San Francisco Giants Sign Free Agent Bay Area Native Outfielder

No, not that one. At least not yet. But the San Francisco Giants have brought a local area slugger home to play the outfield in 2023, signing former Seattle Mariner Mitch Haniger.

Outfielder Mitch Haniger and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a three-year, $43.5 million contract, sources tell ESPN.

Signing Haniger does not take the Giants out of the running for Aaron Judge. They have been pursuing both throughout free agency.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 7, 2022

It's a 3-year, $43.5M deal for the San Jose native, and as noted by MLB Insider Jeff Passan, this is not a Plan B for their Aaron Judge pursuit. The Giants had aimed to bring in two new outfielders all along. 

Haniger is just a year removed from a 39 HR, 100 RBI season, and was an All-Star back in 2018. But 2022 was a battle for the 31-year-old, as he missed more than half the season with a sprained right ankle. When he returned to the Mariners lineup in August he batted .254 with eight homers and a .740 OPS. 

The Mariners didn't give Haniger the Qualifying Offer, making his return questionable, but then when they traded for right fielder Teoscar Hernandez from the Toronto Blue Jays, the writing seemed to be clearly on the wall for Haniger. He chose to head home. 

Now the Giants wait to see if they were able to lure another local-area kid home.

 Photo: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports