Giants Star Not Enjoying Watching Arch-Rival Dodgers Signing Megastars

The San Francisco Giants have gotten better since Buster Posey took over the franchise, but they can’t outspend the Los Angeles Dodgers.

A San Francisco Giants cap and glove sits on a dugout railing. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers have been rivals for decades. The move from New York and Brooklyn decades ago hasn’t changed that.

Division games between the Giants and the Dodgers turn up the volume, whether they’re in the Bay Area or at Chavez Ravine. Fifteen years ago, San Francisco had the upper hand. The Giants were on a roll, winning three World Series title in five years. Now, it’s the Dodgers that are on top. They’ve won the last two World Series and three since 2020.

The franchise has emerged as the sport’s “evil empire” as it spends huge amounts of cash on free agents, including its mega-deal with Shohei Ohtani two offseasons ago. This offseason, baseball has watched as Los Angeles signed closer Edwin Díaz and slugger Kyle Tucker to long-term deals. Tucker’s deal was for $240 million over four years, giving him $60 million in average annual value.

The spending is annoying a lot of people, including Giants ace Logan Webb.

Logan Webb on Dodgers Spending

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb walks off the field after a start. | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

Webb was in San Ramon for Giants FanFest this weekend, giving him the chance to interact with fans and sign autographs. While there, he met with the media, and he was asked about the Dodgers’ offseason. Per NBC Sports Bay Area, he is none too thrilled with the Dodgers. But what can he do?

"It's not my job to add guys or do anything," Webb said. "It's our job to just go out there and try to compete. Obviously, yeah, it's not fun for me to watch the team that won it and the team that kicked our ass a lot last year go out and get some really good players just to make it more difficult.”

San Francisco has taken on payroll since Posey took over as president of baseball operations. He signed shortstop Willy Adames to the largest free-agent deal in franchise history. Last summer, he traded for Rafael Devers and took on the remainder of his deal, which was a 10-year, $315 million deal. That deal won’t end until 2033.

The Giants’ offseason has been muted, with the major deals coming in the rotation, as Posey signed veterans Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle. They’ll work behind Webb and Robbie Ray in the rotation.

Webb will play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. But, if San Francisco is to bridge the gap with the Dodgers, Webb will have to keep being the ace he’s been the past four seasons.

He’s pitched at least 200 innings in each of the last three seasons, with 192.1 innings in 2022. This past season he led the Majors with 207 innings pitched with a record of 15-11 with a 3.22 ERA. He finished fourth in National League Cy Young voting and was in the Top 6 in Cy Young voting for the third straight year.