*Photo from Cal Poly Athletics*
Looking to plug a hole in the outfield, a bay area native is coming home. The San Francisco Giants and OF Mitch Haniger have agreed to a 3 year, $43.5 million deal, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. The Giants have confirmed the deal.
The San Jose native signs with his hometown team after starting his career in the Pacific Northwest. He will make $28 million over the first two seasons of the deal, with a $1 million bonus if he gets traded. He has an opt out after the 2024 season, and will make $15 million in the final season of the deal if he declines to opt out.
Last season was Haniger's 6th season in the majors and his 5th with the Seattle Mariners. He ended the season with a .246 batting average, .429 slugging percentage, and .736 OPS, hitting 11 home runs and driving in 34 runs while being limited to just 57 games of action.
Haniger's biggest foe throughout his career has been the injury bug. This past season saw him miss extended time with a high ankle sprain on his right side. He was limited to just 63 games in 2019 and missed all of 2020 due to back surgery and the resulting recovery.
Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said of Haniger that "We’re really confident in his current health. We view some of his injuries over the last few years as flukish. He’s had two years where he played a lot. You look at his 2018 season, his 2021 season, he has the ability to play a lot. He’s kind of demonstrated that. He’s very motivated. He’s someone who’s really in tune with his body and what he needs."
Since debuting with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2016, Haniger has 5 seasons with the Mariners and one with the D-Backs in his career. He has a .261 batting average, .335 on base percentage, and .476 on base percentage, mashing 112 home runs to go with 323 RBI's in 564 regular season games, including a selection to the 2018 all star game. He has a .238 average with two doubles in 5 playoff games.
Haniger wound up in Seattle as part of a trade for Ketel Marte, with Marte and Taijuan Walker going to Arizona in exchange for Haniger and Jean Segura. Now he's back with his hometown club, likely to split time between the outfield and DH.
As things currently stand, Haniger and Joc Pederson are the leading candidates for DH time in San Francisco, with Mike Yastrzemski, Luis Gonzalez, Austin Slater, and LaMonte Wade Jr among outfielders also vying for playing time.
Comments
Post a Comment