Giants Sign 30-Year-Old Speedster Away From Brewers

Some depth that needs to be replaced...

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jared Oliva walks to the batting cage during spring training workouts Monday, February 17, 2025, at American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. | Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Brewers have had a lot of turnover on the farm system this winter.

It's something of an annual tradition, as the Brewers are good at reclamation projects, and therefore bring in a lot of non-roster invites and midseason minor-league signees each year. Some of those players stick in the organization, but some are always bound to depart at the end of the year.

Outfield speedster Jared Oliva was someone the Brewers may have had high hopes for when they inked him as a non-roster invite in November of 2024. But he spent the entire year with Triple-A Nashville, and he's now on to a new team in 2026 -- one of the Brewers' National League rivals.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Jared Oliva signs with Giants

Jul 7, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Jared Oliva (14) makes a catch for an out against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

According to the official transactions log on his roster page, Oliva signed a minor-league deal with the San Francisco Giants on Monday. The deal did not appear on his roster page until Thursday.

As non-roster invites go, Oliva is a pretty exciting one, and for a simple reason: He steals a TON of bases. That skill set applies to any level of baseball, and if a player who can rack up thefts has any ability to get on base, they can usually find themself at least a bench role.

Unfortunately, Oliva has never earned an extended chance at the major league level to prove he can do just that. The 30-year-old appeared in 26 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team that drafted him back in 2016, from 2020 to 2021.

In those major league games, Oliva struggled, batting .179 with a .220 on-base percentage. But he's usually been fairly consistent in the minors, with a .333 OBP and .410 slugging percentage in his 350 Triple-A games.

With Nashville, Oliva stole 57 bases and was caught only six times in 95 games this past season. If he was getting on base, he was stealing, and even adjusted for the improved catchers in the majors, one would think he could still get the job done at the highest level.

What remains to be seen is whether the Giants will give him that chance, and whether that might make the Brewers regret never giving him a shot to join their already-speedy roster.

More MLB: Brewers Still Expected To Sign Impactful Free Agent, Per Insider