Sunday, February 15, 2026

Spring Training Update: The Churn Goes On

So, you thought The Churn went away with Farhan Zaidi?  Well, think again.  The Churn is alive and well in Buster Posey's front office.  The Giants opened Spring Training with a full 40-man roster.  But the 60-day IL opens up on the first day of Spring training and the Giants have two players, Randy Rodriguez RHP and Jason Foley RHP, expected to be out with injuries for more than 60 days.  So they waited until camp opened to formally sign Luis Arraez 2B and move RR to the 60-day IL.  OK, that's not really a churn move but two days later they moved Foley to the 60-day IL and signed Rowan Wick RHP to a 2-year contract.  Now, the thing about Rowan Wick is he is expected to miss the whole season due to Tommy John surgery so two days later they sent him to the 60-day IL and signed Will Brennan OF.  Let's meet our new Giants:

Rowan Wick RHP.  DOB:  11/9/1992.  6' 3", 234 lbs.  1 Option, Free Agent 2028.  

2025(NPB):  4-1, 0.84, 42.2 IP, 10.34 K/9, 2.32 BB/9, 5 Saves.

I remember Wick pitching for the Cubs but he's played in Japan the last two seasons with great numbers last season.  The Giants will stash him on the 60-day IL all season and hope for a full healthy season in 2027....if there is no work stoppage.

Will Brennan OF.  DOB:  2/2/1998.  B-L, T-L.  5' 11", 200 lbs.  2 Options, Arbitration Eligible 2027, Free Agent 2030.  

2025(AAA):  .304/.340/.419, 3 HR, 2 SB, 5.1 BB%, 12.8 K%, 156 PA.
2025(MLB):  .091/.231/.091, 7.7 BB%, 7.7 K%, 13 PA.

High contact/low power hitter that seems to fit Buster's type.  I guess he'll compete with Drew Gilbert OF for a 4'th or 5'th OF role.  The loser of that competition will get optioned to AAA Sacramento.

Other News and Notes:

Heliot Ramos OF is definitely in the best shape of his life.  Per Alex Pavlovic, Heliot took his defensive struggles to heart and as soon as the season was over went to work in Arizona eating healthy and working out.  There's a photo of him up near the batting cage in Scottsdale and dude looks slimmer and absolutely ripped.  Unfortunately, Rafael Devers 1B is seen in the same photo and he.....well, let's just say I don't think we'll be getting any Best Shape of his Life stories about him this spring.  

Carson Whisenhunt LHP came to camp admitting he had a pitch-tipping problem with his changeup last season and says it's fixed.  He also reworked his breaking ball into more of a slurve.  Hayden Birdsong RHP says he was trying to get to high over-the-top in his delivery which caused him to lean left too far which led to command issues.  He hopes a slightly lower arm slot will fix that.  

That's it for now.
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7 comments:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 15, 2026 at 5:47 PM

    The more things change, the more they stay the same?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DrBGiantsfanFebruary 15, 2026 at 7:25 PM

      There's nothing wrong with churning at the edges of the roster as long as that does not become the dominant mode of roster building.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousFebruary 15, 2026 at 8:06 PM

      Yes, hopefully gone are the days when 2/3 of our opening day outfield is Connor Joe and Michael Reed, only sticking around long enough to accumulate 23 at bats combined.

      Delete
    3. AnonymousFebruary 16, 2026 at 7:35 AM

      In fairness FZ inherited a moribund team and did replace Joe and Reed with YtY and Pillar, and added key players for the 2021 "special season."

      Delete
  2. AnonymousFebruary 16, 2026 at 5:55 AM

    Not sure why the Giants are picking up a guy like Will Brennan. Maybe organizational depth? If Drew Gilbert starts the year up, Sacramento has Luis Matos and Grant McCray and a couple of guys I don't know (30YO Jared Oliva and 27YO Turner Hill) as their outfield. I looked at Will Brennan's stats and I am not impressed. He only walks 5% of the time which leads to only a 310 OBP. If that's all he has with little power, I say he should have to prove himself in the minors. Streaky Luis Matos is at a crossroads. Matos doesn't have great projections either. Have him make the opening day lineup and give him two months to stick or trade him now. I am looking forward to how Bo Davidson (#4 prospect for SF) does, he looks the most enticing to me.

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