1:38pm: The Associated Press reports that Brennan’s deal is a split contract that pays him $900K when in the majors and $400K in the minors.
11:11am: The Giants announced this morning that they’ve signed outfielder Will Brennan to a one-year, major league contract. Brennan was non-tendered by the Guardians back in November. Right-hander Rowan Wick was placed on the 60-day injured list to open up a spot on the 40-man roster for Brennan.
Brennan, 28, was sidelined throughout 2026 by surgeries on his left UCL and groin, but Justice de los Santos of Mercury News reports that Brennan is full-go entering camp with no restrictions. An eighth-round pick by Cleveland back in 2019 who made his big league debut in 2022, he’s slashed .267/.307/.373 (90 wRC+) in parts of four seasons in the majors but has just 269 games in the majors thanks to an injury-plagued start to his young career.
Looking at Brennan’s last mostly healthy season in 2024, he slashed .264/.309/.388 (98 wRC+) in 114 games for the Guardians that year. That’s roughly replacement level production, but a closer look reveals that he was actually considerably more effective when healthy. Brennan slashed .256/.314/.415 (107 wRC+) prior to a bout of rib cage inflammation that sent him to the injured list, and when he came back in July he didn’t look quite right and struggled badly with a nine-game hitless streak. After being optioned to Triple-A for a couple of weeks, he returned in early August and slashed .330/.349/.408 (117 wRC+) the rest of the way.
All of that is to say Brennan has flashed impressive potential at times but struggled to stay healthy for long enough to put it all together. That makes him a worthwhile roll of the dice for a Giants team that already has a full outfield (featuring Heliot Ramos, Harrison Bader, and Jung Hoo Lee) on paper but could certainly make room for another big bat if Brennan manages to hit his way into the lineup. His contact-oriented, low-strikeout profile is a familiar one to a club that already employs Lee and Luis Arraez, and it’s easy to look at Lee’s 2025 season (107 wRC+, 2.4 fWAR) as the sort of campaign Brennan might be hoping to put together in 2026.
Brennan has options remaining and could be sent to the minors in the event that he struggles or is otherwise squeezed off the roster, making the deal a fairly low-risk one for the Giants. For now, he’ll look to prove he’s healthy and compete for a bench job with the Giants alongside fellow outfielders Drew Gilbert, Luis Matos, and Grant McCray.
As for Wick, the righty was signed by the Giants last week to a big league deal following an impressive run in Nippon Professional Baseball with the Yokohama DeNA Bay Stars. The former Cubs reliever underwent Tommy John surgery during his time with the Bay Stars and is not expected to pitch in 2026, so his placement on the 60-day IL is hardly a shock.
We’re def going to win the World Series!😅
He’ll just turn into the 2010 version of Cody Ross.
This guy instead of Pham or Marte or Grichuk??
Yes.
Younger, cheaper, and they were obviously looking for a left handed option.
All of the players I listed have a better career ops vs RH pitching than Brennan. Youth doesn’t mean better, especially on a one year deal. None of those guys will cost more than a few million and who cares what the player costs if the team is better?
The owners.
They’re trying to stay under the luxury tax penalty line.
The 3 players you mentioned don’t have minor leagues options left. That flexibility may have been a factor in this signing.
This isn’t a one year deal – the one year is the part that’s guaranteed. He comes with 3-4 extra years of arbitration in the event he works out – far more upside.
The age matters considerably when comparing career statistics. It’s far more likely that a 28yo meets, or exceeds, his past averages than a player who is 34-38yo, even if looking at it as a one year only proposition. Doubt the money is a major factor here as it’s unlikely to be a substantial gap.
If Cleveland, one of the most offensively challenged outfields and cheapest teams in the league, lets him go I have a hard time believing his arb years will be worthwhile.
They also have a couple of younger outfielders with better offensive profiles coming up.
@ohyeadam
What makes you think any of Pham, Marte, or Grichuk would actually make the team better, though? None of them were particularly inspiring last year, and are only getting older. And if the Giants brass disagree with me, Brennan is not stopping them from making any of those moves.
He’s also better defensively than those three.
I am surprised that in numerous posts (like this one) the writer forgets to mention Jerar Encarnacion who, if he can stay healthy, carries a big stick and moves very well in the OF for a big man.
ohyeadam, this guy just needs to stay healthy and get a decent shot at starting. I bet he will have a decent year
oh yea, they have their starters. Brennan is a backup, young, optionable, depth piece. Depth piece. Your 3 are not. Currently, Ramos Bader, and Lee are above your 3 on the pecking order.
Plus, tax space is needed to go towards pitching–not towards position players. There will be pitching adds. Tbd.
Above average defender, contact hitter.
Nice bench guy, might cost Gilbert a roster spot though. Good ST competition for that last OF spot !
He be mucho cheaper than those guys–guessing thats the reason since they have their OF set already
Will is a game changer, tired of being a pretender & stringing your fans along, listening them to disparage you & your family, always complaining how cheap the team is & you just want it all to go away, then Will is your boy.. Listen, they don’t call him death, spiral Brennan for nothin! 🤣
Vet LHH OF reserve. This move sends Gilbert to AAA for more “seasoning”?
Definitely at least sends the message, just cuz you and Tony go way back doesn’t mean you automatically make the roster.
Hope Tony knows that.
Eventually Webb’s arm is going to fall off if they continue to make him throw all those innings,
Lazy take
Yup, also random and odd in general
Lazy reply
Lazy lmao must be your go to. Random and odd fully describes your comment.
Slider_withcheese playing the old, “I know you are, but am I?” card.
A whole deck of them
What a bizarre comment on an article about Will Brennan
Good luck, Chill Will!
I won’t be surprised if he puts together a good run.
Brennan is a Cleveland specialty, puts the ball in play without much on it, good defender. He has a hard hit rate of 30%, Kwan’s is 20% whereas the MLB avg is nearly 40%. The team finally decided they need more power but unfortunately the Nolan Jones they brought back hasn’t resembled his pre back ache self. Maybe he’ll revert to form this season but there is Delauter, Valera or Kayfus if not. Good guy, that Will Brennan, good luck.
A Guardians fan’s opinion: I liked him as a prospect (his AAA numbers from his last full season were pretty good), and he’s got a decent arm and played both ways in college.
That said, the ceiling is pretty low here and he’s a fourth outfielder at best and it’s mildly telling that a franchise that’s shown no ability to develop outfielders decided to cut him loose instead of paying him just over the minimum.
He can handle all three spots and will put up good at bats, but there isn’t a ton of extra base impact. He’s kind of a tweener because he has probably 35-40 grade power but also won’t hit for elite averages. He’s a useful player but something has gone wrong with your team if he gets more than about 200 plate appearances.
Brennan has a great attitude and comes to play every day. Unfortunately CLE has a habit of producing OFs with his exact skillset like an assembly line (see Will Benson) so his DFA comes as no surprise. Nolan Jones is now on the clock in the latest episode of “boy, if he could just……” which probably ends the same way as the Benson and Brennan episodes.
“Brennan, 28, was sidelined throughout 2026 by surgeries on his left UCL and groin…”
Deedsy, we’re well aware that you can’t see the future,. This is just another glaring typo.
I think we all knew what was meant.
Careful, Lloyd…don’t upset the groupies! Hahahaha
Nah mate. Not groupies. People who don’t sweat the small stuff out of respect for other people. Very simple.
You should definitely ask for your money back
Why aren’t the Giants getting a veteran bullpen arm? Michael Kopech or Danny Coulombe could help the understaffed relief corps.
Greg Johnson said they were looking to add there but they make another 40 man roster signing in the OF?
Brennan makes it 19 position guys and 21 pitchers and on the 40-man. Which pitcher are you removing for Kopech or Coulombe?
60 Day Foley, DFA Encanacion.
Foley is already on the 60-day.
True–he went on 60 day so they could sign Wick–now Wick is on 60 day for Brennan
I missed that. I assumed they would put Wick on the 60Day the moment they signed him.
That’s why I don’t get the timeframe of this move.
Mr E, there will be pitching adds. They currently are under the tax threshold by about $17 mill. There will be MANY transactions to come over the next 5 weeks–there always are. And the longer Coulombe and Kopech wait, the lower the cost to sign them. Matos, Encarnacion, Gage , have no options left. I’m still betting on a Scherzer signing. Heck, he might even be open to a reliever role. Just my 2cents but I agree on aiming for Coulombe and/or Kopech. And Posey ain’t done.
Love your no-nonsense takes Claude
Have a great week my brother
You as well sir. And ty kindly
The G’s still need a lot of work on the pitching staff. Coulombe, Littell and Kopech are still out there as are Giolito and Scherzer. You can never have too much pitching and I’m pretty sure the Giants do not have enough as the roster stands currently.
In a way, you can have too much pitching. They have 24 pitchers on the 40-man, and 60-day IL. There isn’t really room for another pitching addition without giving away a pitcher. My guess is Posey likes what he has, and feels the need to see what he has in all the younger guys, 15 of which are 29 or younger.
Jean, the Giants do not have one proven relief pitcher who is not coming off an injury other than Walker. I don’t consider Butto, Gage and Bivens proven pitchers. Bivens and Gage have been pleasant surprises but I’m not a big Butto fan. He looks good then gives it up when the game is on the line. The other guys may come through but it’s not enough pitching IMO and I’m going to stick with that.
Bivens is in his 3rd year and has provided above average work. I think we have an idea of what to expect. Butto is entering his 5th year and has also been above average for his career. He wasn’t great once he came over in trade, but it isn’t unusual for guys to perform below average while getting used to a new team/park.
I am hoping someone performs well enough to take the closer job away from Walker. Not sure I’d be enthused with either Giolito or Max. I wouldn’t mind Coulombe or Kopech, but wonder why they’re sill out there. But I’m good going into the season with what they have now.
If they were to add an impact arm, I’m thinking it’s going to have to be a trade. Fitzgerald , Koss, McCray, or Matos would be my guess to go. Don’t know how many teams have the need or excess arms though ?
None of Fitzgerald, Koss, McCray, or Matos have enough trade value for an impact arm. And I doubt other teams would go for a quantity for quality swap. Posey has said he likes what the Giants have in the young arms, and I think he’s willing to go into the season with what they have on the roster now. I’m good with that.
oldgfan – Jerar is a possibility also
Trade value at the fringe 40 man roster guys is an issue. No room to add, just enough possible upside to not want to DFA. Trade is the way to fix that, but again, not much value. Injuries on other teams could play a factor though. I agree on the young arms, though not really known or “established”, it’s time for some of them to step up and be that guy.
Brennan is a guy that they can DFA and stash at Sacramento if no one claims him because he would have to forfeit his salary in order to become a free agent because he has less than 5 years service time. That and the option make this pretty low risk. I know nothing about him other than what I just read and from perusing his stats. I did notice he had a -1.1 dWAR in 2024. That means little without checking under the hood but I am assuming/hoping he is a plus defender because what would be the point otherwise.
Teams don’t sign guys to ML deals if the don’t have to. The fact that they signed Brennan to a ML deal, not a MiL deal says there was interest from other clubs. If they DFA him, he no doubt gets claimed.
If he has a crappy spring they’ll DFA him. It’s a no risk move.
Well if he’s crappy, the reason to DFA him is much different than if they were to DFA him, in order to sneak him through waivers, and stash him in AAA. Any fringe guy is at risk of a DFA if they’re crappy.
Do you mean If he has a great spring, you keep him? You are brilliant!
No. That’s not what I mean at all. There are different reasons to DFA a guy. One is because he’s crappy. But another is to try and sneak him through waivers so the team can outright him to the minors for depth. I didn’t realize it was necessary to have to explain that.
This is a big wake up call to Matos….put up or see DFA
“Coming off injury”, “injury plagued”, “when healthy”…fits the narrative this organization’s acquisitions. Yet another “low risk” signing which fits the “hope is a strategy” mentality of this front office. Also, doesn’t seem like a vote of confidence for Matos, Gilbert, or ever guys in the minors with type of signing.
Wow
More tears. FFS. Get over it.
You know, these names keep running through my head: Juan Uribe, Renteria, Freddy Sanchez, Scutaro, Huff, Ross, Burrell, Torres, Pagan, Affeldt, Lopez, Casilla, Blanco.. None were “blockbuster” high priced acquisitions. And we all know what they have in common. Feel free to add more names to the list….
Mike Morse and Travis Ishikawa were both huge in the 2014 run.
Jake Peavy and Tim Hudson were good in 2014 Regular Season too.
I forgot to add that the players I listed did not come thru the Giants system. Good adds MTS but I believe Ishikawa did. pretty sure anyway.
Ishy came back after a sojourn through 4 other franchises.
yep
It’s exhausting at times.
There are actually quite a few.
I’m thinking a big bully must have picked on them in grade school. (Giant)
Kids.
Where you at on this roster Fopp ?
I’m pretty stoked. I don’t care what anyone says, this team will be competitive. Posey has done a good job so far, and will continue. The farm has improved a bunch, 4th pick looks promising too. Let’s Go !
I’m good. They know what they are doing. We don’t.
Bullpen looks thin but you got to trust them.
Bring it on. Getting behind a no name is just as much fun as getting behind a big one. Excited for the fresh start.
I’m a bay area dodger fan, and as such watch just as much Giants as Dodgers. You guys definitely seem in a good position this year. I feel like Tony V is going to FAR exceed expectations and be the sort of “Kyle Shanahan” of the MLB.
I’m looking forward to the rivalry games this year. They’re no fun when they’re not competitive.
Good luck this season fop & oldg! It’s going to be a fun one
Classy. Thanks.
Yeah. Looking forward to some good energy.
semus, im attaching an article from the LA TIMES from a 2023. The writer Harris expertly details how the Dodgers began their rise to the top. I have been hoping that the Giants could follow the Dodger model and I honestly believe Posey is. Anyway, enjoy:
latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2023-07-23/dodger…
semus I’ve copied a link to an article by Jack Harris, LA TIMES, July 2023. He details how the Dodgers built their current model by FIRST building their farm system. I feel Posey is trying to follow the model. He has had huge success so far. Going from bottom of farm system ranking to top 10-15. So many Giants fans whine that they don’t try to match Dodger spending. To become LA 2.0 outspending them won’t work….now anyway.
latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2023-07-23/dodger…
Oops, sorry all. I didn’t think it sent the first time and thought it was gone. I thought semis would enjoy it as a Dodger guy
Thanks man! Great article. I honestly think it will be SF/LA down the stretch this year. What’s important is that we work together to bury San DIego right? lol
Well, if a team signs a bunch of bounce back, coming off injury guys, that team increase the odds of some of them producing, than if they were to sign just a couple.
“Brennan, 28, was sidelined throughout 2026” So he was sidelined in the past for the entire upcoming season before the season even begins? My head is spinning off its axis.
Wow, what ever could the author have meant by that?? Can’t have a typo on a FREE site!
My favorite typo ever was when someone put “similar skillet” instead of similar skill set when comparing two defensively challenged players.
A classic !
Ah, a fellow man of culture I see
Word play is my jam, can’t turn it off.