Giants Outfield Looks Suspiciously Similar to 2025 After Latest Roster Move

The San Francisco Giants wanted to improve their outfield this offseason. So far, those improvements haven’t been made.

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The San Francisco Giants had one of the worst outfield defenses in 2025. Giants management wanted to add pieces to fix it.

With spring training more than a month away, the outfield is almost a carbon copy of a season ago — and that could be a problem.

On Tuesday, the Giants opted to designate for assignment outfielder Justin Dean. San Francisco did that to make room for pitcher Tyler Mahle, who officially signed his contract and needed a spot on the 40-man roster.

Dean is the second outfielder to be DFAed after being acquired this offseason. The other one was Joey Wiemer. The Giants acquired him in a trade with the Miami Marlins in November after the Marlins DFAed him. He was moved into the DFA process to create room for another pitching signing, Jason Foley.

Where Giants Outfield Stands

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San Francisco may be able to sneak Dean through waivers through the DFA process, but it won’t know that for a week. If he does, the Giants can then option him to Triple-A Sacramento and he cannot refuse the assignment due to service time.

San Francisco claimed Dean off waivers. He was with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2025, where he made his MLB debut. He only played in 18 games and had two plate appearances. He was primarily used as a pinch runner. Dean has the profile of a speedy, light-hitting outfielder who can steal bases and cover plenty of ground in the outfield. But he doesn’t have a lot of power. He has 239 stolen bases and 39 home runs in the minor leagues.

Wiemer slashed .205/.279/.359 with 16 home runs and 54 RBI. He hit nearly all his home runs (13) with the Brewers in his rookie season of 2023. At that point, the former fourth-round pick from Cincinnati showed some real promise. He slashed .204/.283/.362 and drove in 42 runs. That was in 132 games.

With those moves, the Giants’ outfield now looks remarkably like the end of last season. Heliot Ramos, Jung Hoo Lee and Drew Gilbert figure to be the starters in left field, center field and right field, respectively. Jerar Encarnacion, Luis Matos and Grant McCray were all on the Major League roster last season.

For perspective, Wiemer had 11 defensive runs saved in 174 career MLB games. Ramos is at minus-18 and Lee is at minus-20 in their careers.

San Francisco has not improved its outfield defense this offseason.