{"id":512713,"date":"2026-01-09T06:10:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T06:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/512713\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T06:10:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T06:10:13","slug":"free-agent-wilmer-flores-still-has-a-lot-to-give-after-six-year-giants-tenure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/512713\/","title":{"rendered":"Free agent Wilmer Flores still has \u2018a lot to give’ after six-year Giants tenure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Free agent Wilmer Flores still has \u2018a lot to give’ after six-year Giants tenure<\/a> originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area<\/a><\/p>\n

It has been a quiet MLB offseason for the Giants.<\/p>\n

Despite hiring Tony Vitello as their new manager<\/a> in October, it\u2019s increasingly unlikely the team will make a big-name roster acquisition before the upcoming 2026 season. Most recently, the team added to the pitching rotation in early January, agreeing to contracts with right-handers Tyler Mahle<\/a>, Adrian Houser<\/a> and Jason Foley<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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One player that will be notably absent from the Giants\u2019 future roster is former infielder\/designated hitter Wilmer Flores, who concluded his six-year career with San Francisco and is now in MLB free agency. He spoke positively of his time in the Orange and Black on MLB Network\u2019s \u201cHot Stove\u201d<\/a> show Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy time in San Francisco was amazing; it was a lot different than with the [New York] Mets,\u201d Flores said. \u201cThe way I see it, it\u2019s like two different players, starting my career with the Mets and then when I got to the Giants things were a lot easier because I had a lot of experience and I was still learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 13-year MLB veteran held a .249 batting average with 92 home runs in his six-year stint with the Giants and inferred that he is still in the prime of his playing career when asked about future opportunities.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMy hope is to keep playing, I still have a lot to give and as we know, the offseason is moving a little slow, but you know, staying ready,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Flores became known for his consistent clutch power-hitting in Oracle Park\u2019s pitcher-friendly conditions. His numerous big hits in crucial situations made him a favorite in the clubhouse. He reflected on what he learned from the Giants\u2019 training staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I got to San Francisco I learned more about what pitches to look [for] and how to do damage,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I came up, I was a good bat-to-ball skill guy, I just didn\u2019t know how to generate power; when I got to the Giants, I started using my lower half a little more and driving the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flores specifically noted former Giants hitting coach, Justin Viele, as a driving influence behind his improved at-bat approach.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen I got to the Giants, Justin Viele was there, he helped me a lot with how to use my power, I was just using my upper half to hit and wasn\u2019t using my lower half,\u201d Flores praised.<\/p>\n

Viele is now a hitting coach for the Texas Rangers, and front office advisor Bruce Bochy\u2019s role as former Rangers manager might have influenced Mahle to join him in San Francisco. Pitching additions are a step in the right direction, but how will the Giants\u2019 front office approach filling Wilmer\u2019s offensive impact?<\/p>\n

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Free agent Wilmer Flores still has \u2018a lot to give’ after six-year Giants tenure originally appeared on NBC…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":512714,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2408],"tags":[11710,5,162,540,101,4,378,66,4343,4340,4344,4341,4342,69,852,91,397],"class_list":{"0":"post-512713","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco-giants","8":"tag-adrian-houser","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-giants","11":"tag-jason-foley","12":"tag-mets","13":"tag-mlb","14":"tag-san-francisco","15":"tag-san-francisco-giants","16":"tag-sanfrancisco","17":"tag-sanfranciscogiants","18":"tag-sf","19":"tag-sf-giants","20":"tag-sfgiants","21":"tag-texas-rangers","22":"tag-the-giants","23":"tag-tyler-mahle","24":"tag-wilmer-flores"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115863658466166308","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=512713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/512714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=512713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=512713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=512713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}