San Francisco Giants Veteran Believes Team 'Could Sneak Up on Some People' This Year

One San Francisco Giants veteran believes the team is capable of exceeding expectations this season.

Feb 13, 2025; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Justin Verlander (35) watches players work out in the bullpen during spring training camp. / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

The 2025 season will be the dawn of a new era for the San Francisco Giants with Buster Posey leading the front office as the president of baseball operations.

One of the biggest changes with him in charge compared to the previous regime is how the roster is being managed.

It is a little easier to project how things will look now than when Farhan Zaidi was running the show. As Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic (subscription required) shared, there were occasions even the players didn’t know their status once the regular season rolled around.

However, that won’t make the upcoming decisions that Posey, manager Bob Melvin and the rest of the team’s brain trust have to make any easier.

Roster cutdowns aren’t easy for anyone, especially when so many players are performing at a high level in spring training.

While the numbers don’t count for much of anything, it is encouraging to see someone like Jung Hoo Lee, whose first season in the MLB was cut short because of a shoulder injury, producing at a high level.

The pitching staff has been excellent regardless of who is taking the mound, throwing strikes consistently and limiting self-inflicted mistakes such as issuing walks.

Of course, performing at a high level in exhibition games is one thing; can the players carry that over into the regular season once things begin to count?

The improvements are nice to see, but by most accounts, there is a wide gap that exists between the Giants and some of the other playoff hopefuls in the National League.

In their own division they look like the fourth-best team with the Los Angeles Dodgers leading the way followed by the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres.

Everyone is chasing the defending champion Dodgers, who loaded up again in the offseason.

Two of their biggest additions, starting pitcher Blake Snell and outfielder Michael Conforto, were poached from San Francisco.

The Giants made two splashes of their own, signing shortstop Willy Adames and starting pitcher Justin Verlander.

Both players are going to help raise the floor of a franchise that has been painfully mediocre over the last three campaigns with 80, 79 and 81 wins during this span.

Heading into 2025, some projections have them finishing right around those totals again, but Verlander believes that the group that has been put together can defy expectations.

“I genuinely think that this team could sneak up on some people,” Verlander said per Baggarly. “The expectations ... I don’t think they’re as high right now. And if you take a real objective look at things, from some guys we brought in, the maturity of some guys, the new health of some guys, they’re all big pieces. I think there’s a chance that we do something special.”

Health will be key to San Francisco making noise this year, especially on their pitching staff.

Verlander is coming off the least productive season of his career after battling injuries. Robbie Ray was knocking off the rust returning from Tommy John surgery in 2024. Jordan Hicks has a lengthy injury history. Keaton Winn is working his way back from surgery last year.

Their return to form would be huge for the team’s success.

The same goes for Lee, Wilmer Flores and LaMonte Wade Jr. in the lineup.

All of them are going to be key contributors in 2025 and staying healthy will determine just how much success the team will experience.

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