The San Francisco Giants won 107 regular-season games, coming out of nowhere to capture the best record in the sport, and yet their season ended on a check swing that was called a strike, a cruel end to a painstakingly close first-round series against the star-laden Los Angeles Dodgers.
In the immediate aftermath, moments after a 2-1 loss in Game 5 of the National League Division Series late Thursday night, Giants manager Gabe Kapler reflected on the closeness of a group that was suddenly forced to pull apart.
"The unselfishness that this team showed throughout the year, the trust that they showed in one another, was second to none, better than any season that I've ever been a part of as a player, as a coach, in any position in baseball," Kapler said. "I just respect the hell out of a team-first mentality. I've never seen it like this. This is the best I've ever seen. So if there's a message, it's, 'Continue with that.' We're going to build on this season and be better because we have that foundation in place -- that foundation of trust and unselfishness."
The problem, however, is that a lot of those foundational pieces will soon venture into the free-agent market, leaving the Giants with an assortment of difficult decisions to untangle during an offseason that begins much sooner than they would have hoped. Below is a look through all of it.
San Francisco Giants
Notable free agents: C Buster Posey (club option), 1B Brandon Belt, INF/OF Kris Bryant, SP Kevin Gausman, SP Alex Wood, SP Anthony DeSclafani, SP Johnny Cueto (club option), INF Donovan Solano, INF Wilmer Flores (club option), RP Dominic Leone, RP Jose Alvarez (club option)
There was a time, believe it or not, when people wondered if this would be Posey's final season with the Giants. Now it's all but a formality that they will pick up his $22 million option for 2022 (unless they replace it with an extension). When that happens, the Giants will be committed to just five players at about $65.5 million next season, and only two players at $27.5 million for 2023. It'll be fascinating to see what they do with that flexibility.
Trade candidate: C Joey Bart
Bart, Posey's heir apparent behind the plate, found himself in trade rumors in July and that will probably be the case again this offseason. Posey's excellent 2021 season, and presumed return, gives the Giants that flexibility, as does the presence of another promising prospect, Patrick Bailey, who finished the season in high A ball (though he didn't hit well there). Bart struggled in the majors in 2020, but he was noticeably rushed after Posey sat out the season. Bart hit .294/.358/.472 in Triple-A this year.
1. Does Belt come back? What about Bryant?
Belt, like Posey and Brandon Crawford, experienced a resurgence in 2021, batting .274/.378/.597 with 29 home runs in 97 games before an unfortunate thumb injury on the second-to-last Sunday of the regular season. He'll be 34 next season, but he is a major power source in the middle of that lineup and a positive influence within that clubhouse.
Bryant's production fell off slightly upon joining the Giants in late July, his OPS ultimately dropping by 73 points. But he had a solid season altogether and showed a lot of versatility, contributing at the corner-infield spots and all three outfield positions. Bryant, who turns 30 in January, is an ideal fit for a Giants lineup that suddenly has a lot of holes, but the Scott Boras client won't come cheap.
2. How do they rebuild the rotation?
The Giants found success this season largely because of how well they were able to rebuild their rotation on the fly, and now they're going to have to do it again. Cueto's $22 million club option won't be exercised, Gausman will venture into the free-agent market after accepting last year's qualifying offer, and Wood and DeSclafani will join him after providing a ton of value on affordable one-year deals.
The only remaining starter is Logan Webb. The free-agent market will include a lot of intriguing options, but the Giants will also have a lot of spots to fill. And patching that many starting-pitching holes through free agency is a difficult task, even when the man attempting to do so is Farhan Zaidi. Ideally, one would think, the Giants will find a way to bring back at least one of either Gausman, Wood or DeSclafani to ease that burden.
3. What's the strategy now?
This is the big question, of course. The Giants, in a weird way, are victims of their own success. They were seemingly on a path toward slowly pulling away from the previous core while their highly rated farm system developed, paving the way for sustained contention in the near future. But the 2021 Giants were so good that it's tempting to wonder if they should bring back as many members of that group as possible.
The Giants have already extended Crawford, who just finished his age-34 season. Do they do the same with Posey and Belt, who are virtually at the same point in their careers? Do they spend big to try to win now and scrap most of their long-term plan? Zaidi is too pragmatic to go to that extreme. The best bet is that he'll be willing to spend on short-term contracts that will keep the Giants in contention while they develop their young talent.
The 2021 season showed that the Giants can be a destination team for veteran players looking to rebuild their value on one-year contracts. They should have a robust market there.