So went the 49ers’ thought process this week, when they contacted the Seahawks to make an unprecedented request. They wanted to fly in a hired hand for Saturday’s NFC Wild Card showdown: Seattle’s head groundskeeper, Sean Vanos.

So concerned about a coming storm — amid the Bay Area’s soggiest stretch of weather in years — the 49ers asked for assistance from their playoff opponent and divisional rival to deal with it. Jay Glazer was the first to report the move on the Fox Sports telecast, and the Bay Area News Group confirmed the Seahawks’ groundskeeper was on hand.

However, despite a week of forecasts calling for the rain to continue through kickoff Saturday, those precautions proved to be unnecessary. It poured before the game and drenched the field soon after it ended, but for a four-hour window Saturday afternoon, it stayed mostly dry over Santa Clara.

“The football gods were smiling on us,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said after the 49ers’ 41-23 win. “I thought it could’ve been like a 10-6 game instead of the 40 points we put up. … They wanted the best product on the field.”

Just as the 49ers needed no help pouring it on the Seahawks to advance to the divisional round, they needed little assistance from Seattle’s groundskeeper, either.

Tailgating fans huddled under canopies before kickoff, and the scheduled flyover was canceled. But the skies, which have dumped more than a foot of rain on Santa Clara since Christmas, dried up before halftime, and even briefly shined blue.

“How bout that?” McGlinchey said. “Four weeks in a row, they’ve been calling for rain on our game day and we got sunshine for two quarters today. That was awesome.”

Fans who roared for Arik Armstead’s sack that ended Seattle’s first possession of the game had traded in their bright-green all-weather gear for their typical gameday attire by the time Deebo Samuel was scampering down the sideline for the game-sealing score in the fourth quarter.

Despite the 49ers’ penchant for running the ball, and the preference to keep it on the ground in wet weather, rookie Brock Purdy attempted his third-most passes since becoming the starting quarterback.

Making his first career postseason start, Purdy was either bothered by the early rain or his nerves — starting 1-for-4 with a couple of bad misfires — but settled in as the game went on and finished with three touchdowns and 332 yards passing.

While fullback Kyle Juszczyk admitted the ball was a bit slick early on, the 49ers were unfazed by the wet weather, or lack thereof. After all, it has been raining at historic levels for almost a month now, and the 49ers don’t have an indoor practice facility to escape the conditions.

“Bring on the rain, man,” safety Jimmie Ward said. “It’s working for us.”

Linebacker Dre Greenlaw said he slipped once at the goal line but made the play anyway.

“I didn’t really notice it,” Greenlaw said, echoing the sentiment from a jubilant 49ers locker room. “It would rain and stop, but honestly I didn’t even think about it. I just played.”

All the oxygen spent on sports radio this week about how the conditions — and the Seahawks’ familiarity in it — would impact the game proved to be for naught. Seattle took a 17-16 lead into halftime but didn’t score again until the game was all but decided late in the fourth quarter.

The game turned when the ball slipped loose from Geno Smith’s hands late in the third quarter. By then, though, the rain had stopped. More credit is due to Charles Omenihu, who forced the ball free, and Nick Bosa, who recovered it.

It made the two-hour trip from Tracy worthwhile for Ingrid Alcantara, a lifelong Niners fan. Alcantara, an MRI technician, said she hadn’t missed a game this season but considered staying home because of the forecast.

“I was like, OK, should we get these tickets or should we not because of the rain?” said Alcantara, whose friend, Lily Rodriguez, pulled an unused poncho out of her pocket. “But I was like, you know what, just (screw) it. We’re just gonna do it. If anything we’re gonna get these rain coats.”

Sandeep Vanam, a software engineer from Fremont, at least got some use out of his rain gear but was happy to see the sun breaking through around halftime. After attending Jaguars-Titans in Jacksonville last week, he paid $199 to get in Saturday.

“By the way I’m dressed right now,” Vanam said, gesturing to the red poncho draped over his body, “I was expecting some rain, but the weather’s so good, I’m really happy that I’m here and the sun is out.”

Neither fans nor 49ers players, though, were aware of the extent of the club’s preparations.

“That’s pretty wild,” McGlinchey said. “All hands on deck.”

Pitchers Logan Webb, Jakob Junis, John Brebbia and Tyler Rogers, infielders Thairo Estrada, LaMonte Wade Jr., J.D. Davis and outfielder Austin Slater all agreed to terms, allowing the Giants to avoid the often contentious hearing-room setting in which an arbiter determines a player’s salary.

Webb, in his first year eligible to earn more than the league minimum, settled at a salary of $4.6 million. While that is slightly lower than the figure projected by MLB Trade Rumors ($4.8M), with two arbitration years remaining, that number should rise steadily if Webb continues his trajectory on the mound. It also makes the homegrown hurler a prime candidate for an extension, and it’s a positive sign the sides were able to avoid arbitration their first time around.

Estrada, Wade and Rogers were also arbitration-eligible for the first time and came in slightly below their projected figures.

After establishing himself as their everyday second baseman last season, Estrada will earn $2.25 million in 2023 (projected: $2.4M), while Rogers’ agreement is worth $1.675 million (projected: $1.8M), or about $7.3 million less than the salary of his twin brother, Taylor. (But don’t worry, he says, “it’s not a competitive thing between us; it’s a support system.”)

Expected to be the Giants’ primary first baseman this season, Wade and the Giants settled at $1.375 million, right in line with his projected figure of $1.4 million.

Junis, who enjoyed a breakout 2022 season, settled at $2.8 million. While it represents a nice raise from his $1.75 million salary last season, it fell short of his projected figure of $3.3 million.

In his third and final year of arbitration eligibility, Brebbia and the Giants settled at $2.3 million (projected: $1.9M). Brebbia, who will be a free agent after this season, led the Giants in appearances last season and “opened” more games than any other reliever in the majors.

Slater and Davis were also in their third year of eligibility, but as “Super Two” players, have one more year of club control before they reach free agency.

Davis and the club settled at $4.21 million, or a little over a million dollars more than the 2023 salary of Darin Ruf, whom he was acquired for last trade deadline along with three other players, and above his MLB Trade Rumors-projected cost ($3.8M). San Francisco paid $970,550 of his $2.76 million salary last season.

Slater, who is set to reprise his role as one half of the center field platoon with Mike Yastrzemski, settled at $3.2 million, a bump up from his $1.875 salary last season and higher than his projected figure ($2.8M).

Yastrzemski, the Giants’ only other arbitration-eligible player, agreed to a one-year, $6.1 million contract in November.

Notable

• Catcher Austin Wynns, who was designated for assignment and cleared waivers, accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A Sacramento, the club announced. Wynns, 32, had the option to become a free agent, but president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi stressed this week that the club hoped to retain him. Joey Bart and Rule 5 draft pick Blake Sabol are the only catchers on the Giants’ 40-man roster.

Murphy, who turns 81 on Monday, told the club’s do-it-all director of operations Abe Silvestri of his decision to retire in a phone call Thursday. Silvestri relayed the news Friday afternoon in an Instagram post that he later deleted. While the club did not respond to requests for comment, The San Francisco Chronicle reached Murphy, who confirmed he was stepping aside.

“He’s selfless, authentic, and I’m going to miss him,” Silvestri wrote of Murphy, with whom he shares a birthday, which he called his claim to fame. “But over the last 8 years we became friends & that’s my new claim to fame.”

"You never know when the good Lord might be looking for a Clubhouse Manager.”

Mike Murphy, the namesake of the #SFGiants clubhouse, who's been with the team since it moved to the West Coast in 1958, is reportedly retiring.

: https://t.co/u1DxJgwCrH pic.twitter.com/QhVy0We2zr

— Evan Webeck (@EvanWebeck) January 13, 2023

Comments streamed in from the likes of current pitcher Sean Hjelle (“Absolute icon! Going to miss having Murph around”), former Giants players Javier Lopez (“”Love that guy! Sinatra Sundays will be missed. “I don’t botha nobody.””), Cory Gearrin (a single “goat” emoji) and Tyler Beede (“Wow!! Well said man! Absolute legend”), as well as Brandon Belt’s wife, Haylee (“Murph is the best”).

Murphy, a San Francisco native, began his career as a batboy for the Triple-A Pacific Coast League Seals from 1954-57, which turned out to be his only job outside the Giants organization after the team moved west in 1958. Murphy became the Giants’ first batboy, started as the visiting clubhouse attendant in 1960, and in 1980, was promoted to oversee the home clubhouse, which is now named in his honor.

In 2020, Murphy published a book, “From the Stick to the Cove: My Six Decades With the San Francisco Giants.”

After winning their first World Series in 2010, catcher Buster Posey famously told Murphy, “We did it for you, we got your ring.”

As the franchise grapples with losing one of its last remaining ties to its 2010s World Series championship teams — Brandon Crawford is now the last player left after Brandon Belt’s departure this week — “Murph” was one of the last remaining connections to the era of past San Francisco greats, such as Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal.

In one of his last public appearances before the news of his retirement, Murphy attended the premiere of the new HBO Willie Mays documentary “Say Hey!” at the Castro Theatre in November. When Mays made his first visit back to Oracle Park since the pandemic this summer, one of his first stops was Murphy’s office.

“I’ve always loved Willie and Willie has always been with me,” Murphy said at the premiere. “I’ve visited him at his house and was with him a couple of weeks ago, about two weeks ago. For about three hours, we talked about the old time ballplayers and we had a lot of laughs, talking about Frank Sinatra and everybody else like that. Hey, I love Willie — best all-around, like Leo Durocher used to say, five-tool ballplayer.”

When Silvestri’s phone rang Thursday, he said he thought their annual tradition of trading birthday messages had simply come a few days early.

“After a few minutes of back n forth about who looks older,” Silvestri wrote, “he told me the real reason for the call was to let me know he’s decided to step away from the game of baseball & go see the world & live a little because ‘you never know when the good Lord might be looking for a Clubhouse Manager.’”

“Not at all,” Zaidi said, speaking over Zoom. “I’m happy for Carlos. He’s one of the great players in the game. He seems happy with where he’s going. I think this whole situation was really unfortunate.”

Correa was introduced Wednesday in Minnesota, where he signed a six-year, $200 million contract, 29 days after his original 13-year, $350 million agreement with the Giants was first reported. He signed contracts with three different teams, worth a total of $865 million, after the Giants and Mets were both reportedly spooked by his right ankle, which he had surgically repaired as a minor leaguer.

While Zaidi confirmed again that the Giants had been in touch with Correa since his deal with the Mets fell apart, he reiterated that the Giants got the sense that Correa was focused elsewhere, which ended up being Minnesota.

Zaidi’s only regret was that the saga played out as publicly as it did.

“We have to run our process,” Zaidi said. “I frankly think probably too many words have been written and said about this situation already. In a perfect world, everything that happened over the past month would have happened behind closed doors and not in the public eye, which I think made things difficult, not just for him and his family but for other teams and people involved.”

Correa’s agent, Scott Boras, further stirred the pot at Correa’s news conference Wednesday, claiming the Giants and Mets relied on the same doctor to form their opinion on Correa’s health, which Zaidi took issue with.

“Scott is in a position where he has more latitude to speak publicly given who he is and who he represents,” Zaidi said. “We do not. But as I’ve spoken more generally, we have a lot of faith in our medical process, our medical people, their openness, willingness to seek outside opinions — multiple outside opinions — and I’ll just leave it at that.”

Zaidi has repeatedly reiterated his confidence in the Giants’ medical staff and his appreciation for their role in the process, which he acknowledged was “not a fun part of their job.”

“I know for any trainer, calling someone in the front office, whether it’s about an injury or a concern on a physical, that’s probably the least enjoyable part of their job,” Zaidi said. “I made sure to be communicating with our medical people that … I appreciated that.”

Ultimately, whether the Giants are proven right or wrong won’t be decided for years to come.

“The only vindication that you’re seeking and that we put any credibility in is being a good team on the field,” Zaidi said. “That’s our focus right now.”

Although last year’s Opening Day left fielder, Joc Pederson, is back on the roster, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi reiterated Thursday that the Giants intend to primarily use him at designated hitter. Speaking for the first time since their signing of Michael Conforto became official, Zaidi also shed light on how he envisioned him aligning with fellow free-agent addition Mitch Haniger — and who was likely to be Pederson’s successor in left.

“I would imagine having Conforto in left and Haniger in right,” Zaidi said. “… Not saying that’s locked in, but that’s sort of how we’re thinking about it right now.”

It’s likely both guys get time in both corner spots in spring training, he added, and probably the regular season, too.

With Conforto, however, there are concerns about his throwing arm, which makes him a likelier candidate for left. He missed all of last season after undergoing surgery on his right shoulder. Before the operation, he had one of the strongest outfield arms in the majors, but he hasn’t tested it in game action since.

“Lessening the throwing burden at least early in the season probably makes sense,” Zaidi said.

While they may not seem to be the conventional answer to the Giants’ defensive woes from last season, Zaidi believes they will still be better off. Both figure to play everyday, which allows Pederson — rated one of the worst defensive left fielders in the majors last season — to mostly DH and for LaMonte Wade Jr. to take on the primary duties at first base, which Zaidi said they believe is his best position.

“Some of the improvements defensively will be more subtle,” Zaidi said. “Even just having a consistent outfield alignment. … Not having any real defensive liabilities. When we go around our defense now, we see everybody as average or potentially above average defensively. If we can have that kind of floor, that’s where the improvement is going to come from.”

After missing out on Brandon Nimmo and Cody Bellinger, it’s unlikely they make a move for a center fielder, instead relying on the tandem of Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Slater, Zaidi said.

“We have most if not all our at bats accounted for at those spots right now,” he said.

Conforto, Zaidi said, was an addition the Giants were “particularly excited about.” In the five seasons before his shoulder injury, Conforto hit .259/.364/.473 (an .837 OPS) with 111 home runs in 592 games for the New York Mets.

“Not just because of what he’s done in his career but also a testament to the work of our training staff,” Zaidi said. “Understanding this was a medical situation with a guy who missed all of last year. They did a lot of work on it. We saw him work out multiple times in Arizona. We had a lot of people in the organization who had a hand not just in recruiting Michael but also understanding his situation to feel confident in what he can do for us in 2023. …

“When you jot down the lineup for us on Opening Day and you know that somebody with his track record is going to be right in the middle of that lineup … you feel a lot better about the lineup having him in it.”

Jackson, 31, signed a two-year deal with a club option for a third year last week. He missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last April. While Zaidi said Jackson was progressing well, “it’s a possibility he starts the year on the 60-day IL,” which would render him ineligible until the start of June.

“That would put him at 14 months, which for a reliever is a pretty conservative timetable,” Zaidi said. “He’s doing great in his rehab, so we’re going to wait and see how he’s doing in spring training.”

The Giants intended Jackson to be a long-term investment — he could make up to $10.5 million in the final year of his contract if San Francisco picks up his option and he reaches all his incentives — and they are proceeding as such, with caution, in his return from major reconstructive surgery.

The Giants went from having the majors’ best bullpen ERA in 2021 (2.99) to the 11th-worst mark in 2022 (4.08).

Adding a “versatile right-handed arm who can also mix in at the end of games and somebody who was effective against both lefties and right-handed hitters,” was near the top of the Giants’ offseason shopping list, Zaidi said, right below a high-leverage left-hander, a hole they filled with Taylor Rogers.

Jackson has 19 career saves, and in 2021, he appeared in 71 games with a 1.98 ERA while helping Atlanta to a World Series championship.

“Having two guys down there, a lefty and a righty with closer experience … it just aligns our bullpen a lot better,” Zaidi said, confirming that Camilo Doval will still get the bulk of the save opportunities. “We expect a lot of improvement in this area.”

In the meantime, Zaidi named Cole Waites and R.J. Dabovich as two young relievers who could get a call-up should a need arise. Waites, 24, rose from High-A to make his major-league debut last year, while Dabovich, also 24, ended the year at Triple-A. Both can hit triple digits on the radar gun.

“If we have an opening in the first couple months of the season it would be a nice chance to audition some of those guys,” Zaidi said.

It will likely be LaMonte Wade Jr. who emerges from the dugout and jogs to first base before the bottom of the first inning on Opening Day, March 30 at Yankee Stadium, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said Thursday over Zoom.

The Giants remained in touch with Belt — Zaidi said he even visited him in recent weeks — but ultimately it came down to a “timing and fit issue,” Zaidi said. The Giants committed this offseason to getting younger and more athletic. Belt, like Evan Longoria, didn’t fit into those plans.

“As the offseason progressed and we started filling out our roster, we obviously added a couple outfielders, and that moved Joc (Pederson) and LaMonte Wade more into the first base/DH mix,” Zaidi said. “We knew we would be faced with some challenging decisions on players that we’re fond of … We really wish Brandon the best. But we’re looking forward to what LaMonte and other guys in that mix can do for us.”

Belt, who turns 35 in April, signed a one-year, $9.2 million deal with Toronto. He underwent surgery on his knee late last season, and Zaidi said the Giants kept tabs on his rehab. During a recent visit, Zaidi said Belt looked to be in great shape.

Between Wade, Pederson, Wilmer Flores, J.D. Davis and David Villar, there wasn’t room for Belt on the roster, Zaidi said.

While Zaidi said the Giants could still add a veteran to the first-base mix, he said Wade was, “in particular, someone we’re really high on,” despite a down year in 2022. The Giants believe he will benefit from the new restrictions on infield shifts and a fresh start after multiple stints on the injured list last season.

In addition to Wade, the Giants felt the need to carve out opportunities for young players such as Villar and Joey Bart, Zaidi said. Of Villar, who has hit 56 home runs the past two seasons between Double-A, Triple-A and the majors, Zaidi said, “if you’re not going to give a guy an opportunity after what he’s gone the last couple years … not sure he’s gone anything more to earn that opportunity.”

The Giants had been rumored to be interested in adding a catcher, but Zaidi said it’s “unlikely” they bring in anyone else at that position besides extending a non-roster invite to a veteran or two. Austin Wynns, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, cleared waivers, and Zaidi made it clear that the Giants very much would like him back.

“When we get to this point in the offseason and there are still some veteran guys out there, it’s tempting to add a name that adds some level of comfort when you’re looking at the roster,” Zaidi said. “But to really give those young guys opportunities, you have to deal with a little bit of discomfort at this point, leaving open some of that opportunity for them to claim.”

If they make another addition, it’s likely to be a middle infielder, where they currently have only Brandon Crawford and Thairo Estrada. A “speed and defense guy” who can play multiple positions would be ideal, Zaidi said, “but that bumps somebody off the roster. Right now, the way it looks, everybody’s kind of got a clear role.”

Although their haul doesn’t include Carlos Correa or Aaron Judge, the Giants have signed six free agents this offseason, in addition to bringing back Pederson on a $19.65 million qualifying offer. With a 40-man collective bargaining tax payroll estimated at about $207 million by Baseball Prospectus, they are only about $25 million shy of the first tax threshold of $233 million.

“We feel really good about it,” Zaidi said, noting many are already at the club’s Papago Park facility in Arizona. “If you count Joc, we brought in seven free agents. Five of them have been to All-Star games. Three have been a part of world championship teams. It’s a lot of pedigree. They’re all excited to be Giants. They all picked us over other teams. …

“I understand there’s some skepticism because we had a couple pursuits fall short, but we also did a lot of good work and we think we got better.”

Giants pitchers and catchers will hold their first workout Thursday, Feb. 16, while position players will join for the first full-squad workout to begin the following week, Monday, Feb. 20. Both groups are scheduled to report to camp at the Giants’ facilities in Scottsdale, Arizona, the day before their first workout.

The club officially announced the dates Thursday, with all but the finishing touches made to their roster. Addressing reporters over Zoom Thursday afternoon, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said, “we feel really good about it … I understand there’s some skepticism because we had a couple pursuits fall short, but we also did a lot of good work and we think we got better.”

Fans will get their first look at the club in action when they open Cactus League play Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Cubs. They host their first game at Scottsdale Stadium the following day, at 1:05 p.m. against the Reds. Their Cactus League schedule, which you can find in full here, wraps up Saturday, March 25, before they open the regular season at Yankee Stadium on March 30.

For the first time since 2009, Brandon Belt won’t be in Scottsdale — or Arizona at all — after signing with the Blue Jays. Carlos Rodón will be training in Florida, too (alongside Aaron Judge), while Evan Longoria will be just a few miles away, in D-backs camp.

The new faces in Scottsdale include the pair of outfielders they signed in free agency, Mitch Haniger and Michael Conforto, as well as starting pitchers Ross Stripling and Sean Manaea, and relievers Taylor Rogers and Luke Jackson.

For the first time since 2017, the World Baseball Classic will also be taking place while teams prepare for the season.

Players set to participate in the tournament will report a few days ahead of time, Feb. 13 for pitchers and catchers and Feb. 16 for position players. Team USA will train at the Giants’ facilities in Scottsdale, and will scrimmage them at Scottsdale Stadium on Wednesday, March 8.

Logan Webb has committed to pitching for Team USA, and Joc Pederson will play for Team Israel, which will be based in Florida. Camilo Doval has also been rumored to potentially play for the Dominican Republic, though his participation hasn’t been announced, and Giants officials were concerned about his workload last season.

The club signed right-hander Luke Jackson to a two-year deal worth $11.5 million with a club option for 2025 in what is likely to be the final major addition to the group. And San Francisco also swung a trade that sent Yunior Marte to Philadelphia for 24-year-old left-hander Erik Miller, a 2019 fourth-round pick out of Stanford.

Jackson, 31, missed the entire 2022 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but he appeared in a career-high 71 games with a career-best 1.98 ERA while helping Atlanta to a World Series title in 2021. In seven major-league seasons, he has a 4.24 ERA in 253 appearances, including 77 games finished and 19 saves.

Jackson will earn $3 million in 2023 and $6.5 million in 2024, with $2 million buyout or $7 million club option in 2025, which can escalate to up to $10.5 million depending on the number of games he finishes in 2024 ($500,000 each for 30, 35, 40 and 45 games finished and $750,000 each for 50 and 55 games finished).

The Giants had been seeking to add one more arm to a mix that already included lefties Taylor Rogers (who signed a three-year, $33 million deal earlier this offseason) and Scott Alexander, and righties Tyler Rogers, Camilo Doval, John Brebbia and Jakob Junis. With six starters on the roster, Alex Wood or Anthony DeSclafani could also see time in relief.

It’s not clear, however, if Jackson will be ready for Opening Day.

His operation was performed last April 13, or about two weeks shy of a year to the day when the Giants open the season at Yankee Stadium on March 29. It typically takes pitchers 12-15 months to recovery from Tommy John surgery.

Jackson was teammates with Joc Pederson in Atlanta, and was one of two players, along with Ian Anderson, to present him his ring in an on-field ceremony during the Giants’ trip to Atlanta last season.

Miller, rated the Phillies’ No. 7 prospect by MLB.com, will likely start the year at Triple-A.

In 48 career minor-league games — 19 starts — Miller has a 2.51 ERA. But he has made only 10 appearances above Double-A, with a 7.50 ERA last season.

Marte, 27, made his major-league debut with the Giants last season, appearing in 39 games with a 5.77 ERA. He signed with San Francisco as a minor-league free agent before the 2021 season after seven years in Kansas City’s minor-league system. In 260 minor-league appearances, he has a 3.79 ERA, including a 3.39 mark in 68 games with Sacramento the past two seasons.

The Giants, despite their five signings, were still at a net loss.

Down 0.8 fWAR, they were still better off than the Dodgers, who have lost 14.3 fWAR from last year’s 111-win club, as well as the Padres (minus-2.1) and Rockies (minus-1.2) among their NL West foes. However, the Giants enter the season with a 30-game handicap in the division race. (The D-Backs were the only division team with a net gain, at plus-2.8.)

The Giants may not be entirely done, but the foundation of the roster is set. Is it enough to compete for the NL West, or at least a wild-card berth? Take a look at how it’s shaping up with our projection below.

Starting pitchers (6)

Projected: Alex Cobb, Anthony DeSclafani, Sean Manaea, Ross Stripling, Logan Webb, Alex Wood

Other 40-man options: Tristan Beck, Sean Hjelle, Sam Long, Keaton Winn

Total WAR (Steamer projection): 12.1 (Cobb 3.1, Webb 3.0, Manaea 1.9, Wood 1.8, Stripling 1.4, DeSclafani 0.5, Harrison 0.4)

One player accounts for the majority of the WAR the Giants must replace from last season: Carlos Rodón, who totaled 6.2 fWAR, the second-most in the majors, and parlayed that into a $162 million contract — and a clean shave — in New York. Their two additions, Manaea and Stripling, combined to throw more than 100 more innings last season than Rodón but were worth 2.0 fewer wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs.

What they lost at the top of their rotation, however, they hope to make up for in depth. And, maybe, a little creativity.

“There may be some situations in which we go to a six-man rotation for a period of time,” Farhan Zaidi said last week. “There will be times we do that. There will be times we tandem guys and try to use two of our starters to get through an entire game. … We don’t have a group of 34-start, 200-inning guys, so I do think an element of this will be managing workloads more generally across the course of the season.”

How it shakes out to start the season is still to be determined, but this much is certain: Webb will suit up for Team USA during the World Baseball Classic, and a few weeks later, make his second straight Opening Day start for the Giants.

It will certainly be a goal of Webb’s to reach 200 innings, after a career-high 192⅓ last year, but for the first time in his career, the 26-year-old righty from Rocklin will be without a co-ace at the top of the rotation. By the end of the season — maybe even before the All-Star break — he could be joined by another homegrown arm in Kyle Harrison, 21, the top left-handed pitching prospect in baseball, who is expected to start the year at Triple-A.

There is some room for positive regression to the mean: Giants starters led the NL last season in FIP (fielding independent pitching), with a 3.43 mark. However, their ERA (3.86) ranked seventh. It was the second-widest gap of any team in the majors.

Relief pitchers (7)

Projected: Scott Alexander, John Brebbia, Camilo Doval, Jakob Junis, Taylor Rogers, Tyler Rogers, Thomas Szapucki

Other 40-man options: Yunior Marte, Randy Rodriguez, Cole Waites

Total WAR (Steamer projection): 2.4 (Taylor Rogers 0.7, Doval 0.6, Junis 0.5, Szapucki 0.2, Alexander 0.1, Brebbia 0.1, Marte 0.1, Waites 0.1, Tyler Rogers -0.1)

Six spots are locked down, and the Giants are working to add another reliever, which would fill the seventh and final slot. But, for now, the leader in the clubhouse is Szapucki, one of the four players the Giants got in return for Darin Ruf and who is out of options.

We’ve already gotten a “Step Brothers” reference from the Rogers twins, but Zaidi stressed that the addition of Taylor Rogers was more than a good story. The Giants were concerned about the stress put on the arm of their talented young closer last season, so they added an opposite-handed option who also saved 31 games last year.

Catcher (2)

Projected: Joey Bart, Austin Wynns

Other 40-man options: Blake Sabol

Total WAR (Steamer projection): 2.0 (Bart 0.9, Sabol 0.7, Wynns 0.4)

Despite Bart’s struggles last season, the Giants’ catching position still ranked 16th in the majors in fWAR. There was room to improve on the trade market, with Oakland sending Sean Murphy to Atlanta and Toronto dealing Gabriel Moreno to Arizona, but Zaidi has reiterated his confidence in the duo of Bart and Wynns.

Sabol, a Rule 5 pick acquired in a trade with Cincinnati, would give the Giants the left-handed-hitting partner they have been seeking to pair with Bart — and his .284/.363/.497 batting line last season, mostly at Double-A, is intriguing — but evaluators have questioned his ability to serve as a primary backup behind the plate because of his defensive shortcomings.

Infielders (6)

Projected: Brandon Crawford, J.D. Davis, Thairo Estrada, Wilmer Flores, David Villar, LaMonte Wade Jr.

Other 40-man options: Isan Diaz, Brett Wisely

Total WAR (Steamer projection): 10.6 (Estrada 2.9, Crawford 2.0, Flores 1.8, Villar 1.5, Davis 1.1, Wade. 0.8, Wisely 0.3, Diaz 0.2)

With Carlos Correa in tow, the Giants … ah, well, never mind.

So, the Giants will have the shortstop position to address next offseason. (It’s a big year for top prospect Marco Luciano, who missed much of last year with a back injury that flared up again in winter ball.)

Crawford, who turns 36 in January, will be penciled in for his 12th consecutive Opening Day start at shortstop, after all. He was better at the plate and back in old form defensively after returning from a three-week IL stint, and the Giants plan to balance his workload to keep him fresh this season. Without any other additions, however, Estrada would be their only other capable shortstop, and he is expected to start every day at second.

This group will also be challenged by the new restrictions on infield shifts. The Giants were one of the most effective teams at positioning their infielders last season, and despite intentions to upgrade its athleticism, the group is largely the same from last year.

The emergence of Villar at the end of last year (eight home runs in September/October) allowed the Giants to move on from Evan Longoria, who recently found a comfortable landing spot with the Diamondbacks, an up-and-coming club in need of a veteran presence (whose stadium is conveniently located a short drive from his home). Villar and Davis will share the load at third with Flores and at first with Wade. It’s possible top prospect and defensive whiz Casey Schmitt gets a look at third base by the end of the season, too.

Is this group looking a little right-handed heavy? Brandon Belt remains a free agent.

Outfielders (5)

Projected: Michael Conforto, Mitch Haniger, Joc Pederson, Austin Slater, Mike Yastrzemski

Other 40-man options: Luis González, Heliot Ramos

Total WAR (Steamer projection): 8.9 (Yastrzemski 2.3, Haniger 2.0, Pederson 1.7, Conforto 1.6, Slater 1.1, González 0.2)

With Aaron Judge in tow, the Giants … ah, well, never mind.

At least the additions of Conforto and Haniger should bolster the league’s worst outfield defense and stabilize their lineup. Provided they stay healthy, that is, given that Conforto missed all of last season and Haniger has played 100 games twice in seven seasons.

With some combination of the free-agent additions in the corners and the Slater/Yastrzemski platoon covering center, it allows the Giants to use Pederson as their regular designated hitter, where his offensive contributions (23 home runs, .873 OPS in 2022) won’t be outweighed by his defensive shortcomings (rated the worst left fielder in the majors).

González has an option remaining, so he will likely shuffle between Sacramento and San Francisco all season, but hopefully the Giants can fit the Hermosillo, Mexico native on the roster for their trip to Mexico City at the end of April.