The Giants’ 40-man roster will undergo much, much transformation in the coming months. Signings will be made; players will be DFA’d. For most teams, a 40-man roster in November is the rough draft to the rough draft.
This is all to say it’s absolutely fascinating that the Giants currently have 10 outfielders on their 40-man roster: Jung Hoo Lee, Heliot Ramos, Joey Wiemer, Justin Dean, Marco Luciano, Luis Matos, Jerar Encarnacion, Drew Gilbert, Grant McCray and Wade Meckler. That doesn’t even include Tyler Fitzgerald, who spent a bit of time in the outfield last season as well.
This group will be sliced and trimmed, but it highlights the Giants’ second-most pressing need after pitching. San Francisco’s front office put an emphasis on outfield defense by acquiring Dean and Wiemer, but these acquisitions should represent a beginning to the Giants’ outfield search — not an end.
Here are those 10 outfielders, ranked by career Baseball Reference WAR:
- Ramos: 2.7
- Lee: 1.9
- Wiemer: 1.1
- Dean/Meckler: 0.0
- Encarnacion: -0.1
- Gilbert/Luciano: -0.3
- McCray: -0.4
- Matos: -0.7
If the Giants had to file their Opening Day roster tomorrow with its current personnel, they could roll with a platoon in right field of Wiemer and Gilbert with Encarnacion as a bench bat. Luciano and Matos are both out of options, but it’s hard to envision either of them having a fit on next year’s roster.
That platoon would give the Giants a much-needed boost defensively. Wiemer (+7 career outs above average) and Gilbert (+2 outs above average) are both above-average defenders, and San Francisco needs an upgrade on defense after its outfielders had the fewest outs above average (-18) in the majors last season.
Still, a platoon of Gilbert and Wiemer doesn’t project to provide much thump offensively. Wiemer has nine homers and a .779 OPS against lefties over 173 major-league plate appearances but he also has a 32.4 strikeout rate. Gilbert caught fire for a week last season but finished with a .598 OPS over 109 plate appearances and a .657 OPS against righties.
So, what other external options are available? San Francisco is unlikely to seriously contend for four-time All-Star Kyle Tucker, but there are several outfielders on the free-agent market who could fill the team’s vacancy in right field.
One of those options is former Dodger Cody Bellinger, who’s coming off his best season since winning NL MVP in 2019.
Bellinger, 30, is a free agent for the third time in the last four years, and he’s due to finally cash in after hitting 29 homers with an .813 OPS and playing excellent defense. He doesn’t have Tucker’s floor, but he and Tucker have similar-ish profiles in that they’re middle-of-the-order bats with speed who defend well. Bellinger is also capable of playing first base along with all three outfield positions, a versatility that adds to his value.
With Bellinger and the Giants, the question is less about fit and more about money. The two-time All-Star projects to land a deal around six or seven years in the $160-185 million price range. Would the Giants stomach another big financial commitment considering how much they need pitching? Bellinger checks a lot of boxes, but a deal with San Francisco might not be in the cards.
The free-agent market features another two-time All-Star in 32-year-old Adolis García, who became a free agent last week after being non-tendered by the Texas Rangers.
García, boasting a tantalizing blend of tools, broke out with the Rangers in 2021 during his age-28 season and averaged 32 homers and 17 steals with a 113 OPS+ from 2021-23. In ‘23, García helped the Rangers win their first championship in franchise history under Bruce Bochy, who recently accepted a position with the Giants as special advisor to baseball operations.
The last two seasons have been less friendly to García. He still averaged 22 homers and 12 steals, but his OPS dropped down to .675. His defense is also a bit of a curiosity; after being worth -12 outs above average in ’24, García was back to +1 outs above average last season.
Despite two down years, García boasts excellent power (89th percentile average exit velocity) while being an above-average defender with a plus arm. The Giants wouldn’t have to break the bank for García either given his age and decline in production over the last two years. He’ll always be a high-strikeout hitter, but perhaps new hitting coach Hunter Mense could help García re-discover more consistently tap into his power.
If the Giants would consider moving Lee to a corner, two center fielders worth considering are Harrison Bader and Cedric Mullins.
Bader, 31, has been the better defender of the two, worth +67 defensive runs saved and +77 outs above average over nearly 900 games in the outfield. He’s also coming off a season where he hit a career-high 17 homers and posted a career-high 117 OPS+, though he’s been a slightly below-average hitter (96 OPS+) for most of his career.
Mullins, 31, has averaged 17 homers and 27 steals with a 102 OPS+ over the last four seasons, but he’s coming off his worst offensive season since becoming an everyday player. Over 133 games with the Orioles and Mets, Mullins hit 17 homers and stole 22 bases but posted a .690 OPS with an uptick in strikeouts. Oracle Park would sap Mullins’ power, but he’s has been a great defensive center fielder in his career (+41 outs above average) and could help improve San Francisco’s outfield defense.
Among those also looking for an employer is a familiar face: Mike Yastrzemski.
Yastrzemski, 35, mashed with the Kansas City Royals after being traded at the deadline, hitting nine homers over 50 games with an .839 OPS. Yastrzemski has posted at least 2 WAR every season of his career, and he’d be a clear upgrade over the Giants’ in-house options.
If the Giants wanted to bring in a true right-handed platoon bat à la Austin Slater, two intriguing names are Miguel Andujar and Rob Refsnyder. Neither would help defensively, but the 30-year-old Andujar (.807 OPS) and the 34-year-old Refsnyder (.826 OPS) have excellent career numbers against lefties. That wouldn’t be nothing for a Giants team that finished 22nd in OPS last season against left-handers.
The Giants have a quantity of outfielders as December approaches. They still are in search of higher quality.