The San Francisco Giants fell just short of their bid to make it to the postseason in 2025, and to make matters worse, they watched their archrival Los Angeles Dodgers stand tall yet again come the end of October, as they outlasted the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series in seven games.
The Giants, one would think, will be facing yet another uphill battle in the NL West heading into the 2026 season. The Dodgers are once again well-positioned to reign supreme over their peers, after all. But San Francisco has plenty of building blocks that should allow them to at least mount a challenge. They should not look further than their number one battery pairing, with ace Logan Webb and catcher Patrick Bailey combining for an impressive feat.
With the end of the 2025 MLB season comes the announcement of the winners of the Gold Glove awards, and both Webb and Bailey stood tall as the best in their position on the defensive side of the ball. This made them the first teammates to win Gold Glove at pitcher and catcher, respectively, since Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina did so for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013, as per MLB Stats on X (formerly Twitter).
Moreover, they became just the eighth pitcher-catcher duo to win Gold Glove in the same season. Both Webb and Bailey get it done for the Giants on defense, and they're not too shabby in the other facets of the game as well. Having these two as building blocks should give the Giants a relatively high floor of productivity.
Nonetheless, what the Giants need is something to help them get over the hump. Can they finally grab the missing pieces to help fuel a potential postseason push — and a potential bid to dethrone the Dodgers?
Logan Webb, Patrick Bailey need help to lead the Giants to the promised land
The Giants have plenty of talent up and down the roster. Willy Adames and Matt Chapman are incredible infielders to have, and Bailey, just to put in perspective how elite of a catcher he is, was worth 3.2 fWAR last season even though he couldn't hit a lick. Rafael Devers should have a better 2026 season as he settles in San Francisco.
Webb was brilliant in fronting the rotation in 2025, recording a season worth 5.5 fWAR. Robbie Ray and Justin Verlander were solid mid-rotation pieces. But the Giants' bullpen and the rest of their rotation needs a lot of work, still.
