Why Giants $22 million signing is clearly their top offseason regret
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Why Giants $22 million signing is clearly their top offseason regret originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The San Francisco Giants went into the 2026 MLB offseason with a clear need for more starting pitcher help. Outside of Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, the team needed more help.
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With Kyle Harrison off the roster thanks to the Rafael Devers trade, the Giants went to the free agent market, and they instead went out and signed a former Tampa Bay Rays starter to a $22 million contract over two years.
That starter, 33-year-old Adrian Houser, has struggled for the Giants this season. Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report called out this $22M decision as the Giants' top regret from this past offseason.
"Offseason Regret: Investing in Adrian Houser," Miller writes. "But San Francisco giving Adrian Houser a two-year, $22M contract was questionable from the start."
The Giants did make a few moves this offseason that warrant some criticism, but this $22 million Houser signing was a move that clearly is the worst of the bunch, and more than deserving of being called the team's biggest regret from this past offseason.
Adrian Houser is clearly Giants' top regret from offseason
The Giants spent a good amount of money on Houser this past offseason, signing him to a two-year deal with a 2028 team option that, at this rate, has no chance of being picked up.
Houser has a 5.25 ERA this season and has contributed -0.6 bWAR on the season. The Giants also signed Tyler Mahle to a free-agent contract this offseason to join the starting rotation.
Mahle has a 6.10 ERA and -0.6 bWAR on the season, so it's fair to wonder why he's not the biggest regret from the offseason. The big difference is that Mahle is under contract for one year at $10 million, not two years at $22 million, or $11 million per-year.
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Both were bad signings, but the Giants are stuck with Houser for one extra year, which helps make him a bigger regret than the Mahle signing.
Houser had a 3.31 ERA last season for the Rays and the Chicago White Sox, but his 4.79 ERA in Tampa after a trade deadline deal should've been a red flag for the Giants.
Instead, they signed him with the hope of Houser being a core contributor in the rotation. That didn't work out at all, and now the Giants are stuck with a regressing pitcher for two years on a deal that is not cheap.
While Mahle, or even the Harrison Bader decision, could've warranted some regret, the Houser signing is clearly the one the Giants should regret from their offseason spending.
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