The San Francisco Giants already had nine outfielders on their 40-man roster. What’s one more when you think about it?
Before Friday’s tender deadline, the Giants announced that they had traded cash considerations to the Miami Marlins for outfielder Joey Weimer. What does the move say about what the Giants are thinking?
Well, Weimer gives them a 10th outfielder — for now. It’s a position the Giants are trying to upgrade, especially defensively. Weimer is a pre-arbitration player, meaning he’ll cost the league minimum if he makes the 26-man roster. It also means the Marlins didn’t have to trade him. So, San Francisco sees something in him. But what?
How Joey Weimer Fits with Giants
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Right now, the projected outfield for the Giants for 2026 is Heliot Ramos in left field, Jung Hoo Lee in center field and Drew Gilbert in right field. Gilbert, a rookie, was going to be given every chance to win the job in spring training even before his former college coach, Tony Vitello, was hired to be the new manager.
That leaves Weimer to compete with Justin Dean, Jerar Encarnacion, Marco Luciano, Luis Matos, Grant McCray and Wade Meckler for what is likely two back-up spots. This group all has experience with the Giants, either in the Majors or in their system. It will be a difficult group to crack.
So what does Weimer bring? To this point, he’s shown a light bat. In three MLB seasons with Milwaukee, Cincinnati at Miami, he’s slashed .205/.279/.359 with 16 home runs and 54 RBI. He hit nearly all of his home runs (13) with the Brewers in his rookie season of 2023. Then, the former fourth-round pick from Cincinnati showed some real promise. He slashed .204/.283/.362 and drove in 42 runs. That was in 132 games.
He’s played 48 Major League games since the end of the 2023 season. With Miami last season he put together his best slash of his short career — 236/.279/.436 with three home runs and 12 RBI. But Miami had its own glut of outfielders, making him expendable.
He can play all three outfield positions but has played the most in center field. He has a .988 career fielding percentage and has only been charged with four errors. In 174 career MLB games he has already registered 11 defensive runs saved per Fangraphs. For comparison, Ramos is at minus-18 and Lee is at minus-20 in their careers.
The play looks simple — Weimer is a better defensive outfielder than either. He just hasn’t had much opportunity to prove it. As for the bat, while it hasn’t translated at the Major League level, he has shown consistent power in the minor leagues, with a career slash of .248/.351/.435 with 63 home runs and 229 RBI. He hit 20 or more home runs in a season twice.
San Francisco is getting an outfielder who needs more opportunities to play but can clearly give it a better defensive option in late innings as a fifth outfielder if his bat becomes more trusted.
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