The San Francisco Giants have their work cut out for them to remain competitive in a loaded National League and daunting division.

In the NL West, the only reprieve the Giants will have during the 2025 season is when they face off against the Colorado Rockies, who have a zero percent chance of making the playoffs based on some projections.

Otherwise, their division schedule is going to be an incredibly difficult gauntlet to work through.

The defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers improved this winter. The Arizona Diamondbacks did as well. There was already a 13-game gap between San Francisco and the San Diego Padres.

Was enough done this winter to close that gap?

The Padres lost some talent, while the Giants did make some big additions, landing shortstop Willy Adames and future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander in free agency.

Those are two potential impact additions, but it will take more than that for San Francisco to climb out of the mediocrity they have been mired in since their new president of baseball operations, Buster Posey, retired from the game.

In the three seasons since, they have won 80, 79 and 81 games.

If that is going to change in 2025, they are going to need some significant improvements from within.

One of the players everyone will be keeping a close eye on is center fielder Jung Hoo Lee, who is the centerpiece of the No. 1 storyline the team has heading into spring training in the opinion of Maria Guardado of MLB.com.

Can he get his career on track in Year 2 after a brutal Year 1 that was ended prematurely because of a season-ending shoulder injury?

Ahead of the 2024 campaign, Lee was the team’s big free agent splash, agreeing to a six-year, $113 million deal. He was spart of a spending spree of the previous regime that also included third baseman Matt Chapman, outfielder Jorge Soler and starting pitcher Blake Snell.

To this point, only Chapman has proven to be a valuable addition as the team traded Soler and Snell opted out of his contract, agreeing to a deal with the Dodgers earlier this winter.

But, the jury is still out on Lee, who possesses a lot of skills that San Francisco likes.

A stellar defender, he won the Gold Glove Award in the KBO League from 2018-2022. He was named Rookie of the Year in 2017 at 19 years old and won their MVP in 2022.

His strikezone recognition and contact skills are both elite, as he drew more walks than strikeouts during his KBO career. In his short-lived MLB debut, he drew 10 walks with only 13 strikeouts.

The skills are there for Lee to be an exceptional leadoff hitter, setting the table for Chapman, Adames, Heliot Ramos and Tyler Fitzgerald.

Healthy heading into his second spring training, the Giants are certainly hopeful that Lee can find his footing and his skills begin to translate. If he can perform near the level he did in the KBO, San Francisco will move one step closer to competing for a playoff spot.