The San Francisco Giants pledged to lean into fixing their woeful outfield defense this offseason. After adding another skilled outfield defender in a trade Friday, their roster is leaning so much in that direction that it might tip over.
The club traded cash considerations for Joey Wiemer, a right-handed hitter and run saver in center field who saw most of his major-league time with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2023 and whom the Miami Marlins had designated for assignment earlier in the week. Wiemer became the 10th outfielder on the Giants’ roster, and yes, that means a quarter of their players comprise dudes who stand in the grass.
Earlier this offseason, the Giants claimed outfielder and late-inning defender Justin Dean from the Los Angeles Dodgers. (Dean, you might recall, was at the center of an odd play in Game 6 of the World Series last month when he correctly held up his hands after Addison Barger’s double lodged in the outfield wall at Rogers Centre.)
The other outfielders on the 40-man: Heliot Ramos, Jung Hoo Lee, Jerar Encarnacion, Drew Gilbert, Marco Luciano, Luis Matos, Grant McCray and Wade Meckler.
So … what’s the plan?
Well, you can assume this much. Several of these outfielders won’t be on the 40-man roster at the start of spring training. One or more of them are a good bet to be traded this winter. And while this roster glut doesn’t prevent the Giants from making a big splash and pursuing All-Star right fielder Kyle Tucker, every indication from Giants president Buster Posey is that the team will seek to make necessary improvements through more modest and internal means.
The Giants claimed Justin Dean, who alerted umpires that a batted ball was stuck in the padding at the base of the outfield wall in Game 6 of the World Series, off waivers from the Dodgers this month. (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
The Giants currently forecast to start Ramos in left field, where his minus-9 Outs Above Average ranked 32nd among 33 qualified players, and Lee in center, where his minus-5 Outs Above Average ranked 36th among 37 qualified players. Posey referenced both players last week at the general managers meetings in Las Vegas, saying there was “meat on the bone” to improve under the guidance of manager Tony Vitello and a new coaching staff.
Posey also referred to right field as “an open spot right now. We’ll see how the offseason progresses as far as if there’s anything we can do additions-wise to put us in a better spot. It’s a work in progress.”
The addition of Wiemer is probably bad news for Matos, who was already a poor fit as a platoon player in right field because he doesn’t have noticeable splits. Wiemer, 26, struggles to make consistent contact (29.7 percent career strikeout rate), but the former fourth-round pick can hit for power, and his .779 OPS against left-handed pitching is 220 points higher than his production against right-handers. It’s not hard to envision Wiemer settling into a platoon with Gilbert, whose plus defense was on display in his 39-game debut last season but who also must prove he can hit at the major-league level.
Encarnacion appeared on the verge of a breakout in the spring and again after returning from a fractured finger in August, but an oblique strain knocked him out of action. There are still ways for Encarnacion to fit on the roster even if he’s not a part of the outfield mix. His ability to play first base will make him the top internal candidate to step into the role that Wilmer Flores inhabited last season. It’s harder to see a future for Meckler unless he becomes proficient at second base. And Luciano, once the brightest prospect in the organization, is all but circling the drain.
The Giants won’t have the luxury to let ’em all play next season and allow the cream to rise to the top. Wiemer is out of minor-league options. So are Matos, Luciano and Encarnacion.
The Giants almost certainly will need to trim from their outfield group in the coming weeks when they need roster space to add signees. The roster is at 39 after the club designated catcher Andrew Knizner for assignment Friday and non-tendered left-hander Joey Lucchesi, who was looking at a salary in the $2 million range in arbitration. The Giants avoided arbitration with their only other eligible player, right-hander J.T. Brubaker, and signed him to a one-year contract.
The decision on Lucchesi was a bit of a surprise given that he was among former manager Bob Melvin’s most trusted relievers down the stretch, making 38 appearances and posting a 3.76 ERA in 38 1/3 innings. Then again, there weren’t many places for Melvin to turn to in a bullpen hollowed out by trades (Tyler Rogers, Camilo Doval) and injuries (Erik Miller, Randy Rodriguez).
The Giants could look at converting left-hander Carson Whisenhunt to a relief role. They also still have lefty Matt Gage on the roster. For now, anyway, the bullpen looks a lot like the outfield: a mess of names, no obvious solutions.