Coming off an 81-81 season and the lowest attendance in non-pandemic Oracle Park history, the Giants have arrived at the offseason at an inflection point.
On a number of occasions, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has described this winter as a big offseason for the Giants.
“We’re disappointed in the result of this season,” Zaidi said in his end-of-season press conference. “We’re certainly in a stage of an organization where we expect to be in the playoffs every year. And if we’re not in the playoffs, that’s a bad outcome.”
This is Zaidi’s fifth season running the club, and he’s cleared the books to have ideal financial flexibility. The front office’s goal is to improve the roster in any way it can — either via free agency, trade, or otherwise — and it has the capital to make splashes.
Here’s what moves the Giants are making, and why. This post will be updated to reflect the latest offseason news.
Jan. 9: Giants sign right-handed reliever Luke Jackson
San Francisco inked righty Luke Jackson to a two-year, $11.5 million deal with a club option for 2025. Jackson helped the Braves win the World Series in 2021 before undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing the 2022 season.
Jackson fits into a Giants bullpen that appears impressive on paper. Both he and Taylor Rogers have closing experience yet will likely slot beneath Camilo Doval on the hierarchy. SF also has proven options in John Brebbia, Tyler Rogers, Jakob Junis. Lefty Scott Alexander also showed promise late last year.
To clear a spot for Jackson, the Giants traded righty Yunior Marte to the Phillies for Erik Miller, a left-handed pitcher who ranked seventh in Philadelphia’s farm system.
Read more about Jackson here.
Jan. 6: Giants designate catcher Austin Wynns for assignment
To make room for Michael Conforto, the Giants DFA’d Austin Wynns. The decision leaves Joey Bart as the only catcher with MLB experience on San Francisco’s active roster.
Last year, the catcher position was a rotating door for the Giants, with seven different players catching at least an inning.
Read more about Wynns here.
Jan. 3: Yankees hire former Giants GM Brian Sabean
Brian Sabean, the architect of San Francisco’s three World Series teams in the 2010s, took a new role with the New York Yankees after his contract with the Giants expired in October. Sabean had been working for the Giants as a front office advisor.
Sabean said in his introductory conference call that he expected to be more involved than he was with SF. With the Yankees, the organization where he began his MLB career, he’ll advise longtime general manager Brian Cashman.
Read more about Sabean’s legacy in San Francisco here.
Dec. 28: Giants cut ties with Tommy La Stella
The Giants designated infielder Tommy La Stella for assignment to clear a roster spot for Taylor Rogers.
The writing was on the wall for La Stella, who wasn’t able to contribute in the field after undergoing surgery on each of his Achilles after the 2021 season. The Giants are responsible for La Stella’s $11.5 million salary in 2023.
Read more about La Stella here.
Dec. 23: Taylor Rogers joining twin brother Tyler in the bullpen
Taylor Rogers and the Giants reportedly agreed to a three-year, $33 million deal. That contract is tied with Anthony DeSclafani’s pact for the longest the Giants front office under Farhan Zaidi has given.
Rogers, a left-handed reliever, registered 31 saves in an up-and-down 2022 season. At one point, he and his brother, Tyler, became the fifth set of twins to play against each other in MLB history.
With Rogers, the Giants have another capable late-inning relief option to pair with Camilo Doval.
Read more about the Rogers signing here.
Dec. 23: Giants add former All-Star to outfield
Michael Conforto, who was an All-Star in 2017, reportedly agreed to a two-year, $36 million deal with San Francisco. The contract reportedly allows the outfielder to opt out after the 2023 season.
Conforto represents a high-upside acquisition that should help improve SF’s outfield defensively. Conforto missed all of last season after undergoing shoulder surgery.
Read more about Conforto here.
Dec. 22: Giants swap pitching prospects
The Giants DFA’d, then traded, right-handed reliever Gregory Santos. In return for the 23-year-old, San Francisco got righty Kade McClure from the Chicago White Sox.
McClure has yet to make his MLB debut. He posted a 4.97 ERA in Triple-A last year and has both starting and bullpen experience.
Read more about the minor trade here.
Dec. 20: Giants do not find new franchise cornerstone in Carlos Correa
In an unprecedented series of events, Carlos Correa signed with the New York Mets on a 12-year deal worth $315 million, less than 24 hours after the Giants canceled his introductory press conference due to an issue with his physical. San Francisco says that they had a disagreement with Correa’s agent Scott Boras over his medicals.
The Correa news is the second instance of a marquee star apparently heading to the Bay this offseason, only for the rug to be pulled. In the first instance, Aaron Judge was reported to be signing with the Giants, only for the reporter to backpedal and say he jumped the gun. The next morning, it was announced that Judge had signed with the Yankees.
The Giants now find themselves in a hellish predicament, with all of the remaining stars already signed by other teams. No matter where they go from here, this is going to be remembered as the worst offseason in recent franchise history.
Dec. 13: Giants find new franchise cornerstone in Carlos Correa
At risk of striking out entirely on a crop of superstar free agents, the Giants inked Carlos Correa to a record-breaking 13-year, $350 million deal that reportedly includes a full no-trade clause. It’s the richest deal ever signed by a shortstop and the fourth most guaranteed dollars ever. The deal more than doubles the Giants’ previous record contract.
Correa, 28, is the youngest and arguably most decorated of the 2022 free agents. He is a World Series champion, all-world hitter, Platinum Glove fielder and respected clubhouse presence.
Since he won AL Rookie of the Year in his debut 2015 season, Correa ranks 16th among position players in Fangraphs WAR.
Read more on Correa and what his signing means for the Giants as a franchise here.
Dec. 13: Giants bolster rotation depth with Ross Stripling
Ross Stripling, who posted a 3.01 ERA with the Toronto Blue Jays last year, is joining the Giants on the exact same 2/25 deal as Manaea. His contract is backloaded, meaning he’ll earn $7.5 million in 2023 — an indication SF still wants to spend this offseason cycle.
Stripling has both starting and bullpen experience, but said in his introductory Zoom press conference that both he and Farhan Zaidi view him as a starter. SF’s starting options include Logan Webb, Alex Cobb, Alex Wood, Anthony DeSclafani, Sean Manaea, Stripling and rookie Kyle Harrison; Jakob Junis, Sean Hjelle and Sam Long also have starting experience.
Stripling is familiar with the Giants organization, having played in the Dodgers organization under Zaidi and Gabe Kapler. He was also roommates in Double-A with Joc Pederson and was in Alex Wood’s wedding.
The Giants cleared space on the 40-man roster by waiving Miguel Yajure, who cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento.
Read more about Stripling’s signing, which has been made official, here.
Dec. 12: Giants reportedly sign lefty Sean Manaea to pillow deal
Southpaw starter Sean Manaea, who struggled in 2022, will join the Giants’ rotation according to multiple reports. Though the team hasn’t made the deal official, Manaea will join a rotation that excelled last year and should have ample depth going into 2023.
Manaea recorded a 4.96 ERA with the Padres last year. It was his first season away Oakland, where he spent the first six years of his career. His reported agreement of two years, $25 million with an opt-out after the first year allows him to test the open market again if he thrives with the Giants.
Read more about Manaea’s reported signing here.
Dec. 7: Talent gets poached in Rule 5 Drafts, but SF adds catcher/outfielder
The Giants decided not to protect right-handed pitching prospect Nick Avila, who got picked up by the White Sox with the 15th pick. San Francisco passed on their pick.
In the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft, the Giants lost nine players from their Double-A Richmond roster, a signal of farm system strength.
Despite not making a Rule 5 selection, the Giants traded cash and a player to be named later for Blake Sabol, a catcher and outfielder. The Reds traded Sabol shortly after selecting him with the fourth pick in the Rule 5 Draft
Read more about Sabol here.
Dec. 7: Aaron Judge returns to Yankees
Despite a strong push from the Giants, reigning MVP Aaron Judge decided to return to the Bronx.
San Francisco hosted Judge for a meeting the week of Thanksgiving. It reportedly included a cameo from Rich Aurilia, his favorite player growing up, and Stephen Curry reaching out. San Francisco reportedly offered Judge a nine year, $360 million contract, but the Yankees matched it. In the end, Judge wanted to remain a Yankee.
Read more about the Judge news here.
Dec. 6: Giants land free agent outfielder Mitch Haniger
The Giants made their first impact signing of the winter by inking outfielder Mitch Haniger to a three-year, $43.5 million deal. The right-handed hitter will make just $5 million in 2023, meaning San Francisco still has plenty of flexibility to add more large contracts.
Haniger hit 39 home runs in 2021 but has dealt with a variety of injuries, including a fluky ruptured testicle.
Check out a breakdown of Haniger’s signing and what it means for San Francisco’s outfield here.
Nov. 15: Giants protect top prospect Marco Luciano, five others from Rule 5 Draft
By adding Marco Luciano, Luis Matos, Tristan Beck, Jose Cruz, Keaton Winn and Brett Wisely to their 40-man roster, the Giants protected six prospects from the December Rule 5 Draft.
Luciano and Matos are two of San Francisco’s most promising prospects, but likely remain at least a year away from contributing at the big-league level.
To make roster space for the prospects, the Giants designated Jarlín García, Jason Vosler, Sam Delaplane, Dom Núñez, Drew Strotman, Meibrys Viloria and Colton Welker for assignment.
Read more about the transaction flurry here.
Nov. 15: Giants, Tigers complete trade
Farhan Zaidi and his former general manager, Scott Harris, executed a minor trade. San Francisco traded outfield prospect Steele Walker for cash.
“Any time you can do a deal for cash, it’s hard to get fleeced as the GM,” Zaidi told reporters via Zoom. “Your owner might feel fleeced, but it’s hard to feel fleeced as a GM. So that was a good first one to get on the books for us…Scott’s being opportunistic already. I wouldn’t expect anything less from him.”
Nov. 15: Giants, Rays swap minor leaguers
In the first Giants trade of the offseason, San Francisco sent Tristan Peters to Tampa Bay for versatile infielder Brett Wisely.
Peters came to the Giants in the midseason Trevor Rosenthal trade. The Rays, meanwhile, were dealing with a roster crunch with the Rule 5 Draft reserve list deadline looming.
SF immediately added Wisely, who has hit at every level, to the 40-man roster.
Read more about Wisely here.
Nov. 15: Joc Pederson accepts qualifying offer
Joc Pederson, one of two All-Star Giants from 2022, is returning.
Pederson accepted the one-year, $19.65 million qualifying offer that gives him a major pay raise over his $6 million contract from last year. Pederson led SF with 23 home runs last season.
Farhan Zaidi told reporters on Zoom that Pederson was part of San Francisco’s “Plan A.” He added that the qualifying offer came into play after discussions of a multi-year agreement.
Read more about Pederson’s decision here.
Nov. 15: Carlos Rodón declines qualifying offer
Unsurprisingly, the ace rejected San Francisco’s qualifying offer. If Rodón departs, the Giants will receive a compensatory draft pick between the second and third round.
Speaking to reporters via Zoom, Farhan Zaidi said the Giants are monitoring the starting pitcher market, and that includes Rodón. But re-signing Rodón would break Zaidi’s precedent of avoiding long-term contracts for starters.
Read more about Rodón’s decision here.
Nov. 10: Giants claim pitcher, catcher off waivers from Texas
SF claimed catcher Meibryc Viloria and righty Drew Strotman off waivers and activated eight players from the 60-man injured list.
Viloria, left-handed hitter, has appeared in 93 career MLB games. Last year in Triple-A, he hit .280 with an .862 OPS. Strotman, a reliever in 2022, has spent time in the Rays, Twins and Rangers organizations.
After the transactions, the Giants’ roster stands at 40 players. Next Tuesday, San Francisco will need to add more players to the 40-man — and subsequently clear spots — to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft. Among those that need to be protected: top prospects Marco Luciano and Luis Matos.
Read more about San Francisco’s minor roster moves that came right as full-fledged free agency opened here.
Nov. 10: Giants extend qualifying offers to Carlos Rodón, Joc Pederson
The Giants have been one of the most aggressive teams in using the qualifying offer historically, and this year is no different. By extending the one-year, $19.65 million QO to Rodón and Pederson, San Francisco attaches draft pick compensation to them if either or both decide to leave in free agency.
Rodón will almost certainly decline, since he is in line to make more money on a long-term deal. Pederson, meanwhile, would get a significant pay raise if he accepts. They have 10 days to decide what to do; during that period, they can negotiate with other clubs to gauge their value on the open market.
Other players who received the qualifying offer include Aaron Judge, Brandon Nimmo, Jacob deGrom, Trea Turner, Dansby Swanson and Xander Bogaerts.
Read more about the ramifications of the qualifying offers here.
Nov. 10: Giants decline Evan Longoria’s option
Longoria, the veteran third baseman, will test free agency for the first time in his 15-year career as the Giants decided not to pick up his $13 million club option.
San Francisco has a $5 million buyout, so it’ll be paying Longoria regardless of if he returns. Though he’s struggled with injuries in his five seasons with the Giants, Longoria has been valuable every year when healthy. In 89 games last year, Longoria hit .244 with 14 home runs and an above average 114 OPS+.
The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser was the first to report the news.
Read more about SF’s decision to decline Longoria’s option here.
Nov. 9: Giants will tender LaMonte Wade Jr. a contract
Wade, one of 13 Giants eligible for arbitration, will return to the Giants for 2023.
Zaidi told reporters at the general managers meetings in Las Vegas that Wade will be among the players whom will receive a contract.
Injuries to his knee, side and thumb prevented the 2021 Willie Mac Award winner from finding a rhythm in 2022. But at an estimated $1.4 million, betting that Wade could rediscover his power is a low-risk wager. Wade helps with San Francisco’s outfield and first base depth.
Read more about Wade here.
Nov. 9: Giants claim former Rockies catcher off waivers
To add organizational depth at the catcher position, San Francisco added Dom Nuñez, a former sixth-round pick, off waivers.
Meanwhile, former Giants pitcher prospects Andrew Vasquez and Luis Ortiz got claimed by the National League champion Phillies.
Zack Littell, Bryce Johnson and others cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento. After the flurry of minor transactions, the Giants’ 40-man roster stood at 31 plus eight players on the 60-day injured list.
Read more about Nuñez and the back-end roster maneuvering here.
Nov. 6: Carlos Rodón opts out
As expected, Rodón declined his $22.5 million option to return to the Giants for 2023.
Rodón led MLB in FIP (2.25) and strikeouts per nine innings (12.0) in a masterclass season for the Giants. He broke Tim Lincecum’s franchise record for double-digit strikeout games and never hit the injured list.
Rodón’s agent, Scott Boras, said he’s “the only one of his kind” on the market. Some sources project the lefty to sign a contract worth five years and roughly $130 million.
Read more about Rodón and his contract situation here.
Oct. 10: Giants hire Pete Putila as new general manager
After former GM Scott Harris left for the top job in Detroit, the Giants quickly replaced the No. 2 spot in the front office.
Putila comes to the Giants after spending the past 11 seasons with the defending World Series champion Houston Astros. Putila’s background is mainly in player development and is expected to play a hands-on role in talent development both at the MLB and minor league level.
Read more about Putila here.