SF Giants sign outfielder Will Brennan to one-year MLB deal
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Giants added more outfield depth on Sunday morning, announcing they’ve signed outfielder Will Brennan to a one-year MLB deal.
Brennan, 28, has played 269 games over four major-league seasons with the Cleveland Guardians, posting a career .267/.307/.373 slash line (90 OPS+) with 14 home runs and 19 stolen bases.
“We’ve liked him for some time,” said general manager Zack Minasian. “Plays the game really hard. Gritty, grindy type. Controls the strike zone, moves around the outfield — mostly the corner outfield spots. … Tony Vitello and Jayce Tingler both have familiarity, so a lot of great reports on the person. Happy to add him to the outfield group.”
Brennan, an eighth-round selection in the 2019 MLB draft out of Kansas State, underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery to repair the UCL in his left elbow last June. In September, he had sports hernia surgery to address a lingering groin issue. Depsite those surgeries, Minasian said Brennan will be full-go during camp.
“I think getting him into action here, maybe just being a little bit cautious,” Minasian said of Brennan, who was non-tendered by Cleveland in November. “He shouldn’t be hindered, more just trying to be smart about it. He shouldn’t be held back too much.”
Brennan has spent time in the majors at all three outfield positions, but he has spent most of his time in right field, playing 198 games at the position. Over 1766 2/3 innings in the field, Brennan has been worth -1 outs above average and -5 defensive runs saved.
A left-handed hitter, Brennan has a career .720 OPS against right-handed pitchers compared to a .453 OPS against left-handed pitchers.
Brennan will compete with Jerar Encarnacion, Luis Matos and Drew Gilbert to win a spot on the Opening Day roster as a backup outfielder. Encarnacion and Matos are out of minor-league options, while Brennan and Gilbert have options.
“Hopefully, it gives us another option to look at as we look at the competition out there,” Minasian said.
To make room for Brennan on the 40-man roster, San Francisco moved right-hander Rowan Wick to the 60-day injured list. San Francisco signed Wick to a one-year deal with a club option for 2027 on Friday, and Wick will spend the ’26 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Wick, 33, has pitched in five major league seasons but has spent the last two years in Japan with the NPB’s Yokohama DeNA BayStars. The right-hander helped Yokohama win a Japan Series in 2024, then posted a 0.84 ERA over 42 2/3 innings with 49 strikeouts in ’25.
“We had some people who were really excited about what they saw with him overseas this year,” Minasian said. “He was a target for us pretty early. He threw extremely well. We had a scout who saw him and a lot of data to support that he would be a productive major league pitcher. … As we got deeper into the offseason, we felt it was a chance worth taking to get him and then have the option for next year.”
Wick isn’t the only injured reliever whom the Giants have signed in recent months. Along with Wick, San Francisco added left-hander Sam Hentges and right-hander Jason Foley in the offseason, both of whom dealt with injuries last season.
Hentges didn’t pitch at all in 2025 as he recovered from both left shoulder and right shoulder surgeries, while Foley was limited to five appearances with the Detroit Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate before undergoing season-ending right shoulder surgery in May.
“I think it speaks to our confidence in our medical group and their ability to get pitchers and players back on the field and get the most out of them,” Minasian said. “I think we have, No. 1, the people who work in the medical field are fantastic. And then the tools they have between Scottsdale Stadium and Papago (Park) and Oracle (Park), I think there’s a lot of things we have in place that we can utilize to really help the health progress and get guys back on the field.”