Logan Webb is one of the Giants’ most accomplished and popular players, and any plan for the franchise to contend in the next couple of years likely will involve the All-Star pitcher.
That’s because president of baseball operations Buster Posey said this week, far ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline, that he has no intention to trade Webb even though the 29-year-old would fetch a significant stable of players in a trade.
Webb is appreciative, of course. He signed a five-year contract that runs through the 2028 season because he wanted to be a Giant long term, and that sentiment hasn’t changed even though his team likely will miss the playoffs for the fifth straight year, a major bummer for Webb.
What also bothers Webb is that the Giants, 9-6 losers to the A’s on Thursday, having blown a 6-2 lead, are in this undesirable spot in the first place and that it’s a good bet Posey will repeat last year’s selloff and trade some of his teammates at the deadline.
The cruel reality of Major League Baseball is that a teammate’s friends can be traded, and that was the case when Tyler Rogers was dealt to the Mets last July, one of three veterans Posey sent elsewhere at the deadline. The reliever was a Giants organizational lifer up to that point, just like Webb.
“Look, it’s Buster’s job to put the team together that he thinks is supposed to win, and it’s our job to go out and do it, and unfortunately we haven’t done it,” Webb said. “So when that happens, it’s kind of like last year, right? I’ve known Rog for a long time. That was probably one of the hardest things for me as a teammate. One of my very close friends, and to see him traded, it was hard. But at the end of the day, we put ourselves in that position. What is Buster supposed to do?”
When Posey confirmed he wasn’t trading Webb, it was a sign the Giants aren’t about to engage in a total rebuild.
A Webb trade could bring in young players to help usher in a new Giants era as part of a long-term plan. If Posey were convinced the Giants couldn’t contend in 2027 and 2028 – the remaining years on Webb’s contract – he’d probably be more willing to part with his ace.
But Posey said he still has faith in his top players and remains confident about the team’s future. On the flip side, he said he’s open to making trades – the Giants have the fourth lowest winning percentage in their West Coast history, after all – and it’s safe to imagine him dealing pending free agents Robbie Ray and Luis Arráez.
For starters.
“Unfortunately, I think we have to have everything on the table,” Posey said, “and hear out different thoughts from not only internally but from other teams as well and try to right the ship.”
Another trade option is Tyler Mahle, who signed a one-year, $10 million contract in January and pitched 5 ⅔ scoreless innings of two-hit ball Wednesday after entering with a 1-7 record and 6.04 ERA. A few more starts like that could make it easier for Posey to ship him for a decent prospect.
Trading Ray, Arráez, and Mahle would be somewhat routine because they’re all in their walk years. It would be far more complex to move Devers, Willy Adames, or Matt Chapman, all signed long term with nine-digit contracts.
The enormity of Devers’ contract, not to mention his sub-Rafi numbers and questionable recent antics – refusing to exit Sunday’s game when manager Tony Vitello summoned a pinch-runner – make it extremely difficult to pull off a trade that would open first base full time to Bryce Eldridge. Adames and Chapman also would be tough to move because of their full no-trade clauses. Posey said he hasn’t spoken with either about waiving them.
As for Jung Hoo Lee, another hitter with a nine-digit contract, he seems safe. Not just because he’s raking at the plate (his .332 average is second best in the majors) but because the Giants are trying to become a marketing fixture in South Korea, and Lee is their liaison to the relationship.
Eldridge is safe, too, for obvious reasons. Probably Casey Schmitt as well, unless the Giants can get a haul in return. Heliot Ramos could be expendable. Harrison Bader and Adrian Houser have contributed next to nothing and are signed through next season. Any number of Giants relievers could serve as trade bait; the team needs to revamp its bullpen anyway.
“I do believe in that core,” Posey said. “Again, as I mentioned, I think at this point, we’ve got to put everything on the table and listen to different types of scenarios. Certainly, I can speak for all of us, we don’t have our mind made up one way or another. We’ll just kind of see how things progress here over the next month or so.”
While Posey looks ahead to the trade deadline, a more immediate focus is the July 11 draft. Posey and his crew, a day after his well-chronicled briefing with reporters, were at Chase Field in Phoenix on Wednesday for this week’s draft combine to watch hundreds of college and high school players showcase their batting strokes, defensive skills, and pitching deliveries.
The Giants have the fourth pick, plus the 29th, a splendid opportunity to add promising youth into the system. While most of the top prospects are middle infielders, starting pitching depth is thin through the ranks, and it’ll be a focus with the draft and trade deadline coming up, and into the offseason.
It’s another good reason to keep Webb; it’s tough to imagine a solid rotation next year without him. The rotation ERA was one of the worst in the majors until recently, but it’s trending in the right direction thanks to Webb’s 0.87 ERA in four starts since coming off the injured list and Ray, Mahle, and Landen Roupp combining to yield two earned runs over 19 ⅔ in the A’s series.
The three impressive starts come in the aftermath of Posey saying “our starting pitching outside of Webby has not done a good job of getting deep into games” and “the starting pitching, for a winning club, needs to be a strength.”
Message received.
With Ray and Mahle heading to free agency, the Giants will need arms to fill the gaps. Beyond Webb, we haven’t seen many Giants-developed starters other than Roupp, though Carson Whisenhunt is waiting in the wings (OK, Kyle Harrison, but that’s another story).
Roupp started Thursday and gave up two runs in six innings. Lee’s liner that right fielder Lawrence Butler misplayed turned into a three-run triple, and for the second straight game, Victor Bericoto hit a 445-foot homer and made a game-altering throw from left field. But the bullpen turned a four-run lead into a three-run loss with Caleb Kilian coughing up four ninth-inning runs.
The Giants, one game from the season’s midway point, are 33-47 and destined to miss the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 years.
Webb led the National League in innings the past three years and was tops in strikeouts in 2025, but this is his eighth season, and he’s been to the playoffs once, 2021. He’s desperate to return to October baseball, and it’s up to Posey and Co. to avoid wasting Webb’s prime years.
Despite his recent surge, Webb takes some of the blame for the Giants’ disappointing season.
“I was probably one of the worst pitchers in baseball for a month, and I missed a month,” said Webb, who was out most of May with a knee injury. “Throwing well recently, but that doesn’t make up for those two months.”
Posey is in his second year in charge. His initial commitment was three years, and he was asked if he’s in it for the long haul.
“I’m committed to seeing it through,” he said. “What I like about sports, and I think we all like about sports, is it’s a meritocracy. So if you play well, you stay. Or if the team plays well, and you win a bunch of games, you stay. If not, then there’s conversations that have to be had.”
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