The Giants are reportedly making their first free-agent signing of the offseason.
They are adding left-handed reliever Sam Hentges on a one-year, $1.4 million deal, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray. The team has not announced the deal.
Hentges, 29, posted a 2.93 ERA and 2.66 FIP from 2022-24 but missed all of ’25 due to multiple injuries. The left-hander underwent surgery in September 2024 to repair the capsule and labrum in his left shoulder, then also underwent arthroscopic right knee surgery this past September while rehabbing his shoulder.
The injuries prevented Hentges from even appearing in a rehab assignment last season, and the Guardians elected to non-tender Hentges last week.
Hentges stands to bring much-needed strikeout stuff to the Giants’ bullpen. The left-hander has a career strikeout rate of 25.2%, with a career high of 29.4% in 2022. Last season, San Francisco’s bullpen had a strikeout rate of 21.0%, which ranked 25th in the majors.
The left-hander didn’t often pitch in high-leverage situations with the Guardians — Hentges was seventh on Cleveland in average leverage index in 2024 — but he could get opportunities to pitch the seventh or eighth inning in San Francisco. Right-hander Ryan Walker is the likeliest candidate to assume the closer role at this time, but that could change based on who the Giants add.
San Francisco’s signing of Hentges comes after the team made the somewhat surprising move to non-tender left-hander Joey Lucchesi last week.
Lucchesi, who was projected to make $2 million in arbitration per MLB Trade Rumors, had a 3.76 ERA over 38 1/3 innings last season in his first year as a full-time reliever. While Lucchesi pitched well, Lucchesi posted a low strikeout rate of 18.8%, and it’s possible that San Francisco’s front office wanted to add a reliever who could aid in that department.
Hentges is the second left-handed reliever that the Giants have added to their 40-man roster this offseason, the other being Reiver Sanmartin, who was claimed off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds.