The Giants signed two pitchers:
Two interesting acquisitions.
Houser is SP Depth
Signing Adrian Houser does not necessarily mean there won’t be another SP signing. He can be a great SP depth piece who has swung from SP to RP and back in his career, so he could be the 5th SP or a prospect could beat him out and he can be RP, or he can move back as SP if injuries or poor prospects pitching happens. He is a good addition to the pitching staff, capable of taking multiple roles.
Meanwhile, the Giants can still pursue a better SP option, but now has added to the back of rotation depth since it is unlikely that any of their young starting pitchers can handle 30+ starts in 2026 season. Heck, they could still pick up two additional starting pitchers, and he would start in the bullpen, and start as necessary during the season.
He might even be a good middle reliever, if necessary. He has a 2.32 ERA as a reliever, but he’s been best in low leverage situations, and not very good in medium to high leverage situations. Basically, he can eat a lot of innings as a starter or middle/bulk reliever, and is a better starting choice when the pitching prospects are not reliable.
The upside is that Chicago was able to get 3.0 bWAR out of him in 11 starts in 2025, If the Giants can get that over a full season, let alone a third of the season, that would be huge. Heck, at two years, $22M, 3.0 bWAR over two seasons would still be good.
Foley is Probably our new Closer but Midseason
Jason Foley was a very good closer for Detroit in 2024, so this is a cheap $2M bet in giving him the opportunity to show he’s back to his prior normal performance level, and hopefully the Giants getting a good closer in the second half of the season. The hope is that he will be fully recovered when he returns from shoulder surgery.
Detroit appears to have released him to avoid giving an arbitration level salary to him in 2026, while only getting half a season’s work. Their loss is hopefully our gain. He could be our Bart Improvement Player, where he moves on and does well for his new team.
More importantly, if things go well enough, the Giants control him for two more arbitration seasons. He’s like an in-season back end relief boost when hopefully the Giants are battling for a playoff spot, while building for the future as well. And could enable the Giants to trade a reliever, if necessary, before the trade deadline.
Who Closes in First Half?
Meanwhile, the Giants will apparently give their relievers the opportunity to close in the first half, and find out who can handle the pressure of pitching high leverage innings.
Sam Hentges (one year, $1.2M) hasn’t closed before, but has good K/BB ratios (career 3.01) and a 2.92 ERA over his last three seasons, and who has done well in high leverage (ie clutch) situations. So I would think he will get the opportunity to try to close early on, or at minimum be a set up reliever. He’s like Foley, released because he’s been recovering from surgery but eligible to earn arbitration salary. If he gets back to his prior performance level, the Giants control him to 2027, and he’s a free agent in 2028.
Overall
Foley and Hentges are two inexpensive acquisitions to improve the back end of the bullpen without spending a ton of money. They also picked up Reiver Sanmartin and former Giants prospect, Gregory Santos, who might also boost the bullpen. Santos did well for his new team, but, in a familiar story here, been injured or recovering the past two seasons, and he’s hoping to return to good health and performance with his old team.
I was hoping for a return of Tyler Rogers, but he signed with Toronto. Foley and Hentges are nice additions to try to boost the back of the bullpen without spending a ton of money, and Houser is a nice addition to bridge the need for additional starting pitchers that every season demands, without limiting the Giants in pursuing two more starting pitchers who are better.
Also, like how Roupp started 2024 as a reliever, and that enabled him to rise to the rotation in 2025, any of the young pitching prospects might win a bullpen spot, if they don’t win a starting spot. Perhaps Birdsong will find his way back to where he was before he was forced to hit a batter. Teng, McDonald, and Tidwell, as well, plus Harris, are all possible options as well. And there are some times surprises who rise quickly with a new pitch or wrinkle.
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