Day 10 of our “Most Wanted” Free Agent options for the Giants
Mitch Haniger – OF
Age – 31 (turns 32 on 12/23)
By @BrooksKnudsen
WHY HE FITS
The Giants are lacking some serious right-handed thump in the outfield. Austin Slater and Heliot Ramos are the lone RH 40-man roster options with a shred of major league experience, so no wonder San Francisco has been connected to righty powerhouse Aaron Judge. A lot needs to go right for Judge to don the road grays at new Yankee Stadium on Opening Day in 2023, so the Giants may very well need to look into other options to fill that void.
Former Seattle Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger seems like somebody Farhan Zaidi would invest in. He’s a player with strong production in a couple of his seasons over the past five years (4.8 fWAR & .859 OPS in 2018…. 39 home runs and 100 RBI in 2021), but his value has taken a hit due to several injuries (most recently a high ankle sprain), and the declining defense that has coincided (-14.7 DEF in 2021). If it was all sunshine and rainbows for Mitch — odds are he’d already be locked into a big contract with Seattle. Yet, those negatives present an opportunity for the Giants to take a chance on a slugger with solid offensive upside — if he can stay off the shelf.
Haniger’s on-base skills (.315 OBP since 2019) leave much to be desired, and mixing in his strikeout rate (26%) makes for a tough combination. That said, Haniger is a straight-up run producer, highlighted by his career 122 wRC+ and a very desirable 21.8 plate appearances per home run — not to mention his 93 RBI average per 162 games. He’s a scary hitter at the plate and would be a perfect fit for the 5th or 6th spot in the Giants batting order. He doesn’t need to be platooned to thrive, highlighted by his 31 homers against RHP in 638 PA over the past two seasons. As you’d expect, his production still gets a boost against LHP (142 wRC+, 19 homers, 300 PA).
Primarily a right fielder, Haniger has center field experience and has taken some reps in left field early in his career, but hasn’t been considered a strong defender (0 Defensive Runs Saved in 1,476 innings in 2021 & 2022) since coming back from his ruptured testicles injury in 2019 that caused him to miss a year and a half. The Giants could hide him in left field like they’ve done in the past with Pat Burrell, Michael Morse, and most recently, Joc Pederson, but that would counter the front office’s wish to “get more athletic” in 2023.
PROJECTED CONTRACT
MLBTR: 3 years, $39M
My projection: 2 years, $24M
Haniger made $3M, $3M, and $7.5M from 2020 – 2022. I can see him getting a decent raise in AAV (average annual value), but I’m not so sure he can command a 3-year deal as a 32-year old after missing so much time on the field.
CHANCE OF PLAYER JOINING GIANTS
On a scale of 1-5, 1 being highly unlikely and 5 being very likely
*4*
I was planning to rank Haniger’s chances at a *3* until yesterday when I saw that the Giants are reportedly interested in him. Zaidi, in his Giants tenure, has shown a penchant for signing local players from northern California. Haniger was born in Mountain View, CA and was a product of Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, so he totally fits that model. Choosing to play for his hometown team could be a factor, as the “come home” angle has been a common talking point for free agents lately.
Fangraphs projects Haniger’s 2023 to look something like this:
.251/.323/.450
27 homers
118 wRC+
2.1 fWAR
I think San Francisco would gladly take that production, given the rarity of a 27-homer Giants hitter over the last decade. And not needing to commit many years might be most appealing to this front office. They’ve taken fliers on injury-risk players before, and this guy is the right-handed long ball threat that the Giants have been needing in their outfield for quite some time.
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