Giants chasing a bounce-back bat could swing the NL West against the Padres

San Diego Padres fans are really starting to worry about what the 2026 season will look like. Several high-profile players have already left the team without much to make up for it, besides a small-time outfield addition. And while all of this is happening - or not happening, rather - there is another team in the NL West in a similar boat.

The San Francisco Giants haven't really made a big splash (yet) this offseason, but that could potentially soon come to an end. The Giants are not normally a club to go after players on hefty long-term contracts, but they have reportedly checked in on free agent outfielder Cody Bellinger.

Now, Bellinger may wind up reuniting with the New York Yankees, but if he somehow comes to terms with the Giants, this addition alone could leap frog the Giants over the Padres among the NL West hierarchy.

Potential Giants-Cody Bellinger signing would put Giants above the Padres going into 2026

Bellinger, 30, is coming off a marvelous campaign with the Yankees that resulted in MVP votes, 64 extra-base hits, and his seventh season with an OPS+ above 100. Bellinger is the real deal. He's a premier bat, an elite defender, and an underrated runner.

If he goes to the Giants, that outfield would be made up of Bellinger, Jung Hoo Lee, and Heliot Ramos. That would sneakily be one of the top outfields in baseball. Those three guys combined for 156 extra-base hits last season. It would be hard to find another hitting outfield as good as this one. Let's not forget about Jackson Merrill, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Ramon Laureano - a very strong outfielding trio, but San Diego may be in the market for another player that could break up the chemistry. Right now, San Diego's outfield is better, but Bellinger could ruffle those feathers.

Beyond the outfield, San Francisco has a strong front of the starting rotation in Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, and Landon Roupp. For the Padres, besides Nick Pivetta (who may be traded now?), who else is there to put up against San Francisco? The Giants win this one.

The Padres take the cake in the bullpen. Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, Jason Adam, David Morgan, Jeremiah Estrada, Wandy Peralta. Next.

Patrick Bailey is a top defensive catcher, so the Giants win that battle over San Diego. The rest of the infield is solid, too. San Francisco's left side of the infield with Willy Adames and Matt Chapman combined for a 7.8 bWAR last year. Very impressive. They also have Rafael Devers, who is still considered a star hitter.

Manny Machado is also still a star, but Xander Bogaerts has taken a step back. We still love Jake Cronenworth, but he isn't as good as any of the three aforementioned Giants. San Francisco probably wins here, too.

So, if we really think about it, the Giants are already on their way to becoming better than the Padres on paper. If you add Cody Bellinger into that mix, it's difficult to argue the Padres being a better team than the Giants going into 2026. San Diego needed to act fast before this Giants-Bellinger news. But now, they need to really lock in.