The San Francisco Giants finished the season on a high note, but ultimately missed out on the playoffs for the third straight year. They brought in multiple free agents before the season, including a six year deal for Jung Hoo Lee and later signing Matt Chapman to a big extension. Now they will look to bringing Blake Snell back, among other big free agents.
Before that, though, they have to find out who will be leaving before the 2025 season. And there have already been three players to elect free agency.
According to MLB Trade Rumors, players outrighted off a team’s 40 man roster can elect free agency before the end of the World Series and have “requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency.”
This is the case for the three players who have elected to hit free agency.
The biggest of which, from a Giants standpoint, is Thairo Estrada.
Estrada had been a member of San Francisco since 2021, when he was brought over from the New York Yankees. An everyday player in 2022 and 2023, Estrada dealt with injuries this past season, only playing 96 games. He posted a .590 OPS with nine home runs and 47 RBIs before being placed on waivers and outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento.
Even after a tough year on the field, Estrada will be a big loss in the clubhouse. He was the 2023 Willie Mac Award winner, meaning he was a great leader for the team.
If healthy, he could be a valuable asset to a team as a scrappy hitting infielder. It’s not outside of the realm of possibility that the Giants bring him back, but that is yet to be seen.
The other players who elected free agency were both catchers in Jakson Reetz and Andrew Knapp.
Knapp was released by the Texas Rangers in August and later signed with San Francisco. He played just three games, going 1-for-6.
Reetz was signed prior to the season, but didn’t get much playing time. In six games, Reetz went 2-for-14 with a homer and a double.
The likely reason for the two catchers electing free agency is the catching situation in San Francisco. Before 2024, the Giants signed Tom Murphy to a two year deal. The veteran was placed on the 60-day injured list, but will be Patrick Bailey’s backup in 2025.
San Francisco has a whirlwind of an offseason ahead, and after hiring Buster Posey, these free agents are just the beginning.
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