After turning in an underwhelming effort in 2025, finishing out the regular season with an 81-81 record with no playoff berth to show for it, fans in San Francisco are eager to see how Buster Posey will get the Giants back into contention in 2026.

On paper, the Giants really need some help on the mound, with fans eager to see San Francisco get in on some of the premier pitchers on the market this year, but unfortunately, that just might not be in Posey's cards.

Breaking down what he's been hearing about San Francisco heading into December, ESPN reporter Buster Olney revealed that despite the rumors, the Giants haven't made a serious push for star Japanese pitcher Tatsuyi Imai, with Posey instead poking around more “modestly priced arms” around the margins.

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“The Giants have been repeatedly linked to Tatsuyi Imai, the premier free agent pitcher from Japan,” Olney wrote on social media. “But a lot of their market pitching inquiries have been for more modestly priced arms — a strong indication they aren't chasing the highest priced pitchers, like Imai.”

A three-time NPB All-Star, Imai is the best arm to be posted out of Japan since Yoshinobu Yamamoto, with the potential to secure a long-term, big-money contract before he throws a single pitch in an MLB game. If the Giants could land Imai, it would be a major boon alongside returning arms like Logan Webb, but at least according to Olney, that might not be in the cards as San Francisco navigates a post-Rafael Devers roster. With the Yamamoto and the Dodgers coming off a World Series-winning season, it will be interesting to see if that strategy that bring a winner back to San Francisco, or if they will continue to tread water in a top-heavy NL West while Imai looks to take down the champs on another roster.