5 mistakes Giants made that led to disastrous 2026 season

1. Tony Vitello

"Vitello's record will ultimately determine whether or not he's a fit in San Francisco," Boyle writes. "With this in mind, it's about as awful as it gets."

The Giants own the worst record in the NL West and one of the worst records overall. The offense is anemic, and the pitching staff is lackluster at best.

Vitello is a big reason for the struggles this season, with the jump from college to the Majors not going well at all for the first-time manager.

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2. Rafael Devers

"Trying to build around Rafael Devers is a mistake that continues to haunt the Giants," Boyle writes.

While plenty of players are to blame for how bad 2026 has gone, Devers' struggles this year are a major cause of concern.

He's not hitting nearly as well as he did last year, and the high cost to acquire him and keep him under contract is looking like a disaster for the Giants.

3. Starting rotation decisions

"Letting Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser headline the starting pitcher additions is brutal," Boyle writes.

The Giants needed starting pitching help this offseason, and instead of adding someone like Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, Tatsuya Imai, or one of the other top names available this past offseason, they went with Mahle and Houser.

After Logan Webb, who hasn't been great this year, the Giants had Mahle (5.87 ERA) and Houser (7.12 ERA) as the leaders of the rotation. That was not a good decision.

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4. Lack of power for the Giants' offense

"Buster Posey completely ignored adding any power," Boyle writes. "The team's biggest bats added were Harrison Bader (already hurt) and Luis Arraez."

Bader isn't much of a power hitter, but he does have home-run upside. Arraez has been solid this year, but he doesn't have much in terms of power at all.

With Devers, Willy Adames, and Matt Chapman, the team should have the power needed to succeed. But their current supporting cast of sluggers isn't doing well, with the team hitting 19 homers all year, worst in the league.

5. Closing is a big issue

"The Giants failed to acknowledge they lacked a true closer," Boyle writes. "Even if not having a closer is further down on the list of Posey mistakes, it's one that shouldn't be ignored."

Ryan Walker, who's been closing for the Giants this season, hasn't done well in this role at all. He's blown two saves already this season, including a crushing loss to the Philadelphia Phillies to close out April during a doubleheader.

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Mistakes from the Giants

The Giants have made a ton of mistakes that have led them to this disastrous start to the season. Even beyond the struggling players, the front office's decisions in the last year have culminated in this disaster.

Posey has a lot of work on his hands to turn things around, as this team isn't remotely playing well enough to be a contender for the difficult NL West, let alone a playoff spot.

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