Rodríguez shut down after brief AFL stint

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Randy Rodríguez's stint in the Arizona Fall League is over.

Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey told reporters at the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas on Tuesday that Rodríguez won’t make any more appearances for the Scottsdale Scorpions after experiencing some pain in his surgically repaired right elbow.

“Just being careful,” Posey said. “He had a little bit of elbow pain, and we’re just being cautious with him.”

Rodríguez missed the entire 2026 season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, but Posey said the All-Star reliever remains on track to be ready for Spring Training. Rodríguez wanted to start easing back into competition by pitching in the AFL this year, but he ended up making only three appearances for Scottsdale, giving up three runs while walking three and striking out three over two innings (13.50 ERA).

Rodríguez was the Giants’ most dominant reliever in 2025, when he logged a 1.78 ERA with 67 strikeouts over 50 2/3 innings before suffering a season-ending elbow sprain. The 27-year-old got closing experience after the Giants traded Camilo Doval to the Yankees, but Posey said he’d prefer to play it safe with Rodríguez and not immediately slot him back into the ninth inning next year.

“My preference would be not for him not to close right out the gate and be able to really monitor his workload as best as we can as he continues to get back to where he was before the injury,” Posey said. “But things can change, as well.”

The bullpen was a glaring weak spot for the Giants in 2026, so the club is expected to seek out more dependable relief options this winter. Two All-Star relievers -- Adrian Morejon and David Bednar -- are available on the free-agent market this offseason, though they both received qualifying offers, meaning the Giants would have to give up Draft picks to sign them.

The Giants sacrificed their second- and fifth-round picks in the 2025 Draft when they signed Willy Adames to a seven-year, $182 million deal, but Posey didn’t sound particularly eager to give up more selections by signing another qualified free agent this winter.

“I think it’s going to be harder for us,” Posey said. “I do think our system's in a better spot, but ideally, we're able to continue to add talent through the draft, through the international signings. Those high picks are important.”

Doval, who made a surprise return to the Giants after being claimed off waivers from the Pirates in late September, could be a candidate to close next year, though he’s not necessarily guaranteed to stay in the bullpen mix. The hard-throwing right-hander is arbitration-eligible and will be due a raise from the $6.1 million he earned this year, so the Giants will have to decide whether to tender him a contract by Nov. 20.

Doval, 29, recorded a 4.15 ERA over 66 relief appearances in 2026, but he ended the season by striking out four over two scoreless innings in his two outings for the Giants.

In addition to beefing up the bullpen, the Giants will have to find ways to enhance a starting rotation that doesn’t have any established arms outside of Logan Webb and Landen Roupp.

Two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal will headline the class of free-agent starters this year, though Posey seemed to downplay the chances of the Giants taking another big swing on the open market. The Giants thought they built to win now after making sizable commitments to veterans like Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman, Jung Hoo Lee and Adames in recent years, but the club badly underperformed in 2026, sputtering to a 65-97 record under first-year manager Tony Vitello.

The Giants believe they have several impact players coming up through their farm system -- including teenage shortstops Josuar Gonzalez (San Francisco's No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline) and Luis Hernández (No. 2) and 2026 first-round Draft pick Jackson Flora (No. 3) -- but most of those prospects are far from big league ready, which could make 2027 more of a transitional year for the organization.

“I do think we can contend,” Posey said. “I’m also realistic in knowing that we lost 97 games last year, and we’ve got to be willing to do some things differently. You’re trying to thread the needle, right? You’re trying to thread the needle of having the big-league team in a spot where they can win but also understanding that some of our top players in our system are probably two or three years away. Maybe not quite two or three years, but it’s a balancing act of that.”

MLB.com’s Martín Gallegos contributed reporting from Las Vegas.