With 11 games remaining, which SF Giants have most to gain as season winds down?

The Giants have 11 games remaining in what has been a mostly forgettable season under rookie manager Tony Vitello. But for several players on this injury-depleted roster, these final two weeks could mean much more than assuring the franchise avoids its second 100-loss season since it moved to San Francisco.

While Logan Webb, Bryce Eldridge, Jung Hoo Lee and Landen Roupp have roster security, many on this team are fighting for staying power. This team has 16 players on the 60-day injured list, and they’ll all have to be added back to the 40-man roster in the offseason. Translation: The cuts are coming.

Realistically, many of the anonymous names on this current roster won’t see the field for San Francisco next year. For a select few, this final slate of games is a legitimate opportunity to leave a strong impression going into the offseason.

With less than two weeks remaining, which Giants have the most to gain?

Blade Tidwell

Since the trade deadline, the Giants have given Blade Tidwell an opportunity every five-or-so days to prove himself as a starter. He’s shown glimpses, most notably when he pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, but his brief time in San Francisco’s rotation has been uneven.

Over seven starts, Tidwell has a 5.45 ERA and 5.18 FIP over 34 2/3 innings since joining the Giants’ post-deadline rotation. What’s especially worth highlighting is how his pitches have performed. By FanGraphs’ Stuff+ metric, which measures the physical characteristics of pitches, Tidwell has gone from exceptional as a reliever (113) to average as a starter (100).

San Francisco’s brass will likely have no shortage of conversations about Tidwell’s role next year. Maybe the team keeps him as a starter to maintain depth since Hayden Birdsong, Carson Whisenhunt and Trevor McDonald all had elbow surgeries this year. Maybe, depending on how many starters they acquire, the team entertains making him a reliever and letting his stuff play up. Maybe he ends up doing a little bit of both.

If Tidwell can finish the year with two strong starts, he can better position himself to remain a starter going into the offseason.

Jonah Cox

The Giants made an aggressive decision back in late May to promote Jonah Cox to the majors straight from Double-A Richmond, and the 24-year-old has flashed glimpses of being an impact player.

His 10 steals (on 13 attempts) are tied for the second-most on the Giants even though he’s only appeared in 51 games, and he’s already been worth +3 outs above average (a range-based stat) in center field. Cox, who played middle infield in college, has also played very solid defense at second base, making several nifty plays in a limited sample.

Cox hasgame-changing speed, and he hasn’t been shy about turning on the jets. Whether he’s swiping bases or bunting for singles or flying around the outfield, there’s rarely a game that goes by without Cox showing why he’s one of the fastest players in baseball.

But questions remain about Cox’s bat. He’s hitting .279 with a .757 OPS over 122 plate appearances, but he’s striking out more than a third of the time (36.9% K%) and has an outrageously high .435 batting average on balls in play, which signals some luck. Still, if Cox continues to produce down the stretch, he’ll enter the offseason with a strong chance of making next year’s Opening Day roster.

Trent Harris

Trent Harris didn’t exactly have a sterling major-league debut, facing four batters and allowing three runs. Since then, he’s been absolutely nails.

Excluding his first outing, Harris has allowed just two earned runs over 17 2/3 innings with 23 strikeouts. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last 11 appearances, and he recorded his first career save last Wednesday against the Cardinals.

The 27-year-old Harris, who went undrafted, has an extremely high, over-the-top arm slot. Harris’ extreme 70.2-degree arm angle, in fact, is the second-highest in the majors, giving him a very unique look out of the bullpen. With a couple more strong outings, Harris can position himself to be a bullpen favorite going into spring training.

Anthony Molina

Molina wasn’t the headliner among the Giants’ trade deadline acquisitions, but he’s garnered intrigue in his little time with the club.

Despite getting roughed up on Friday, Molina impressed in his first three appearances as a Giant. The 24-year-old pitched 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief after Adrian Houser sustained an injury, then pitched five innings in back-to-back starts against the Braves and Mets.

Molina, free from Coors Field, has seen his stuff tick up this season. In 2024 and 2025 with the Rockies, Molina had a Stuff+ of 92. With the Giants, Molina’s Stuff+ has been 102, a significant leap.

The right-hander’s four-seam fastball, in particular, has graded out as a much better pitch. Not only is Molina throwing it a bit harder (95.6 mph in 2025, 96.2 mph in 2026), but he’s added more than two inches of vertical movement, meaning he’s getting a lot more ride compared to last year.

The right-hander likely won’t be a consideration for next year’s rotation, but a strong finish to the season could put him in the mix for next year’s bullpen as a multi-inning arm. If anything, he’s an optionable arm who can provide innings over a season.

Turner Hill

The Giants currently have a lot of outfielders. Lee will likely be the incumbent right fielder, while Cox and Drew Gilbert have the makings of a platoon in center field (Harrison Bader’s status for next year is ambiguous).

The team doesn’t lack for options in left field. Assuming Casey Schmitt shifts back to the infield, San Francisco’s choices include Scott Bandura, Victor Bericoto and Bo Davidson, the team’s No. 5 prospect per Baseball America. Gilbert also has the versatility to slide to left field as well.

So, where does that leave Hill?

The 27-year-old enjoyed a nice little stretch, totaling eight hits during the Giants’ recent Atlanta/Pittsburgh/New York road trip, but he’s significantly cooled down. He has excellent strikeout and walk rates while featuring above-average speed but lacks power. The Giants will only have so many outfield spots, and Hill will have the rest of the season to prove he’s worthy of being in the mix.