Even with spring training camp already underway, the San Francisco Giants continue to add to their roster. Days after signing Rowan Wick to bolster the bullpen in 2027, they added 28-year-old outfielder Will Brennan to improve the outfield situation in 2026. The lefty has a career triple slash line of .267/.307/.373 in 866 major league games (all with Cleveland), so this is the deepest move.
He fared much better in the minor leagues, with a career triple slash line of .299/.365/.436 in five seasons and 1,477 plate appearances. Still, one skill of his managed to carry over to the majors: his 12.6 percent minor league strikeout rate. Among majors, the figure is 12.7%. On the other hand, his MiLB walk rate of 8.6% has essentially been cut in half to 4.4% in the majors. He was also strictly a platoon player during his MLB career, posting an OPS of .720 (739 PA) as an RHP and .453 (127 PA) as an LHP.
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He wasn’t a very fast guy either, stealing just 50 bases in 66 attempts in the minor leagues and 19 in 28 attempts in the MLB. His Statcast sprint velocity is around 73% in 2023 and 2024, but only 39% last year.
He’s been below league average his entire career as a major league hitter, and projection systems have him around a wRC+ at a 377-PA projection. That might be a little too optimistic, but it also includes a slightly below-average defensive value projection. At first glance, I might view him as insurance for Grant McCray, but McCray is a better defender.
In June, he suffered an injury while throwing to Gavin Lux at the plate and subsequently underwent surgery on his throwing arm at UCL. The Giants expect him to make a full recovery in training camp. According to the Associated Press, his contract is a split deal and he will earn $900,000 in the major leagues and $400,000 in the minor leagues. It’s prorated, so if he spends half the season in the minor leagues and half the season in the majors, he’ll make $650,000. If he played in the majors all year, he would make $120,000 above the major league minimum.
Sometimes these small gestures do end up paying huge dividends. The Giants have liked him for a while, according to Zach Minassian , and Tony Vitlow and Jace Tingler are familiar with his game. Could he be the outfield version of Christian Kos? Of course, why not. The more interesting question is whether he’s better than Joey Wimmer and/or Justin Dean, two outfielders the Giants claimed before signing Brennan. Having the flexibility to select him would certainly make him more “valuable” from a team/spreadsheet perspective with a minimal financial commitment. The reward might not be that great, but having a left-handed bat that has a chance to hit near league average (the jury is still out on McCray) and the ability to handle all three outfield positions is certainly what the Giants need.
