Just as we all thought that the San Francisco Giants were done signing Major League contracts, they went and signed another. Except there’s a catch: it’s not for a player who will contribute this year.
In a crafty move that will no doubt upset the vast swath of fans who are still upset about the last regime’s churning ways, the Giants agreed to a Major League contract with right-handed reliever Rowan Wick, the team announced on Friday. The deal is all about securing Wick’s rights for the 2027 season: the 33-year old underwent Tommy John surgery a few months ago and will miss all of the upcoming season, but the contract includes a team option for next year, which the Giants will certainly pick up barring an injury setback.
It’s not hard to see why the Giants wanted to get ahead of the competition and grab Wick for next year, as he’s the latest former Major Leaguer to head overseas to rebuild his pitching career.
Wick was a ninth-round pick back in 2012 by the St. Louis Cardinals, and has five years of MLB experience: he debuted in 2018 with the San Diego Padres, and played for the Chicago Cubs from 2019-2022, before spending 2023 in the Minor Leagues. Across 146 appearances (and, funnily enough, exactly 146 innings), Wick has solid MLB numbers: a 3.82 ERA and a 3.49 FIP.
He headed to Japan in 2024 to rebuild his value in Nippon Professional Baseball, and the results were splendid. In his first year playing overseas, he posted a 2.60 ERA and a 2.74 FIP. But it was his work in 2025 that really shined: across 40 appearances and 42.2 innings, Wick posted a microscopic 0.84 ERA and 1.39 FIP (though that wasn’t the best mark in the league, as righty Daichi Ishii allowed an unthinkable one run in 53 innings, for a 0.17 ERA).
Wick was strong across the board in his standout season. While an ERA that begins with a “0” is always the result of some luck, he did a magnificent job staying out of trouble, allowing just 5.3 hits and 2.3 walks per nine innings for a 0.844 WHIP. He didn’t allow a single home run all year.
The Giants will be hoping that he can repeat that performance when he returns stateside. It’s just going to be a while before they find out the answer.
San Francisco will now have an open spot on the 40-man roster. In order to clear a spot to facilitate the signing, fellow injured reliever/offseason acquisition Jason Foley was transferred to the 60-Day Injured List. Wick will certainly follow Foley there, which will put the team’s roster at 39.