The veteran nucleus on the Giants’ roster was going to make or break the 2026 season. The group at the top end of the team’s payroll was going to lead this team to its destiny, good or bad.

Well, the season is spiraling in the wrong direction, and the veterans have their fingerprints all over what has transpired, including Tuesday night’s 10-5 loss to the Padres at Oracle Park.

Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, and Matt Chapman, all scuffling, were put on notice Monday after president of baseball operations Buster Posey promoted top prospects Bryce Eldridge and Jesús Rodríguez. Then Tuesday, starter Logan Webb continued his wildly inconsistent season by lasting just four innings and 62 pitches, coughing up six runs on seven hits, and exiting with knee discomfort.

Nobody was suggesting Webb, whose ERA rose to 5.06 would miss a start or go on the injured list, but manager Tony Vitello indicated the issue might have impacted Webb’s performance, adding trainer Dave Groeschner pushed for the right-hander to come out when he did. At the same time, Vitello said it’s “nothing to freak out about in my opinion.”

Webb didn’t have much to say afterward other than he wouldn’t use it as an excuse. “I probably shouldn’t have been in the game to begin with. I wasn’t very good today,” said Webb, who wasn’t suggesting he was physically unfit to pitch, rather he was simply “dogs—.”

On the offensive side, Posey wants his “big three guys” to lead a resurgence, but the presence of Eldridge, a designated hitter/first baseman, changes everything because management now must play a game of musical chairs while drawing up the lineups, and no longer is anyone guaranteed playing time on a daily basis.

Chapman, the third baseman who’s not accustomed to getting time off because of unproductivity, was on the bench Monday, replaced by hot-hitting Casey Schmitt. Tuesday, Schmitt spelled second baseman Luis Arráez, who was out with what Vitello called a nagging thumb issue, and hit his second homer in two days, his team-leading sixth of the year.

Presumably, Devers and Adames will get days off as well.

In a Tuesday interview, Chapman said he had conversations with Posey and Vitello, expressed an understanding of why he sat out, and stressed the importance of key players contributing more.

“They expect us to play better, and we expect ourselves to play better,” Chapman said. “So I agree. I mean, I got benched yesterday, obviously, so I need to be better, and if this team’s going to be what we expect it to be, the three guys you just mentioned need to play better.”

He added, “I’m more frustrated at myself than anything. It’s nobody’s fault but mine.”

Eldridge was back as the designated hitter and went 1-for-4. Rodríguez was back behind the plate and enjoyed a night he’ll never forget. He collected his first major-league hit, an opposite-field single, and first RBI; Adames scored after ignoring third-base coach Hector Borg’s stop sign. Later, Rodríguez hit his first big-league homer, going the other way again, this time crushing the ball over the big brick wall in right field, a rare feat for a right-handed batter.

Rodríguez, 24, a native of Venezuela, was acquired last July in the trade that sent Camilo Doval to the Yankees. He’s an exceptional contact hitter with a .311 average over seven minor-league seasons, and he might continue to find his name in the lineup if he keeps hitting.

Two-time Gold Glove catcher Patrick Bailey, he of the team-low .411 OPS, was out of the lineup for the third straight game, and it’s anyone’s guess what his role is moving forward. The roster suddenly includes three catchers, including Eric Haase, and as management prioritizes offense while building their lineups, Bailey’s playing time is in jeopardy.

The Giants raced to a 4-1 lead before Webb surrendered five runs in the fourth inning. The Padres kept scoring off the Giants’ bullpen, and the Giants were down 8-4 by the time Rodríguez hit his home run.

“It’s exciting to get two new young guys in the locker room,” Chapman said. “They’ve been playing well, and when you play the way we’ve been playing, you need to see if there’s other guys that can contribute. So I understand why they’re doing what they did.”

Warranting this week’s roster moves, Devers had a .562 OPS, ranking among the worst hitters in the majors. Adames’ wasn’t much better at .582. Both were striking out a lot and hardly walking. Chapman hasn’t been nearly as bad as the others, but his OPS had slipped to .655 after he went 2-for-24 with 12 strikeouts on the Giants’ road trip.

So Posey, on the heels of six straight road losses, shuffled the roster and made it clear playing time would be earned, not just assumed.

“When I think about what is going to have to happen for us to get out of this funk,” Posey said, “we’re going to need our big three guys to lead us out of this funk and produce the way that we know that they can produce.”

Posey had a hand in all three of the players’ long-term security in San Francisco and naturally wants big-time production from the big-time commitments. He helped close Chapman’s six-year, $151 million extension, signed Adames to $182 million over seven years, and assumed more than $250 million of Devers’ contract after trading for him last June. 

Posey knows the threesome won’t turn around their seasons overnight and would encourage them to embrace gradual gains.

“I think it’s human nature to want to try to get it all back in one swing or one game or one good week,” Posey said. “But I really believe you have to chip away, you have to find little victories for yourself offensively. Maybe it’s a ball you put in play or a swing that you feel that you haven’t felt in a while, and you have to try to take away the positives of that.”

Posey added, “If I put on my former player hat, it’s, ‘How can I come to the park today and feel like I got a little bit better from what I have been going through,’ and then hopefully that’s stuff you can build from.”

Devers, Adames, and Chapman went 2-for-12 with three strikeouts Tuesday. Nobody on the Giants drew a walk, and they lost for the seventh time in eight games. Webb’s disappointing start and injury turned the night into a complete bummer. It was a far cry from the series opener, a 3-2 win. Trevor McDonald, who pitched a gem Monday, was optioned to Sacramento (he shouldn’t be gone long) to make room for reliever Joel Peguero. The bullpen was one man short after Erik Miller was placed on the injured list with a lower back sprain.