup in his quest for 30 HR's.  He only needed one as he led off the Giants first inning with a shot to straightaway CF.  He becomes the first Giants player since Barry Bonds to hit 30 in a season while wearing a Giants uniform.  Adames also ends up with 94 Runs and 87 RBI's.  

Rafael Devers DH- 1 for 4, HR(35), 2 R, RBI.  BA= .252.  Devers also hit 30+ HR's on the season but 15 of those were with the Red Sox before the trade.  The good news is he was not slowed by Oracle Park effects as he hit HR's at a slightly faster clip after the trade.  I do so look forward to seeing a full season of Devers in the Giants uniform, hopefully with the turmoil of his issues with the Red Sox and the trade behind him.  Oh, and the Red Sox were a game ahead of the Giants in games played at the time of the trade so he played in 163 games this season.  As Vin Scully would say, "how about that?!"

Wilmer Flores 1B- 0 for 2, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  BA= .241.  Wilmer came out of the game after taking the field after his AB so he could get an ovation.  This really felt like a goodbye to Wilmer who was an exceedingly good Giant.

Jung Hoo Lee CF- 3 for 4, 2 RBI.  BA= .266.  Lee's final second half line was .293/.345/.414 after he reworked his approach during the All-Star Break.  Hopefully this is the Jung Hoo Lee we'll see for a full season next year?

Logan Webb RHP- 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K's, 6/1 GO/AO.  ERA= 3.22.  Webb needed just one K to be the NL season leader.  He got that an more in the first inning by striking out the side.  He also passed Garret Crochet LHP to lead MLB in Innings Pitched.  Encouraging that after all that work he looked so strong, like he could start the 2026 season in 5 days.  What a horse!

Spencer Bivens RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's, Save(3).  ERA= 4.00.  Bivens recorded his second impressive Save in two days, this one over two innings.  He lowered his ERA to an even 4.00.  Kruk and Kuip commented on how versatile he's been all season.

That's a wrap on the Game Wraps on the 2025 season.  Despite the overall disappointment at missing the postseason, I enjoyed watching the vast majority of games on TV and writing them up after.  I hope you all enjoyed reading the wraps as much as I enjoyed writing them.  

As always we will keep the blog going in the offseason.  I don't hold myself to a rigid offseason schedule.  I will write when I have something to write which may be tomorrow or in 3 or 7 days.  We will start out by doing some season reviews and then move into our Hot Stove League coverage after the postseason and finally our annual Giants Top 50 Prospects leading up to spring training 2026.  

Thanks to everybody for reading and commenting....well, almost everybody!

Game Wrap 9/27/2025: Giants 4 Rockies 3

Casey Schmitt's 3-run home run and Justin Verlander's Quality Start keyed the Giants win with some help from Spencer Bivens who rescued the 9'th inning from Ryan Walker.  Key Lines:

Casey Schmitt 2B- 1 for 3, HR(12), R, 3 RBI.  BA= .238.  While he will probably never be a walk machine, Schmitt has improved his plate discipline significantly since he broke in and the power is real.  If you project his stat line to 600 PA's he hits about 22 HR's which is pretty good for a second baseman. Do Buster and Zach trust that enough to make him the presumptive starting 2B next season?

Justin Verlander RHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.85.  Verlander recorded a Quality Start and a Win after giving up a pair of solo HR's in the first two innings.  Would he resign for another 1 yr/$15 M?  

Spencer Bivens RHP- 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(2).  ERA= 4.10.  Bivens was summoned in the 9'th after Ryan Walker went HR, double, GO(runner advanced to 3B), Walk.  Whoa!  Bivens came in throwing 97-98 MPH electric gas and looked like an actual Closer.  He struck out the first batter he faced them Matt Chapman made a nice catch of a pop-up against the netting for the final out.  Obviously not ready to hand him the role just yet but if Bivens can throw that kind of heat with a little rest and a short inning assignment, is he worth a try at Closer? 

Logan Webb RHP makes starts the final game of the season with a chance for the Giants to finish with a .500 record.  He faces McCade Brown RHP (who?) comes in with a 7.54 ERA.

Game Wrap 9/26/2025: Giants 6 Rockies 3

Willy Adames was honored with the Willie Mac Award just before the game started.  He hit a 2-run home run in the first inning and the Giants never looked back in a wire-to-wire win.  Key Lines:

Heliot Ramos LF- 1 for 5, HR(21), R, 3 RBI.  BA= .258.  Ramos added to the Giants lead with a 3-run blast in the third inning to give Trevor McDonald a 5-run cushion to work with.

Rafael Devers DH- 1 for 2, 3B, 3 BB, R.  BA= .252.   Devers drew a walk ahead of Adames HR in the first inning.  He later doubled off the RF wall following Ramos' HR but was left stranded.  

Willy Adames SS- 1 for 3, HR(29), BB, 2 R, 2 RBI.  BA= .226.  If Adames plays the last two games, he'll end up in 160 out of 162.  Durablility is one of the things Buster signed him for.  Adames put up 3.7 fWAR so far this season.  Last year, Giants shortstops put up a combined 3.6 so Adames was not an upgrade from last season's shortstop production.  The problem is 3.0 of last year's fWAR was from Tyler Fitzgerald.  Would he have repeated that if he was the starting shortstop on Opening Day?  Highly unlikely!  So, I think we have to say Adames gave what Buster signed him to do.  In his postgame interview, Adames was asked by Laura Britt what he was most optimistic about for next season.  His response was The Core will have a full season together after taking this season to gel(or something to that effect).  Hope he is right.

Jung Hoo Lee CF- 3 for 4, 3B, R.  BA= .264.  Speaking of The Core, Lee's second half split is .288/.342/.413.  Historically Korean players take a year to adjust to the league.  It looks like Jung Hoo figured something out at the All-Star Break.  If he puts that line for a full season next year, he'll be part of and improved Core.  Oh, and the triple was Lee's 12'th of the season which puts him 3'rd in MLB on the season behind Corbin Carroll(17) and Jarren Duran(13).  

Grant McCray RF/LF- 0 for 2, 2 BB, R.  BA= .091.  Why is Luis Matos off the active roster?  Why did the Giants call up Drew Gilbert?  Why was Grant McCray starting in RF tonight?  What happened to Jerar Encarnacion?  Inquiring minds want to know.

Trevor McDonald RHP- 7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 10 K's, 5/2 GO/AO.  ERA= 3.60.  Last start McDonald relied heavily on ground ball outs.  Tonight he had the strikeout pitch going.  He did not have command of his sinker tonight.  It was sailing and tailing wildly, so he went after the Rockies with a tight, hard breaking ball. Statcast called a curveball but Kruk and Kuip thought looked more like a slider.  I got a good look at the grip and delivery of one of those bad boys.  It looked like he snapped his wrist down in a curveball motion but that thing was tight!  If he wants to sustain success at the MLB level he's going to have to add a changeup or split.  For now better command of the sinker and that breaking ball is an impressive combination.

Ryan Walker RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(17).  ERA= 3.98.  7 Blown Saves is way too many but I looked up the Save/SvO for MLB and the Giants have far from the worst ratio(the Dodgers are one of the worst).  The Giants rank #19 in Saves and #22 in Save Opportunities so you can make the case the bigger problem was the lack of Save Opportunities.

Justin Verlander RHP possibly makes his final start as a Giant tomorrow afternoon against Kyle Freeland LHP.    Last time Freeland faced the Giants he started a bench clearing episode when he took exception to how long it took Devers to get to first base after a home run.

Thoughts on the Willie Mac Award and Bob Melvin

Tonight is Willie Mac Award night.  While there are several candidates we can make a case for, I think one stands out as the obvious choice:  Logan Webb RHP.   Webb is not only the ace of the pitching staff, tireless workhorse and leader in WAR value, he is an obvious team leader in the clubhouse for several years now.  Of course, a naysayer could make the case that a team leader on an under-achieving team is a negative, but I don't think anyone is blaming Webb for the Giants underachieving.  

Other players who could be in the conversation include Heliot Ramos LF who despite his defensive struggles, kept his head up with a positive attitude and was the team's most consistent hitter on multiple lineup roles.  Robbie Ray LHP came back from several years of injuries and arm surgeries to grunt his way through 180 innings and was a solid #2 SP.  Willy Adames SS overcame early mega-contract jitters and solidified a problematic position while looking like he had fun out there all season.  Matt Chapman 3B remains the best defensive third baseman I have seen in a long time while maintaining a team leadership role.  If you are looking for unsung heroes and overachievers among non-stars, Dominic Smith 1B/DH brought a feel for situational hitting to a lineup that sorely needed some.  Christian Koss UT took a utility infield role, worked his butt off to continuously improve his game and did whatever was asked of him including closing out mop-up games on the mound.  

But to me, the obvious choice is Logan Webb.

A couple of comments this week seem to point to an change in the manager's office for next season.  First, Logan Webb expressed his frustrations after an unusually ugly loss on Tuesday coming right out and saying this team had the most talent of any he's been on and clearly should have performed better.  The other comments came from Zach Minasian GM who went on KNBR and talked about the postseason evaluation process while pointedly failing to say Melvin is under contract for next season and will be the Manager.  

Disappointing seasons are not always the manager's fault and this season is likely not all on Melvin.  For all the talent on the team, there were obvious holes and vulnerabilities and just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong.  That's on Buster Posey and Zach Minasian.  On the positive side, the primary task of a team manager is to keep 26 big, strong, talented guys from literally killing each other in the clubhouse and maintain a positive team spirit and attitude.  He's done that. The players seem to genuinely like him and have spoken up to defend him many times.  On the other hand, the second most important job of a MLB manager is managing the pitching and Melvin regularly makes head scratching decisions, most commonly leaving pitchers who are obviously out of gas or don't have their stuff in too long.  On top of that, this is not the first Bob Melvin managed team to underachieve.  Last year's Giants were disappointing and ended up costing Farhan Zaidi his job as POBO.  Before that, Melvin managed the Padres to an extremely disappointing finish in 2023.  I know our friends who are Padres fans were particularly incensed over his management of extra-inning games and not at all sorry to see him go.  

Putting all that together I think it's time to get a different voice in the Manager's office and I won't be surprised at all if it turns out Buster Posey feels the same way.

Game Wrap 9/24/2025: Giants 4 Cardinals 3

The Giants washed off the stench from last night's game with a much crisper game behind some unlikely pitchers.  Key Lines:

Rafael Devers DH- 1 for 4, HR(34), BB, R, RBI.  BA= .251.  Devers is batting just .188 for the month of September but he got his first splash hit in the 3'rd inning off Sonny Gray to tie the score at 2 after the Cardinals took the lead in the top of the inning.

Bryce Eldridge 1B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .125.  Eldridge has had good AB's so it seemed like a matter of time before some hits started falling.  He hit a rocket for a double in the third inning and added an oppo-field groundball single in the 7'th.  Neither hit factored in the run scoring.

Casey Schmitt 3B- 3 for 4, 2B, R.  BA= .240.  Schmitt and Lee hit B2B doubles in the second inning to get the Giants on the scoreboard first.

Christian Koss 2B- 1 for 3, BB, 2 R.  BA= .269.  Does Buster need to go out and get a second baseman this offseason or can he go with Schmitt and Koss and count on upward career trajectories?  Ideally I think you upgrade 2B but there are other, bigger priorities, mainly pitching.

Andrew Knizner C- 1 for 2, 3B, SF, BB.  BA= .227.  I was a little surprised Melvin let Knizner bat with one out and a runner on 2B and the game tied in the bottom of the 8'th inning, but he did and Knizner hit what probably should have been a single that bounced past the CF for a triple.  He was then lifted for a pinch runner, Grant McCray who was left stranded.

J. T. Brubaker RHP- 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K's, 5/2 GO/AO.  ERA= 3.77.  IMO, among other needs, Buster must sign a solid #3 or better SP this offseason and then at least 2 inexpensive veterans like Brubaker who can compete for a #5 SP role and/or a Jake Junis type swingman role.  Brubaker is putting himself in a position to be one of those guys.

Carson Seymour RHP- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's, 4/0 GO/AO.  ERA= 4.75.  The sinker was sinking tonight.  Nice 3 innings of work from Seymour.

Tristan Beck RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 2/0 GO/AO, Save(2).  ERA= 4.77.  Interesting choice to close out tonight's game.  Beck looked comfortable out there getting 3 groundballs.  One for a leadoff hit but then a GIDP and GO to end the game.

The Giants get the day off tomorrow before starting their final series of the season against the Rockies on Friday evening.  Trevor McDonald RHP gets another chance to impress the brass.  He'll be facing TBD.