Giants president Greg Johnson discussed several topics in an interview with John Shea of the San Francisco Standard, including some about how the team plans to spend this winter. Like any top executive, Johnson spoke in general terms about salary, rather than citing any specific numbers, and downplayed the idea of any big payouts. For example, while Johnson cites “Start pitching help“as”Probably number one on the list” Among his offseason priorities, he said the Giants will “very cautious” Signed a nine-figure contract with a pitcher.
As for whether the Giants will exceed the $244MM luxury tax limit,”It just depends on what’s out there. we might end up we might end up in,” Johnson said. “We will consider each situation and make a decision to see if it fits not only next year but the long-term plan“.
San Francisco has exceeded the competitive balance tax line four times in its history. They paid the tax each season from 2015-17 due to the escalating costs of trying to retain a championship core from a top-10 team. The club is also slightly over the tax line in 2024 as the Giants made a series of expensive acquisitions in the 2023-24 offseason.
In 2025, the Giants returned their tax bill below the bottom line, even after making some more significant moves, namely extending the tax deadline. Matt Chapmansign Willie Adams A seven-year, $18MM free-agent contract, as well as their June trade Raphael Devers. Even when it comes to those salaries coupled with major commitments Logan Webber, Li Zhenghouand Robbie RaySan Francisco’s books are relatively clean, as nearly all of the team’s money has been spent on these six players. Ray is also set to become a free agent next winter, leaving more room for a long-term commitment despite Johnson’s caution about such a contract.
“we can go up [in spending]but I think the risk is that too many people are involved in similar six-year deals, which reduces salary flexibility,” Johnson said. “I think you can always do things in a shorter period of time, but you have to be careful not to put too many players in their 30s at a high wage level. I think you have to balance that“.
San Francisco fans may not like to hear about the owner’s financial caution, but nearly every owner or front-office executive shares Johnson’s concerns about excessive spending now on players who could soon become a heavy liability in the future. In fact, that’s exactly what the Giants found themselves in the previous tax year, when some key players on their World Series team began to decline.
There’s also the fact that the Giants are well below the $244MM tax line, so the team has considerable spending room this winter while still staying under the threshold. Cot’s Baseball Contracts estimates the Giants’ 2026 payroll at about $152.7MM with $182MM in taxes, while RosterResource’s estimate is a bit higher ($169.3MM in salary and $192.4MM in taxes).
Whichever estimate you prefer, Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey Expect to have financial flexibility this winter as you pursue larger goals. Upgrading the pitching staff (not to mention the team’s other needs) likely won’t come cheap, and with just one winning record over the past nine seasons, the Giants will once again be very aggressive in trying to get back into contention.
