San Francisco Giants Offseason Signing Surprisingly Named Team's Worst Contract

With the start of the regular season almost here for the San Francisco Giants, the franchise is hoping to turn things around. 

It has been a tough several years for the Giants, who have fallen behind their competition in the National League West. 

This winter, the team went into the offseason with new president of baseball operations Buster Posey running the show. The former star catcher for San Francisco hasn’t inherited a great situation, and they seemingly tried to play it safe this winter. 

For their offense, they did add Willy Adames to help bolster the lineup, but they did see their starting rotation take a significant hit with the loss of Blake Snell. 

Replacing a pitcher of that caliber is not easy and the Giants likely didn’t come close with their replacement this winter. 

San Francisco signed future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander to a one-year, $15 million deal, but there are certainly some concerns about what he might be able to accomplish in 2025. 

Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report recently spoke about the worst contract on the books for the Giants, and it was, unfortunately, one of their notable acquisitions this winter in Verlander. 

“There have been other moments in Verlander's career where it seemed like his best days might be behind him, only for the future Hall of Famer to recapture his ace form. But this signing feels like a nostalgia-based decision from Posey.”

After dealing with a neck injury for a good chunk of last year, the 42-year-old had the worst season of his career. 

Verlander was left off the postseason roster for the Houston Astros last season after a disappointing and injury-plagued campaign. 

In 2024, the right-hander totaled a 5.48 ERA and 5-6 record. It was easily the worst year of his career, and at his age, the concern has to be that the struggles weren’t just injury-related. 

However, with the contract being just for one year, it’s a bit surprising to see that it was named the worst deal on the team. While this could be a deal that doesn’t work out, there is little risk with it being for just one year. 

When looking at some of the other notable contracts, Robbie Ray’s deal is worth $50 million over the next two seasons, and he hasn’t done much in recent years. 

Also, Adames’ contract is backloaded with him making over $30 million a season after being at $13 million for the first couple of years. 

Overall, the team will certainly be hoping that Verlander is able to regain his form of 2023 and that the struggles of 2024 were solely because of the neck issue.