SF Giants sign former Mariners OF Mitch Haniger to three-year, $43.5 million deal
The SF Giants have made their first major acquisition of the offseason, signing longtime Seattle Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger to a three-year, $43.5 million contract. ESPN's Jeff Passan was the first to report the details of the agreement. The Giants interest in Haniger had been previously reported. Haniger was the 47th-best player in Giants Baseball Insider's free-agent rankings.
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In 2022, Haniger severely sprained his ankle in late April and missed three months, and ended up playing just 57 games in the Mariners’ triumphant return to the playoffs. He hit 11 home runs and put up a slash line of .246/.308/.429. Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto had expressed interest in re-signing Haniger, but a reunion seemed unlikely after Seattle acquired outfielder Teoscar Hernández in a trade with the Blue Jays, a different right-handed power-hitting right fielder.
Haniger was an All-Star in 2018 for the Seattle Mariners, when he hit 26 home runs and 93 RBIs and finished 11th in the MVP voting. He sat out the 2020 season after having multiple surgeries, then came back in 2021 to hit 39 homers, score 110 runs, and drive in 100 while slugging .485.
Haniger and Joc Pederson could make a devastating left field/designated hitter platoon while representing the South Bay. Haniger, a graduate of Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, crushes left-handed pitching, hitting .277/.353/.500 for his career. With that said, Haniger has shown the ability to be productive against same-sided pitchers as well, posting a career .255/.328/.467 triple-slash against righties.
Haniger is a decidedly better outfielder than Joc, with a good throwing arm, but is not an elite defender in right. Still, with better defenders like Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Slater in the outfield, Haniger could easily slide to left field, where he could be an above-average defender. Manager Gabe Kapler could also plan to deploy Yastrzemski and Slater in center, leaving Haniger to right.
The SF Giants are still waiting to hear the results of the Aaron Judge sweepstakes. For now, San Francisco knows it has at least come out of the Winter Meetings by adding one solid bat in Mitch Haniger.
