SAN RAMON, Calif. -- Logan Webb hoped to become teammates with Aaron Judge when the Giants pursued the star slugger in free agency in December 2022. But that possibility never materialized, as Judge ultimately spurned the Giants’ overtures and opted to re-sign with the Yankees.
The two All-Stars have consequently spent their entire careers playing in opposite leagues on opposite coasts, but they’ll finally get to be on the same side when they suit up for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic this year.
“Aaron Judge is probably the main guy that I’m really excited to play with,” Webb said on Saturday during the Giants’ FanFest Tour stop at City Center Bishop Ranch. “I was involved [when the Giants were trying to sign him], so I got to do the visit with him. I wanted to be his teammate then, and now I get to do it. It’ll be exciting. We’ve texted back and forth a little bit. It’ll be fun to just watch a lot of these guys take BP, let alone play with them.”
Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey -- who helped lead Team USA to a gold medal in the 2017 WBC -- expressed some apprehension about having his 29-year-old ace participate in the tournament, but Webb is comfortable making the commitment.
“Obviously, they have their thoughts about it,” Webb said. “I think that’s known. But at the end of the day, it’s my decision.”
Webb will be part of a star-studded American pitching staff that also includes Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal, Joe Ryan and Clayton Kershaw. He’ll have to begin ramping up a little earlier than usual since Team USA is scheduled to begin competing in Pool B on March 6 in Houston, but he doesn’t expect to make any drastic changes to his routine ahead of the 2026 campaign.
“I’m trying to treat this offseason as normal as possible,” he said. “But I definitely know there’s going to be a little more adrenaline going into springtime. I’m still going to get a couple of starts in before I leave. It’s the same buildup that I’ve always done. I think there’s an intensity part of it that I’ve maybe amplified a little bit. But I think it’s pretty much the same.”
Webb finished fourth in National League Cy Young Award voting in 2025 after logging a 3.22 ERA over an MLB-high 207 innings in 2025, so the Giants will be counting on him to remain a consistently durable presence at the top of their rotation this season.
San Francisco reinforced its pitching staff by inking veteran starters Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle, but the club still has plenty of work to do to bridge the gap with the rival Dodgers, who will be eyeing a threepeat after signing closer Edwin Díaz and outfielder Kyle Tucker to lucrative free-agent deals this offseason.
Does Webb believe the Giants have done enough to stay competitive this year?
“At the end of the day, we’ve just got to go out and play better,” Webb said. “Those types of things are not my job. I’m not the GM. I’m not the owner. My job is to go out there and pitch every five days. It’s our job in the clubhouse, the 26 of us and the coaching staff, to just try to maximize our potential and value. We’ve just got to do that.”