Buster Posey’s Playing History Could Cause San Francisco Giants To Keep Key Veteran

A decision needs to be made regarding one of the San Francisco Giants' key veterans, and the playing history of Buster Posey could impact the judgement.

Oct 1, 2024; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey addresses the media during an introductory press conference at Oracle Park / Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

This will be an important offseason for the San Francisco Giants as they search for a way to get back into the playoffs for the first time since 2021.

Ownership felt like they weren't moving in the right direction under Farhan Zaidi, so they decided to fire him and bring in franchise legend Buster Posey to take over that role.

What gets accomplished this winter will go a long way in determining how quickly the Giants can compete in their own division and the National League as a whole, especially since Posey wasn't signed to a long-term deal like other presidents of baseball operations get when hired.

One thing San Francisco has to figure out before attacking the free agency market is who to bring back from last year's team.

A player under the microscope is veteran outfielder Mike Yastrzemski.

With an estimated $9.5 million contract coming his way for his final season of arbitration, the Giants have to decide if shelling out that much money to a 34-year-old coming off a campaign where he slashed .231/.302/.437 with 18 homers and 57 RBI is smart.

Yastrzemski does still have value, though, finishing with a bWAR of 2.1.

His OPS+ and wRC+ were 10 and six points above the league average respectively, and despite his underwhelming overall statistics at the plate, he still played defense well enough to be a Gold Glove finalist.

But will San Francisco be willing to spend that amount of money when there are other areas on this roster that need to be addressed?

Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area thinks so, and he also points out that Posey's experience of playing with Yastrzemski could be a deciding factor in bringing him back as well.

"The new president of baseball operations was in the lineup when Yastrzemski broke through in 2019 and they played together in 2021, too. Yastrzemski never will reach those 2020 heights again, but he does all the little things well and is a good presence in the clubhouse," he writes.

That's certainly interesting, and something to note when thinking about how this roster might be constructed going forward.

In no way is Posey being accused of favoritism because he played with certain members in the clubhouse, but that experience also gives him a much better insight about what each player brings to the table that a traditional executive might not have.

All signs point to Yastrzemski returning to the Giants in 2025 even with the inflated contract he's set to receive.