The San Francisco Giants have made their first Major League signing of the offseason, and they waited until a federal holiday to do it. I’m sure that wasn’t their intention — nothing has been made official or announced by the team — but it’s when the news broke. On Thanksgiving morning, FanSided’s Robert Murray reported that the Giants had agreed to a one-year, $1.4 million contract with left-handed reliever Sam Hentges.
It’s a bit of a Farhan Zaidi move for Buster Posey, and I say that as a compliment. Hentges is a reclamation project of sorts, as the 29-year old missed the entirety of the 2025 season after undergoing shoulder labrum surgery in September of 2024. That carries obvious risk: when Hentges arrives in Scottsdale for Spring Training, it will have been 19 months since the last time he pitched in a game, and he may never fully recover his form, or be dependably healthy.
But that’s a small amount of risk given the size of the contract, and the reward could be sensational for a team in desperate need of improving their bullpen. Hentges, who was taken in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, has been a high-quality reliever following a rough debut season with the Cleveland Guardians (the only team he’s played for) in 2021. He had a breakout year in 2022, appearing in 57 games and posting a 2.32 ERA and a 2.42 FIP, with 72 strikeouts against 19 walks in 62 innings. His ERA took a step backwards in 2023, but the rest of the profile looked similar: a 3.61 ERA, a 2.64 FIP, and 56 strikeouts against 18 walks in 52.1 innings. He was off to a strong start in 2024, posting a 3.04 ERA, a 3.17 FIP, and 27 strikeouts against five walks in 23.2 innings before his injury.
The reward extends beyond those numbers, though. Hentges was non-tendered following his injury, and still has an additional year of team control following this upcoming season. So if he pitches well for the Giants in 2026, they’ll have the right to retain him in 2027 through the arbitration system.
Adding Hentges certainly makes it a little more understandable why the team non-tendered Joey Lucchesi last week. The Giants now have four lefty relievers on the 40-man roster: the 6’6 Hentges, as well as Erik Miller, Matt Gage, and Reiver Sanmartin.