The Giants have added one of their desired outfielders, announcing a three-year contract with Mitch Haniger. It’s reportedly a $43.5MM guarantee, and the deal allows him to opt out after two seasons. Haniger is represented by Apex Baseball.
A Mountain View native, Haniger returns to Northern California during his first trip to free agency. He’ll receive a $6MM signing bonus up-front, followed by a $5MM salary in 2023 and $17MM in 2024. At that point, he’ll have to decide whether to bypass the final season and $15.5MM remaining on the deal. Haniger would also receive a $1MM assignment bonus if traded.
While this isn’t the outfield splash San Francisco fans have been urgently awaiting, there’s no question Haniger’s an upgrade to a lineup that was middle-of-the-pack in 2022. He’s been an above-average hitter in each of his six seasons with the Mariners, flashing middle-of-the-order potential at his best. Haniger has topped a .490 slugging mark in three separate campaigns, twice surpassing 25 home runs.
Earlier in his career, the Cal Poly product paired that with strong on-base marks. He reached base at a .366 clip during a 2018 season that arguably stands as his best to date, when he posted a .285/.366/.493 line over 683 plate appearances. That showing earned him an All-Star nod and an 11th-place finish in AL MVP balloting.
Injuries prevented Haniger from following up with another full season. He was off to a slower start in 2019, carrying a .220/.314/.463 line into the first week of June. An unfortunately-placed foul ball resulted in a ruptured testicle which required season-ending surgery, and the health concerns carried into 2020. He underwent core surgery over the 2019-20 offseason and ended up missing the entirety of the abbreviated season. The series of brutal health luck cost him more than 18 months of action, but he returned with an excellent 2021 campaign.
Haniger logged his most extensive workload to date that year, tallying 691 plate appearances over 157 contests. He launched a personal-best 37 homers, although his .253 batting average and .318 on-base percentage were closer to league average marks. That kind of power production in one of the sport’s more pitcher-friendly home venues made him 21 percentage points better than average offensively, by measure of wRC+, and he landed some down-ballot MVP votes for the second time.
This past season again saw Haniger battle injury concerns. A high ankle sprain cost him a few months and he managed just a .246/.308/.429 line in 57 games. That was a disappointing platform season to be sure, but it doesn’t seem to have seriously changed the Giants’ projection of his long-term outlook. Haniger’s batted ball data in that limited look remained strong, as he posted a career-best 91.9 MPH average exit velocity and 47.2% hard contact rate. Over the past two seasons, he owns a .251/.316/.470 line.
In addition to that power-oriented offensive profile, Haniger offers decent value on the other side of the ball. He’s not an option in center field, but he generally rates well in right field. Defensive Runs Saved has pegged him as 21 runs above average in more than 3800 career innings of corner outfield work. Both DRS and Statcast rated him below-average in 2021, but he posted slightly better than par marks in both 2019 and 2022. Haniger’s not likely to win any Gold Gloves, particularly since he’s now headed into his age-32 season. Yet even competent defense would be a major boost for a San Francisco team whose outfielders rated 22 runs below average in 2022 in Statcast’s estimation.
Seattle elected not to issue Haniger a qualifying offer, so the Giants won’t forfeit any draft compensation to bring him aboard. The M’s will not receive any compensation for his departure. With Haniger walking in free agency and Jesse Winker dealt to Milwaukee, Seattle’s likely to continue exploring the market for outfielders to pair with Julio Rodríguez and Teoscar Hernández.
The Giants surely aren’t done in the outfield themselves. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi told reporters yesterday the team hoped to bring in two outfielders to join Mike Yastrzemski and Joc Pederson, who’d presumably be pushed into a designated hitter role if that transpired. There’s no secret who the top target is. The Giants are one of the top suitors for Aaron Judge, and they’ve reportedly offered him a deal in the $360MM range. Whether the defending AL MVP will leave the Yankees remains to be seen, but the Haniger signing surely doesn’t impact San Francisco’s pursuit at the top of the market.
Haniger’s deal narrowly tops MLBTR’s prediction of three years and $39MM at the start of the offseason. It shouldn’t have a huge impact on the Giants financial breathing room, as it only brings their 2023 payroll to around $143MM. The deal’s $14.5MM luxury tax hit puts their CBT ledger around $156MM, per Roster Resource. That’s nowhere close to the $233MM base tax threshold, nor is their actual spending near the $200MM range the Giants have reached in prior years. They’re sure to make more impactful additions in the coming weeks and months, but Haniger marks their first major step in bolstering their lineup as they try to track down the Dodgers and Padres in a competitive NL West.
Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Giants and Haniger had agreed to a three-year, $43.5MM deal. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area was first to report the deal contained a post-2024 opt-out clause. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reported the specific financial breakdown.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
They wanted 2 outfielders…
They got 2. Joc Pederson and Haniger. They reached their goal. Good for them.
Joc is going to DH
Signing Haniger in place of Judge would be a ball-less move unless he’s a supplemental move.
They signed Haniger to lure Judge.
J/k…
It would rupture Cashman’s credibility.
LordD99 — No one said signing Haniger was “inplace of Judge” or anyone else for that matter. Patience, okay? Haniger is an excellent addition to the Giants lineup, an everyday player who hits righties and lefties equally well.
Everyday when he isn’t on the DL.
Damn, I wanted Boston to sign Haniger. He would have destroyed the green monster in Fenway.
I was going to say…another person in the loss column for the Sox.
Haniger to me wasn’t worth the risk in Boston. I would rather see Wil Myers on a one year deal than Haniger on a multi-year deal
Wil Myers over Haniger?
Wil Myers at one year 9 million would be better value, more versatile fielder, less injury risk, but a much weaker hitter. I see Wil Myers as a candidate for Marlins, Padres, Rockies, not Red Sox.
Can’t agree. Much happier with Mitch.
I have to be honest, I don’t see the value in Myers at all.
The Giants have the luxury of picking match ups and being able to use Haniger as a DH. The Giants have crazy OF depth that the Red Sox do not have and the Sox would have needed Haniger regularly in the grass as it’s unlikely Bloom would sign multiple Outfielders capable of playing regularly. I’m happy for Mitch and the Giants
I don’t necessarily either but Bloom has spent the past three offseasons trying to get him so obviously there is something that HE sees in Myers that the rest of us don’t
Another AMHS alumni making big money and coming home. I played there from 1996 to 2000. I had Injuries that held me back. Go Mitty Mitch. I Hope you can home and help our home team win. Go Monarchs.
They’ll get about 400 really good games out of him.
This really sucks you guys got a good one. Great player better man. Good luck keep him healthy and you will love him.
no judge
Another Farhan dud. Wake up, guy!!! You’re in a large market.
Haniger is good, and the Passan tweet referenced here explicitly states that this doesn’t have an impact on their pursuit of Judge.
Yeah! Only the 3rd highest rated outfielder of the free agent class! Such travesty!
Permanently injured…
2 healthy seasons, 1 freak accident, and 1 standard injury in the past 5 years. Even with the missed time he’s averaged out as a 3+ WAR player in his past 5 years. Even assuming additional injuries, I’ll happily take 4-500 at bats a year of his production.
2 years of a 3-4 WAR player is easily worth that contract.
Neon- that’s a permanent myth. There’s a difference between freakish accidental injuries and time on the IL from the muscular or skeletal variety. I assure you he is not Brandon Belt 2.0
The majority of Hanigers time away from the game came from 2 pitches- his longest absence came from the infamous hbp deflection to his groin. That one pitch cost him a testicle and almost 2 full seasons of complications from the rehab process. The 2nd pitch was a Jacob DeGrom Fastball that he didn’t see until the last second due to the late shadows on the INF. It hit him flush in his mouth and lower jaw. If it wasn’t for bad luck Mitch would have none at all.
The Giants are getting a clubhouse leader and role model for the younger wave of players. A “Pro’s- pro “ with 35+ HR type power, even in San Francisco’s park. I really wanted my Mariners to resign him.
Mitch is a Bay Area Dude – grew up in Mountain View, played for Cal Poly down in San Luis Obispo. I’m honestly really happy that he gets to play for his ‘hometown team.’ He was one of my all time favorite Mariners. G-men are lucky to have him imo
Mitch shows alot of ball* out there
Neon Cop — No, not “permanently injured.” Two freakish accidents.
This was a really good signing for them and it’s not like signing Haniger means they can’t sign Judge. They want two outfielders. Mitch Haniger is just one. That means there’s one more to go…
I don’t know, would be lot of money for two outfielders.
Passan is the most reliable baseball writer there is. I have no reason to believe he’s wrong and that they won’t sign another outfielder, especially if it’s Judge who you have to just bite the bullet on.
Haniger hit 39 HRs in 2021 something no Giant has done since Bonds
Heyman reported he’s going to Cleveland.
Weird..
They don’t need him. If get Judge to he plays CF,
Judge might be able to play CF for a year or so, but he’s better in right field. Plus, as he ages and with his size, he is much better off in a corner. If SF still thinks they have a shot at Judge, not sure why they would sign Haniger.
I think they keep Judge in CF for at least a couple years. He offers so much more value there than in the corners. Maybe slides to a corner once the Haniger deal is up.
2 healthy years of a 3-4 war player is worth the contract no problem.
Judge will play in the OF for less than half the length of whatever he gets. By year 5 he’ll be the DH
rememberthecoop — One signing does not limit the other. And Yaz still plays a very solid CF, as does Slater, so Judge would probably play right, Haniger left.
Not a Boras client, so he just guesses wildly.
Guys, he was making a joke…
My comment still stands.
Heyman has the reporter’s version of Tourette’s Syndrome.
Heyman heard they were signing an outfielder and assumed Judge.
stop sleeping on mitch. healthy he will hit 30 bombs easy. Good ball player.
Never healthy though so there is that. Get ready for Belt to come back too. Can’t wait till FZ gets fired!
Over half the games Haniger missed as a Mariner were related to a freak-injury of a ruptured testicle on a foul ball, then a setback from that exact same injury. If he doesn’t foul the ball into his nuts, he looks a lot less injury prone.
Belt had some freak accidents too some guys just have bad luck. This is better than Bellinger but tea leaves say this is our consolation prize for missing on Judge. I also don’t want Correa and not sure why everyone is so high on him. Bogaerts would be nice though
I don’t think there has been near as freak of an injury in the past 10 years as rupturing one’s testicle while wearing a cup. I’m just saying he isn’t as injury prone as some assume by just looking at the numbers and he had a hell of a season in 2021 and spent zero time on the IL.
I wanted him back in Seattle and wish Dipoto would have matched that deal.
It isn’t the worst deal in the world unless this is the biggest move they make or if they waste a bunch of money on Correa after this
What do you mean “never healthy?” That’s just BS.
I don’t think the Giants have had a 30 HR hitter since Bonds. Certainly not a righty. It’s like hitting in the Grand Canyon.
Jeff Kent hit over 30 bombs three times as a Giant and he hit 29 another season.
He can thank Bonds for that.
Didn’t Belt hit 30 last year?
I guess he should thank Bonds for similar HR numbers after Bonds too.
29
Oh ok
seamaholic 2 — Not really. Oracle is no longer the death knell for hitters. Saying that is just old news.
They did say they want two outfielders but let’s say they sign Judge who plays CF? Yaz? Judge?
Yaz and slater to share cf. Haniger in LF and judge in rf. Petersen primary DH.
Gmen777 — Yaz, who’s a Gold Glove in right, but who plays a very good CF.
This won’t have any impact on Judge one way or the other.
How
3 OF spots. Giants have an offer on the table. This doesn’t make them pull the offer.
Of course not Von. But they already have Joc, and neither Judge nor Haniger can/should play CF, so if they really thought they were in the running for Judge, this doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
Hey, this is better than my Cubs signing Bellinger for a guaranteed 17M for one damn season hitting around the Mendoza line.
Haniger in LF
Judge in RF
Yaz/Slater platoon in CF
Joc DH
If they get Judge, one of the OFs can move to DH, or get traded. I don’t necessarily think Judge will get traded, but I also don’t see this impacting things one way or the other.
Joc will mostly DH. Yaz and Slater are a platoon that can play CF. with Haniger in LF, and Judge in RF.
Pederson as a $19 million DH? That’s crazy.
Coop, maybe someone can break through to him…It’s 90% mental with Bellinger. Get him to stop pulling his head and put a little bend in his knee’s and he is already light years ahead of where he is now.
rememberthecoop — Clearly you don’t follow the Giants closely. Joc is almost strictly a DH now. Yaz and Slater are way above average defenders in CF.
They can move Mike Yastrzemski to the bench if they did sign Judge
jt33nym — Yaz would play CF.
At $15 million/year, this contract is hardly breaking the bank for the Giants. Plenty of room left to pay Judge, if that’s what happens. Zaidi has already said they’re interested in adding 2 outfielders this off-season.
A very Giants move.
The Giants have Joc Pederson, now Haniger and all of those young OF’s does that mean they know Judge isn’t signing with them ?
They don’t have any young outfielders lol
Joc is a DH. Yaz/Slater will platoon on the opposite corner OF position, but both are capable of playing CF as well. Wade Jr. and Gonzalez both have minor league options and neither has earned a guaranteed spot on the 26-man roster yet.
Also need a 1B.
wade can play 1b
Davis,Flores and so on to.
guynamedchris — I thought Wade Jr. was out of options.
Ah yes, you’re right, Wade is out of options. My guess is he’s primarily 1B if the Giants sign another outfielder, otherwise he’s a trade/DFA candidate. I love what he did in 2021, but let’s be real, he’s not getting in the way of signing Judge or anyone else.
Their OF would be Pederson, Haniger and Judge. Also the DH spot. Plenty of room.
VonPurpleHayes — Why do people keep missing the point: Joc is primarily a DH, NOT playing much OF. The Giants have said as much.
Probably means they think Heliot Ramos is a bust.
Heliot just turned 23. He struggled some in AAA, but he was also one of the youngest players in the league. He may or may not become an impact ML player, but he definitely has time still to prove himself. In any case, yeah, the Giants are certainly not ready to just give him CF on the ML roster.
Well, that’s one. Maybe if he stays healthy he can back those numbers up from ‘21
With his track record, optimistically they’ll get 2 healthy years for the money.
Noooooooo!
Hanniger is a beast when healthy. Glad he’s out of the AL West.
I agree, Angels now have a chance to win the West.
Username checks out.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been refreshing my page for Judge news all day, but this feels out of nowhere.
But I like it. Dude can hit, but can’t be relied on for 150 games. He can smush into the Giants style of platoons/matchups and under $15M a year is reasonable if he gives them 100-ish games of classic Haniger production
cainer18 — No need to platoon. Haniger, he hits RH and LH pitchers equally well his entire career.
@Pete’sView Totally, he’s a regular for sure. I meant that due to his injury history, there’s a good chance he’ll be sidelined or in need of some breaks throughout the contract… having a team that’s built around depth and matchups helps soften the blow when a regular goes down or needs some rest
Nice deal for the Giants!
Excellent signing!
SF loves signing local guys
The Pride of Mountain View, California!
Meh.
As long as Mitch can finally stay healthy, this is a good signing
Don’t sleep on Yoshida
Would love to get him, but it’s not happening. He can’t field, and the Giants just spent $20 million for Joc at the DH. I think Yoshida will be very successful in MLB though.
Interesting. Heavily backloaded contract.
Thank you for everything, Mitch. You helped turned Seattle baseball around and into the contender it is today. I will hang on to my teal Haniger jersey for the rest of my life.
Slight overpay, but not as bloated over the true value that a lot of guys have been signing for this off season. $14.5M AAV over an $11M AAV quality to his play. Fine. Whatever. Surprised he got 3 guaranteed years.
Compared to other deals today, this is a bargain. I agree though, the third guaranteed year surprised me.
Another guy Sox went after and didn’t sign… actually I don’t mind on this one, I wouldn’t trust him staying healthy for three years. Still, im trying to figure out what is in Bloom’s mind right now
Evan Webeck of Merc News has the breakdown of the contract:
$5 Mil
$17 Mil
$15.5 Mil
And a $6 Mil signing bonus
Anybody know the benefit of the signing bonus for the Giants? Does it help them stay below the luxury tax?
He’ll be on the DL for 1/2 of the 3 yrs
Maybe if he ruptures his testicle again, otherwise doubtful.
Yeah having that happen twice would be very unfair…
What do you think the odds of that are…0.000001%?
Lol hope so
I’m a little surprised they went three years.
DonOsbourne — I think 3 years is just right.
Local kid coming home. Hopefully Giants bring home another local kid.
Love me some local kids…Mitty High School strikes again!
Haniger is a solid player. In my view the second best on Mariners after Rodriguez. He’s a good get for the Giants.
Mitch is a stud. Good leader, great hitter, not embarrassing in RF. The Giants should be happy. Godspeed, Meetch.
It’s all about value, and at that price, I love the upside. When healthy, he can be a stud, and they have some pieces to fill in if he goes down.
Perhaps they’re signaling to Judge that they plan to add elsewhere as encouragement. Hopefully they’re not signaling this will be his protection in the lineup.
That’s highly doubtful. The Giants previously said they wanted to sign 2 OFers, and were also previously reported as being interested in Haniger. This has nothing to do with Judge.
Guess it really was fake news that Judge was going to Giants. Congrats Yankees fans
this hurts…we will miss you hanniger
Thank God he’s out of the AL. As a Mariner fan I would of hated seeing him in the AL West against us, because when he’s healthy he’s deadly!
This guy can hit behind you Aaron.
Time to sign the contract.
Solid signing now get Judge!!
Big Bummer. But expected. Disappointed to take his jersey out of the rotation next year.
I’m not sure I’ll be able to do it. I probably won’t wear it to games but maybe around the town… it’s a tough one.
That works. I see the Steve Largent jerseys around!
My rule is once they retire I immediately put them back in the rotation. All three sports. Yes I still wear my Sonics jerseys proudly in the summertime when it’s hot! Cheers fellas I live cross town in the U Dist
Pwndroia! What’s in Blooms mind right now? Absolutely nothing! The guy just doesn’t learn!
Bloom says in a statement “we were engaged heavily in talks. Our offer was fair maat 3/15 because we value him greatly.”
Please end my pain
Giants move their players around all the time. Very well could be haniger and joc are mainly a DH platoon too
Yeah, or just rotate both between OF and DH to reduce strain on their bodies
Damn. Was hoping he’d be a Padre.
Don’t see Judge as a center fielder all year.
Haniger MLB Service time 4 years Time on IL 2.9 🙁
He fouled a ball off his nuts and lost a year+…
This guy is solid on both sides of the field.
Haniger in left, Yaz center, Judge right, Pederson strong side DH.
Sign Drury next. Utility with pop.
Interesting signing if they intend on signing Judge too
Haniger in no way precludes the Giants from signing Judge and may actually work in the Giants favor as it shows they are trying to add pieces while pursuing him at the same time
One of the hardest working guys in baseball. And that’s no joke. G Men are getting a stud. Stay healthy big dawg
I don’t understand some of these posts. This has noting to do with Judge. The Giants may not get Judge, but this has noting to do with their pursuit of him. The Giants are on record as wanting to sign 2 OFers. It was also reported previously that the Giants were interested in Haniger.
The Giants already have a couple guys who can play CF. I think the desire to sign 2 OFers is they can DH Joc, and keep his subpar glove out of the OF. They value flexibility, and have a bunch of guys that can play multiple positions.
I’ve always liked Haniger whose nickname was The Shed. Called that because that’s where you find all the tools.
I see noting wrong with anything you just posted! Truth is this is a pretty good deal. The money that is getting thrown around is beyond stupid when guys like Taijuan get 80 million. They still need to sign Judge or Xander for this off-season to provide any hope of a run next year and beyond
And Correa, and Senga.
Noooooo
Was hoping he would be playing for Atl, oh well. This is a very good signing for SF.
Giants adding Mitch Haniger should help in their final push to sign Aaron Judge. Judge was looking for a commitment to winning from SF and now they have Haniger AND Joc Pederson in their OF. Giants prioritizing more pitching next!
Solid move. Judge would sell tickets but 360 million spread around on deals like this is the way to go if you want consistent winning.
Anybody that thinks that Joc Pederson can play in the outfield, has no clue about baseball. He is fat, can’t run anymore and is a liability in the outfield. He’s a full time DH !!
I would have loved seeing Joc in one of the corners for the White Sox last season. He couldn’t possibly be any worse than what Eloy Jimenez, Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets offered defensively in LF and RF in 2022. Hell, the 2021 champion Braves even trusted Pederson to start 23 games in CF after acquiring him from the Cubs ahead of the summer trade deadline.
That said, it’s probably best to keep him off the grass in the vast outfield of Oracle Park. He’s also been something of a good luck charm when reaching the postseason lately, earning a ring with the Dodgers in 2020 and the Braves the following season.
First of all Joc Pederson is not an outfielder. He’s a DH who can occasionaly fill in in Left. Haniger is an outfielder and a pretty good one apparently. So the Giants need one more outfielder. If it’s not Judge then I’d say Nimmo, Conforto or make a trade.
The Giants have 5 starters plus Kyle Harrison who’s “the best left handed starter in the minors” I’ve heard. But I don’t think they can count on Alex Wood or Anthony DeSclafani to be either healthy or productive (not saying they won’t be). I think the G’s need to sign no fewer than 2 starters and then they need several bullpen pieces (I love Taylor Rogers as a fit).
I think bringing back Belt on a team friendly deal is a no brainer unless Texas simply outbids them. And then they need an infielder. Carlos Correa would do.
How about Anthony Rendon? The Angels would have to take La Stella plus either Wood or DeSclafani plus pay down a bunch of Rendon’s salary. After Casey Schmitt comes up he can swith to second, first or DH.
Then a back-up catcher (how about trading for Yasmani Grandal?) who could also take at bats at first and DH. Seems like the White Sox would jettison him in a second after last year’s debacle of a season. Plus as a switch hitter, he can face the tough righties and make things a little easier for Bart.
I’m an armchair GM, so here’s another wild trade proposal (and probably a bad one at that). The Giants get Burnes, Adames and Yelich for a boatload of minor and major league talent (I’m thinking Matos, Ramos, Hjelle, Cobb, Estrada, Gonzales plus another two top 30 guys). Yes the Giants get Burnes for 2 years and Adames for 1 year but they get stuck with Yeli’s contract for another 6 years. Dunno. Fun to consider though.
The Brewers intend to compete in 2023. They would never do that deal, plus it looks like a massive overpay of (mostly) under-performing players by the Giants. Not a good deal for either team.
Positive intel out of the Mariners camp. Thank you. Sounds like he will fit right in.
Give the White Sox Luis Gonzalez back please.
We are one of the teams with the most payroll flexibility and we sign another 31 year old with an injury history (i.e. Belt, Lastella, Longoria, etc.).
mlb.com/news/mlb-2022-23-free-agents-by-position
So much for an impact offseason……..
Worst outfield in baseball!