An Upgrade in Right Field Should be Next for the Giants
With a platoon currently filling the spot, an upgrade in right field could be on the horizon for the San Francisco Giants.
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After being perfectly mediocre in 2025, the San Francisco Giants have yet to make any significant additions to their roster. Outside of two back-end starters and a few low-risk relievers, it’s been quiet by the bay.
Naturally, when a team misses the playoffs, fans expect some real changes to take place. For the Giants, that hasn’t been the case.
With several holes still on the roster, there’s some remaining work to be done by Buster Posey and company. Two spots on the right side of the field stand out.
San Francisco has been reportedly extremely aggressive on the trade market trying to acquire a second baseman. However, with Casey Schmitt manning the position and the high asking prices floating across the trade market, one could argue that an upgrade is more pressing in right field.
While there are a few internal options that could eventually offer some fine production, the Giants lack the outfielder with the type of upside that can push this team to being a true contender.
The Current Situation
At the 2025 trade deadline, the Giants finally decided to sell and brought in a surplus of prospects in exchange for some of their longest-tenured players. One of the returning names was Drew Gilbert, a standout player the University of Tennessee who was a first round draft pick a few years ago.
He would end up making his big league debut just a few weeks later and take the league by storm. Gilbert’s high energy in the dugout and hilarious celebrations went viral across baseball’s social media and arguably helped start the Giants’ best run of baseball from the 2025 season.
Unfortunately, his play would not do the same. In 109 plate appearances, he slashed .190/.248/.350 with a 66 wRC+. Despite the poor offensive production, he just scraped by in terms of being a positive value player (0.1 fWAR) thanks to his above-average defense.
In just 271 innings in the outfield, he accumulated 2 Outs Above Average which was also good for a Fielding Run Value of 2. With the front office being extremely outspoken on the need for outfield defense and his relationship with new manager Tony Vitello, Gilbert will likely be the fourth outfielder if an upgrade comes to fruition.
For now, he’s just one side of the platoon with right-handed hitting Luis Matos. Matos has gotten the most run of any Giants right field option with 178 career games played. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to take advantage of those opportunities.
Despite a week in May of 2024 which landed him the National League Player of the Week Award, it’s been a rough go for Matos. In just under 600 career plate appearances, he’s held an OPS of just .650 while accumulating -1.4 Wins Above Replacement (FanGraphs).
While he does a good job of avoiding strikeouts (14.7% career K%) while offering some intriguing power—eight home runs in 57 games in 2025—he appears to be the odd man out. With zero minor league options remaining, Matos could be the next top prospect failed by the development of the Giants organization.
Potential Upgrades
While the class’ top free agent was a right-fielder, the Giants appeared to show little interest. Kyle Tucker’s eventual $240 million dollar deal across four years probably would have priced them out, anyways.
They did, however, reportedly show interest in former-rival Cody Bellinger. His outfield defense would have been exactly what Buster Posey is looking for but his bat was a concerning fit for the pitcher-friendly confines of Oracle Park. With the Yankees now bringing him back to the Bronx, he’s no longer a possibility.
There are only a handful of other free agents that could offer some upside, but it’s worth questioning whether any of them are good-enough improvements to warrant the financial commitment.
Harrison Bader looks like an ideal fit when you consider his elite outfield defense and the fact that he had a career-high 17 home runs and 122 wRC+ in 2025. Expected numbers suggest some significant regression in 2026, unfortunately.
A reunion with Mike Tauchman is another interesting consideration. He’s been a positive defender throughout his career and his offense was 15 points above average in 2025.
On the trade market, there are some intriguing names rumored to be available. While none of them are certified superstars, players like Wilyer Abreu and Steven Kwan would significantly raise the floor and the ceiling of this outfield group. However, the questioned legitimacy of their availability and the ballooned prospect package it’d likely take to bring them in make them both difficult acquisitions.
While they’ve been rumored to be aggressive at second base, it’s worth questioning if the Giants are ready to part with the pieces it would take to swing a significant trade before the start of the 2026 season.
Clearly, there isn’t a surplus of options available if they’re looking for a surefire upgrade at the position. One thing is for sure, though, and that is that the Giants need to do something.
With a lack of any significant additions to the roster so far, they look like the same .500 team they were last year. Sure, they can expect a full season of Rafael Devers and more from Willy Adames and Matt Chapman, but it’s hard seeing this team contending with the best of the National League.
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Michael Monreal got his start in baseball media when he started his own website covering the San Francisco Giants after playing two years of college baseball.…