The Giants’ bullpen is crumbling, forcing team president Buster Posey to defend his offseason choices. Passing on a star closer to save money looks bad right now. Last season, the Giants’ bullpen finished fourth. This year, they rank ninth. Without a true lockdown arm to slam the door late in games, the Giants have been forced into over-utilizing the relievers at the bottom.

Fans and critics of the team think the front office was not ready to shell out money when they passed on Edwin Diaz. Posey was slammed for ignoring a glaring hole in the bullpen. Trying to set the record straight, Posey defended his choices on a local KNBR radio show.

“I don’t regret it. It’s my job to sit here and say do we think the cost-benefit of signing this person was worth it, and we didn’t see it. So I don’t regret it,” Posey said.

Posey doesn’t regret skipping giant contracts, but the team’s lack of depth hurts. That shows in the team’s 20-30 start to the season. He missed out on star hitters like Pete Alonso and passed on cheaper relief pitchers. Because the roster is so thin, the Giants recently sent struggling closer Ryan Walker down to the minors.

The Giants’ bullpen has struggled with high walk rates, blown leads, and a lack of defined roles, contributing significantly to a rough home start. For example, in a game against the Phillies, the Giants led 2-1 entering the ninth after a dominant outing by Logan Webb. But Ryan Walker blew the save. Philadelphia tied it on a Bryson Stott triple and walked it off moments later.

Then again, in another game against the D-Backs, the Giants carried a 3-2 lead into the ninth before Matt Gage allowed a walk-off three-run homer to Ketel Marte. So, the absence of a reliable closer is much evident in the Giants’ struggle.

The Giants did try to get Edwin Diaz, the best closer on the market, during the offseason. The front office was reportedly hesitant to exceed three years and meet his $69 million salary demand. The Giants have a bad history with paying closers, like Mark Melancon’s terrible $62 million deal back in 2017.

So, instead of pursuing premier free-agent closers at the top of the market, the Giants preferred to focus their free-agent budget on position players and starting pitchers. Diaz finally ended up with the Dodgers.

“I guess you probably wanted us to sign Edwin Diaz, but then you would probably be asking me why I signed Diaz when he’s on the IL. We can play armchair quarterback on it and say it was good or bad,” Posey added. “We’ve got some guys in the bullpen who are doing really good stuff, and I’m not going to sit here and not give them the credit. Keaton Winn is throwing the ball great. Caleb Kilian is throwing the ball great.”

Posey hints about the potential cost-benefits associated with Diaz. Diaz could play only seven games with the Dodgers before getting injured. In the seven games, he carried a 10.50 ERA. So, Posey may feel smart for not signing Diaz, but it didn’t solve his own team’s issues. He signed Jason Foley to a one-year, $2 million contract, but he is also hurt right now.

Posey is confident to make a mark with whatever he has, but unfortunately, the issue is not limited to the Giants’ bullpen.

The Giants’ offense looks similar to their bullpen

The Giants are currently ranked 30th in terms of total runs scored (173) and 12th in terms of average (.244). Casey Schmitt leads the batting chart with nine homers. In comparison, Aaron Judge has already scored 16 HRs. This shows the extent to which the Giants’ offense is lagging.

Posey invested huge on Rafael Devers last year as his biggest bet. However, since joining the Giants, Devers is slugging .437, down from .510 with the Red Sox.

“Raffy knows his swing better than anybody,” manager Tony Vitello said. “In my opinion, the effort has geared down a little bit. He’s always going to want to do damage. He’s looking to crush that thing. The strength of his swing is the conviction in his swing. But it does seem to be more of a loose aggressiveness instead of an effort-y aggressiveness.”

Overall, the lineup is yet to start firing. This offseason has had marquee names like Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, Pete Alonso, and Bo Bichette to choose from. Posey still chose to follow the same approach as his bullpen, and the result is here. The Giants are currently ranked fourth in the NL West with a 20-30 record, and it seems like Posey’s offseason moves would haunt him till the end of the season.