San Francisco Giants Need Former Stars To Bounce Back for Successful Season

Will a couple of stars be able to bounce back for the San Francisco Giants?

Sep 1, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Robbie Ray (23) warms up before the game against the Miami Marlins while wearing a basketball jersey of starting pitcher Logan Webb (62) at Oracle Park. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

With spring training underway for the San Francisco Giants, they will be hoping to snap a three-year postseason drought.

Despite only missing the playoffs for the last three seasons, the Giants have struggled for most of the last decade. While there have been a couple of outlier years, San Francisco hasn’t done well for the most part.

Coming into the 2025 campaign, expectations aren’t much different for the franchise despite a couple of notable signings this winter.

The addition of Willy Adames to the lineup was a significant splash for the franchise and he should improve the batting order overall. However, it might not be enough to make a difference in an ultra-talented division.

While the lineup should improve with Adames, the pitching staff has a lot of question marks outside of Logan Webb. The loss of Blake Snell in free agency this winter will be a significant one for the franchise, especially considering how good he was in the second half of the year.

Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com recently spoke about how the Giants can defy their slim chances of making the postseason in 2025. He highlighted the need for former Cy Young award winners to pitch like they have in the past.

Harringan remarked, “Former Cy Young Award winners Robbie Ray and Justin Verlander also provide upside for San Francisco’s starting staff amid some significant question marks.”

Even though it appears unlikely that San Francisco will contend for the playoff spot, there is always a chance.

For the team to outperform expectations, they will need some things to go right. In the lineup, Adames sparking an improved offense will be key. However, the real avenue for success is likely through the pitching staff.

The Giants have two former Cy Young award winners on their staff now with Justin Verlander and Robbie Ray. Even though neither is the ace of the staff, both have the potential to be front-end pitchers.

For Verlander, he is coming off an injury-plagued 2024 campaign, in which he pitched poorly. For Ray, he will be returning after missing the majority of the last two seasons.

There is certainly a scenario in which both can pitch well and the Giants all of a sudden have an excellent trio in their rotation.

Also, the development of Kyle Harrison will be important this year. He is surrounded by some good pitchers and should be able to pick up a nugget or two from a plethora of experience around him.

Even though it seems unlikely, San Francisco’s starting rotation does have a lot of upside. However, they will need some things to go right.