The San Francisco Giants made all the moves they needed to make entering the first stage of the offseason. The next step is to prepare a shopping list.
The Giants appear to have the money to bring home some big-ticket items if they so choose.
Per Spotrac, the Giants have $136.5 million in current payroll allocations for 2026 and are projected to have $158.9 million in payroll in total, which will include their arbitration and pre-arbitration players.
With the first tier of the Competitive Balance Tax set for $244 million for 2026, San Francisco has more than $80 million to play with in free agency or in trades. As for when the Giants may spend that money is up to them. But it’s informative to see where they’ve spent it to this point.
The Giants have committed that $136.4 million in current payroll to six veteran players, all of which are paid at least $13 million in 2026. Rafael Devers leads with $27 million, with the Giants taking on the rest of his contract after acquiring him from the Boston Red Sox in June.
After that, third baseman Matt Chapman will be paid $25.1 million, starting pitcher Robbie Ray will be paid $25 million, outfielder Jung Hoo Lee will be paid $23.2 million, starting pitcher Logan Webb will be paid $23 million and shortstop Willy Adames will be paid $13.1 million.
San Francisco is dealing with only five arbitration players and, per MLB Trade Rumors, may only cost the Giants a little more than $10 million — JT Brubaker, Andrew Knizner, Joey Lucchesi, Ryan Walker and Patrick Bailey, the last of which is a two-time Gold Glove winner.
The rest of the payroll is made up of the remaining pre-arbitration players on the roster, most of which will make less than $1 million per year based on service time. With the additional cash, the Giants could make a play for the top of the market, which includes outfielder Kyle Tucker or starting pitcher Dylan Cease.
The Giants made five transactions on Thursday, but none significantly impacted payroll. San Francisco activated pitcher Randy Rodríguez and Erik Miller from the 60-day injured list, something teams must do by five days after the World Series ends to remain within league rules. The Giants designated pitcher Mason Black for assignment. San Francisco also claimed two players off waivers — center fielder Justin Dean from the Los Angeles Dodgers and pitcher Reiver Sanmartin from the Cincinnati Reds.
Four players hit free agency — pitcher Justin Verlander, infielder/designated hitter Wilmer Flores, infielder/outfielder Dominic Smith and catcher Tom Murphy. With those moves the Giants have a full 40-man roster. That means the only way to create room for free agents or Rule 5 players is to designated players for assignment.
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