On Friday, Giants beat reporter Maria Guardado held an Ask Me Anything on Reddit with fans at r/sfgiants. This mailbag features questions and answers from there. The full AMA can be read here. Questions and responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
How excited were Buster Posey and Randy Winn over the Draft Lottery?
The entire organization was thrilled, especially amateur scouting director Michael Holmes, who came over to fist-bump Randy Winn as soon as he walked off the Draft Lottery stage. Jumping from No. 15 to No. 4 in the Draft order is a big deal, especially considering the Giants have picked inside the top five only five other times in franchise history. The 2026 Draft class is pretty deep, so the Giants will obviously need to nail that pick.
With the news that the front office will not be looking to spend a ton of money on a free-agent starter, is there any possibility of a big trade to get that top-tier arm?
Definitely. The Giants are reportedly among the teams interested in the Brewers' Freddy Peralta, so I could see them swinging a trade for him. He only has one year of team control remaining, but he's super tight with Willy Adames, so maybe he'd be open to staying in San Francisco beyond 2026. The Twins don't seem inclined to trade Joe Ryan and Pablo López, but there are still several other starters who could be fits for the Giants, including the Nationals' MacKenzie Gore and the Royals' Kris Bubic (a Bay Area native and Stanford alum).
Who are the most interesting trade chips in the Giants’ system not named Bryce Eldridge?
Probably No. 2 prospect Josuar Gonzalez, an 18-year-old shortstop who has drawn comparisons to Francisco Lindor and José Reyes. The Giants' farm system is pretty deep with middle infielders -- they also have Gavin Kilen (No. 3 prospect) and Jhonny Level (No. 4) and are expected to sign Venezuelan shortstop Luis Hernandez next month -- so it wouldn't be a surprise if they used that surplus to address some of their other roster needs this offseason.
What kind of growth/improvements are the Giants looking for in Hayden Birdsong as far as his development and ability to be a consistent big league contributor are concerned?
Birdsong is probably the biggest X-factor in the Giants’ organization right now, just because they don't have another young pitcher with his kind of upside. I know the Giants have a lot of coaches working with him to try to fix his command issues and get him in the strike zone more consistently next year. It'll be a big test for new pitching coaches Frank Anderson, Justin Meccage and Christian Wonders, so it'll be interesting to see if they'll be able to get Birdsong back on track.
I always admire players/coaches who spend all or almost all of their career with one team. So, I'd like to ask you if Ron Wotus is still with the organization and if he is, what role he plays and is it noticeable? And if there's a chance that the team will not part ways with Logan Webb, again because of this reason.
Yes, Wotus is still with the Giants as a special assistant to baseball operations. He's still around the big league team quite often and can usually be spotted helping out with infield drills, but I know he also makes some trips to Sacramento to work with the organization's Triple-A prospects.
As for Webb, I know he's said he would love to spend his entire career with the Giants. He's signed through 2028 right now, so I'm sure the Giants will have to consider another possible extension for him at some point down the line.
Do you have any details on the improvements being made to Oracle Park?
I know they’re renovating the Willie Mays Gate right now, so that area should be getting a facelift next year.