Even with the opening of Spring Training camp, the San Francisco Giants continue to add to their roster. A couple of days after signing Rowan Wick to bolster the 2027 bullpen, they add 28-year old outfielder Will Brennan to boost the 2026 outfield situation. The left hander has a career triple slash of .267/.307/.373 in 866 major league plate appearances (all with Cleveland), so, this is as depth move-y as it gets.
He’s done a lot better in the minors, with a career triple slash of .299/.365/.436 across five seasons and 1,477 plate appearances. Still, one of his skills has managed to carry over to the majors: his minor league strikeout rate is 12.6%. In the majors, it’s 12.7%. His MiLB walk rate of 8.6%, on the other hand, has been basically halved in the majors at 4.4%. He has been a strict platoon player in his MLB career, too, with a .720 OPS vs. RHP (739 PA) and .453 vs. LHP (127 PA).
He’s not a tremendous speedster, either, with just 50 stolen bases in 66 minor league attempts and 19 stolen bases in 28 MLB attempts. In 2023 and 2024, his Statcast sprint speed was right around 73rd percentile, but last year it was just 39th.
He’s been below league average as a major league hitter for his entire career and the projection systems have him right around 90 wRC+ on a 377-PA projection. That’s probably a bit too optimistic, but it also includes a defensive value projection that’s just a tick below average. At first blush, I might’ve penciled him in as Grant McCray insurance, but McCray is a far better defender.
In June, he underwent UCL surgery on his throwing arm after injuring it throwing out Gavin Lux at home plate. The Giants expect him to be fully recovered for camp. According to the Associated Press, his deal is a split contract that sets him up to earn $900,000 in the majors and $400,000 in the minors. That’s prorated, so, if he spends half the season in the minors and half in the majors, say, then he’d make $650,000. If he spends the whole year in the majors, then he’d make $120,000 over the major league minimum.
Sometimes, these small moves do wind up paying huge dividends down the line. According to Zack Minasian, the Giants have liked him for some time and Tony Vitello & Jayce Tingler are familiar with his game, too. Could he be the outfield version of Christian Koss? Sure, why not. The more interesting question is whether or not he’s better than Joey Wiemer and/or Justin Dean, two outfielders the Giants had claimed before signing Brennan. Having the flexibility to option him down certainly makes him more “valuable” from a team/spreadsheet perspective and the financial commitment is minimal. The reward might not be all that high, but having a left-handed bat that both has the chance to hit somewhere approaching league average (the jury is still out on McCray) and can handle all three outfield positions is certainly something the Giants needed.
Read the full article here