The Giants continued stockpiling outfield depth by acquiring outfielder Joey Wiemer from the Miami Marlins for cash considerations on Friday morning, the team announced.
San Francisco also announced that catcher Andrew Knizner was designated for assignment while left-hander Joey Lucchesi was non-tendered ahead of Friday evening’s non-tender deadline. MLB Trade Rumors projected Lucchesi and Knizner to make $2 million and $1.3 million in arbitration, respectively.
Additionally, right-hander JT Brubaker was tendered a one-year contract for the 2026 season.
Wiemer, 26, was designated by assignment by the Marlins earlier this week. He has played for the Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds over parts of three major-league seasons.
During his more than 180 career games in the majors, Wiemer has a .205 batting average and .638 OPS with 16 home runs and 12 steals. A fourth-round pick in the 2020 MLB draft, Wiemer experienced a bit of success in ’23 for the Brewers, hitting 13 homers and stealing 11 bases over 132 games.
Wiemer has shown some success against left-handers in the majors as well. Over 173 career plate appearances, Wiemer has a .255 batting average and .779 OPS with nine home runs against left-handed pitchers. Against righties, by contrast, Wiemer has a .178 batting average and .559 OPS.
The bulk of Wiemer’s value at the major-league level has derived from his defense. Over 178 games in the outfield, Wiemer has been worth 11 defensive runs saved and +7 outs above average. Wiemer boasts a strong arm as well, ranking in the 86th percentile of arm strength, per Baseball Savant, last year.
With the addition of Wiemer, the Giants currently have 10 outfielders on their 40-man roster, a list that also includes Jung Hoo Lee, Heliot Ramos, Justin Dean, Jerar Encarnacion, Drew Gilbert, Marco Luciano, Luis Matos, Grant McCray and Wade Meckler.
In trading for Wiemer and claiming Dean off waivers, the Giants have made a pair of moves to address last year’s porous outfield defense. In 2025, San Francisco’s outfielders ranked last in the majors in outs above average (-18). That group also posted the third-fewest defensive runs saved (-21) in the majors as well.
Catcher Jesus Rodriguez, acquired in the Camilo Doval trade, is now the leading candidate to become Patrick Bailey’s backup catcher for next season, but the Giants will likely continue to add catching depth.
Lucchesi, 32, had a solid season out of the bullpen in his first year as a full-time reliever. Over 38 1/3 innings, Lucchesi posted a 3.76 ERA with a 3.52 expected ERA.
Brubaker, who recently turned 32, returned to the majors last season for the first time since 2022 after undergoing right elbow surgery to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament in April 2023. Over 28 1/3 combined innings with the Yankees and Giants, Brubaker had a 3.77 ERA and 2.96 FIP with 22 strikeouts.
Lucchesi and Brubaker were similar-ish archetypes in that they were both former starters turned multi-inning relievers. It’s possible that the Giants tendered Brubaker a contract since he has a considerably higher strikeout rate than Lucchesi, which is important since San Francisco’s bullpen finished 27th in strikeouts per nine in the majors last season.