The San Francisco Giants Open the 2026 Season!

Pitchers

Logan Webb, R, 29   

Always in the Cy Young award discussion

Robbie Ray, L, 34  

Can he stay strong and repeat his fine 2025 season?

Landen Roupp, R, 27

Tony V will be watching his pitch counts carefully

Tyler Mahle, R, 31

Injuries limited him to 28 starts in last 4 years

Adrian Houser, R, 33

Has a two-year deal to prove himself in rotation

Ryan Walker , R, 30 

Can he hold the closer rule he lost late in 2025?

Erik Miller, L, 28 

Pitching well last summer when injury intervened 

Jose Butto, R, 28

Arrived last year in exchange for Tyler Rogers

 Keaton Winn, R, 28

Has yet to pitch a full major-league season

Spencer Bivens, R, 30

3.68 ERA over two seasons and 81 games

Matt Gage, L, 33

Lord knows, a lefty with a career 3.91 has value

Ryan Borucki, L, 32

Two-thirds of a scoreless inning in 2025 World Series

J.T. Brubaker, R, 32

Giants got him in Camilo Doval salary-dump trade

Caleb Kilian, R, 28

Can’t tell much from an 8-game major league career

Position Players

Willy Adames, SS, 30

First Giant since Bonds to reach 30 homers

Matt Chapman, 3B, 33

Tops at his position, needs plate resurgence

 

Rafael Devers ,1B, 29

So much depends on this slugger’s impact 

Luis Arraez ,2B, 29

Born hitter, batting champion, shaky fielder

Patrick Bailey, C, 27

Rated as best defensive catcher in the game

 

Heliot Ramos, LF, 26   

Solid numbers at plate, look out on the bases

 

Harrison Bader, CF, 31

Brings defense to an outfield lacking it

 

Jung-Hoo Lee, RF, 27

Quick bat, speed, and better suited to RF

Casey Schmitt, IF, 25

Plenty of innings await the utility man

Christian Koss, IF, 28

Giants have 3 shortstops and 5 outfielders

Jerar Encarnacion, OF/DH, 28  

Can he stay healthy and prove he’s got punch?

Jared Oliva, OF/DH, 30

His good spring led to Luis Matos’ departure

Daniel Susac, C, 25

Brother of former Giants catcher Andrew Susac

Tony Vitello has an interesting group of players on his hands as the Giants prepare for Opening Night at home against the New York Yankees.  The Giants have the look of a good team in a league, and a division, dominated by a great team (LA), and perhaps  two or three teams poised to have a great season (Phillies, Padres, Cubs).  And there are a lot of “good teams” in the Giants’ orbit—Reds, Brewers, Mets, Braves, Diamondbacks, perhaps even the Pirates—who, like Tony V’s team, are eyeing the three wild-card playoff spots, reachable these days with about 85 wins. There’s no question the Giants, as currently constituted, can do that. But will they?

Hiring Tony V away from our beloved Tennessee Volunteers was a bold and unorthodox move by Buster Posey.  The Giants went with seasoned, experienced “baseball men” over the six years since Bruce Bochy retired, and the last four of those years were almost interchangeable-- .500 or thereabouts, teasing us with wild-card flirtations, tending toward face-palm moments down the stretch, watching teams of similar or less talent pass them by into the postseason and, in 2023, into the World Series.  Enough already!

Enough already, agreed Buster, and he went out and found a guy with undeniable charisma, a guy renowned as a master motivator, and a man who attracts outstanding men to work around him. He’s done it— you pretty much need a scorecard, if not a Wikipedia page, to chart the Giants’ stable of new coaches. Everything about this team seems new right now, and it starts at the top, with a manager who has absolutely no professional baseball experience.  Will Tony Vitello be the next Earl Weaver or Dick Williams, or will this go down alongside the Chicago Cubs’ 1960s “College of Coaches” as an experiment that failed?

The Giants have some of what every team wants and needs. They have power, with Rafael Devers and Willy Adames.  They have Luis Arraez, a career .317 hitter, tops among active players, and one of the heroes of Team Venezuela’s WBC championship. They added an outstanding defensive center fielder to a stumbling, inadequate outfield—and likely took a lot of pressure off Jung-Hoo Lee in the bargain. They have a terrific defensive catcher and a legitimate pitching ace. They added depth to the starting rotation and changed out much of the league’s worst bullpen. On the downside, they don’t have much speed, the three starters behind Logan Webb and Robbie Ray all have injury histories, most of the relievers are unproven, there’s no dominating closer, and their infield defense will depend on late-inning replacements. 

The 2026 Giants are not going to win the division away from the Dodgers. But looking at the rest of the National League field, “We could be the 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks” is not an unrealistic hope, given the current wide-open tournament-style postseason.

 

Godspeed, Brother Chuck Norris.   Blessings to your family and loved ones. 

Robert Duvall 1931-2026

 

John Brodie 1935-2026

 

John Brodie was our first 49er hero. We arrived in Mill Valley in 1965, and one look at Brodie-to-Dave Parks was all we needed. That '65 team scored 421 points and was entertaining, if often infuriating, every week. We were hooked, at age 9.

Now, 60 years (60 years!!!), five world championships, two Hall of Fame quarterbacks, and three stadiums later, our memories of good old Number 12 are as fresh and affectionate as ever. 

Brodie had a reputation, unfairly bestowed, as being "just good enough to get you to the big game and then get you beat." It's true that his 49ers lost three playoff games, two of them NFL championships, to Dallas in 1970-1972, two of which were eminently winnable. But it's also true that Brodie's heroics were a major part of getting those teams to the playoffs; until his arrival, the 49ers had never finished in first place. 

A few highlights from a memorable 17-year career, 9 of which years we witnessed:

1965. Brodie's breakout season at age 30. He led the league in just about every passing category, with 30 TDs and a 61.9% completion percentage, which seems modest today but which got him enough MVP votes to finish second behind Jim Brown. 

November 27, 1969. Thanksgiving Day at the Cotton Bowl. In the midst of a lousy season (2-7-1 at kickoff), with Brodie having missed 4 starts due to injuries, #12 plays a near-perfect game against the NFL's marquee franchise on national TV. He leads two third-quarter scoring drives for a 24-17 lead before Dallas ties it late. Charlie Krueger then blocks a game-winning field goal attempt and the Niners come away with a tie that feels like a win. 

December 20, 1970, at the Oakland Coliseum. Having clinched the first NFC West division title, the first time they've ever won anything, the 49ers are openly dissed by the AFC West champion Raiders, who predict they'll not only sack Brodie multiple times but knock him out of the game. Instead, the 49ers rout the Raiders 38-7, and Brodie isn't even touched as he throws three touchdown passes. It's a pity they didn't get a chance to beat Oakland again in the Super Bowl, but neither team made it. 

December 27, 1970 at Metropolitan Stadium. A week later the 49ers are in Minnesota for their first-ever postseason game. The Vikings don't trash talk, but the national media unanimously write off the Niners' chances in minus-5 degree weather. Brodie plays error-free ball, throws for a TD, and runs for another as San Francisco dominates, leading 17-7 before a Minnesota touchdown on the game's last play. Until January 10, 1982, this was the franchise's high-water mark.

December 16, 1972 at Candlestick Park. It's the Vikings again, in the season finale, and they stand between the 49ers and a third straight division title.  Brodie, 37, is on the bench late in the third quarter; he's missed 8 games with injuries and ceded his starting job to Steve Spurrier. But down 17-6 with 15 minutes to play, coach Dick Nolan calls on Number 12. Fifteen minutes later the 49ers have won, 20-17, as Brodie leads two touchdown drives, one a 99-yarder, in the final minutes. Forced to throw on every down against a great defense, he's 10 of 15 for 165 and both touchdowns-- despite two of those frustrating interceptions that so many associate with him. 

September 16, 1973, Opening Day at the Orange Bowl. Brodie's Last Stand? It's the 49ers and the undefeated world champion Miami Dolphins, and the Niners do their best to become the first team to end that unbeaten streak. Brodie, again in relief, leads the 49ers to a 13-6 lead as the fourth quarter begins. It doesn't end well as Miami puts up 15 unanswered points-- touchdown, two field goals, safety on a punt attempt-- to win 21-13. They're just a little too good. The unbeaten streak will end the following week in Oakland, and John Brodie will retire at season's end. His jersey number 12 will be also be retired.

RIP John Brodie. 49er Nation mourns our loss, and salutes one of our greatest. 

This was originally posted on our sister site. ninerboogie.com.