December 3rd: The Giants officially announced the Hentges signing today.
November 27th: The Giants and left-hander Sam Hentges have agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.4MM, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The Giants have an open 40-man spot and won’t need to make a corresponding move when the deal becomes official. The southpaw is represented by Warner Sports Management.
It’s a buy-low wild card move for the Giants. Hentges was a solid bullpen piece for the Guardians a few years ago but he hasn’t been healthy for a while. Over the 2022 and 2023 campaigns, Hentges tossed 114 1/3 innings for Cleveland, allowing 2.91 earned runs per nine. His 7.9% walk rate was just barely better than average while his 27.4% strikeout rate and 60.1% ground ball rate were both very strong. He gradually moved up to high leverage work, earning 23 holds over that span.
In 2024, he kept things going for a while, posting a 3.04 ERA over another 23 2/3 innings. However, he hit the injured list in July due to some inflammation in his throwing shoulder. He required surgery in September, a procedure which came with a recovery timeline of 12 to 14 months.
Though he was likely to going miss most or all of 2025, the Guards still kept him around. He was still under club control through 2027, so there was still a potential long-term payoff. He had qualified for arbitration ahead of 2024 as a Super Two player and made $1.1625MM in his first of four arb seasons. The Guards gave him a slight bump to $1.337MM in 2025. Even if he couldn’t manage a late-season return to health, he would still have two further seasons of control.
In 2025, not only did he not make it back to the majors, but he didn’t even begin a rehab assignment. In September, he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. That procedure comes with a recovery timeline of three to four months. That means he should be healthy by the spring but the Guards decided to move on. They non-tendered Hentges last week, sending him to free agency.
The Giants have swooped in and will sign Hentges, giving him a slight raise over last year, even though he missed the whole season. San Francisco non-tendered Joey Lucchesi last week but currently has Erik Miller, Matt Gage and Reiver Sanmartin as lefties in their bullpen. Hentges is obviously a big unknown, having missed a season and a half at this point. But if he can get back to health, he could be the best southpaw in the bunch.
If he does get back on track, he would be a bargain at a salary barely above the league minimum, which will be $780K next year. He is out of options but could be retained via arbitration for the 2027 season if things go especially well next year.
Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images
Happy turkey day yall
Wow, teams working on a Holiday
Well, there is the Giant’s big off season move.
Little League comment from the Little League Giants 64.
Blue Jays sign Dylan Cease. Buster says, “Hold my kombucha.”
Buster Posey is from Georgia. They drink a lot of kombucha there?
Great buy low move.
Black Friday deal on a Thursday.
SFG usually lucks out on these types of deals so all good.
This is in my view an example of what needs to change in the next CBA. A small market club like Cleveland can less afford to make a mistake than a large market club like the Giants. Maybe I’m misreading the reasons why Cleveland let him go (who did they protect instead?) but the price is not much given his past abilities
Good, cheap flyer
Wishing him well from Cleveland 👍🏻
Dean Wiemer Hentges…. The kind of low cost moves that defined the Zaidi era
The full 40 man roster does look like impending churn. Especially if they are able to land all the bodies they want this offseason. Trades would remedy this situation, so I’m sure they are looking to make some.
Yes trading for Mitch Keller of the Pirates I believe.
He looks decent. Seems to me though, all teams looking for same trades. Everybody has AAAA Outfielders to move and are looking for controllable starters. We’ll see how it plays out.
That sucks! I was hoping the Twins would bring him home.
That would have been a nice pickup
It’s like cranberry sauce—not sexy, only essential. Happy day, G fans!
CLE having paid to retain him in 2025 only for him to not appear, they have his medicals, they know where he’s at and the combination of his risk/rewards, their current 26/40 man rosters, he was expendable.
Whereas SFG given the status of their bullpen which was sold off at the trade deadline, who was short a lefty most of 2025, Hentges like Wiemer is a roster fit.
It’s Nov 27, any grades for the SF off-season should be reserved for when pitchers report to Scottsdale at minimum.
Less expensive than Luchessi.
jackcoke
That was probably one of the most articulate
posts I have seen on this site in a long time
👍
A+ nothing to lose.
I like it. Low risk and adds to the bullpen competition this Spring. Bring in a whole lot more to camp and let the cream rise to the top for Opening Day.
Didn’t even know Hentges was available, I’m shocked Jed Hoyer didn’t swoop in and grab him to replace Pomeranz/Theilbar. Solid buy-low bounce-back candidate on a cheap year deal.
“allowing 2.91 earned runs per nine”
If only we had a quicker easier way of saying that