3 former SF Giants players who surprisingly did not appear in the majors in 2024

The 2024 regular has been in the books for nearly a month now. For a trio of former SF Giants players, it ended up being the first year in a long time in which they did not appear in the majors. That list includes Brandon Belt, Madison Bumgarner, and Evan Longoria.

3 former SF Giants players who surprisingly did not appear in the majors in 2024

Belt is the most surprising from the list. He slashed .254/.369/.490 (138 wRC+) with 19 home runs, 43 RBI, and 53 runs in 404 plate appearances in his lone year with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2023. That is an excellent level of production that, in nearly all cases, would appeal to teams in free agency.

The veteran first baseman expressed surprise by the lack of interest he received. Teams did reach out to him but he was seen as a backup option in most cases. As Belt mentions, contract talks never progressed to the point where both parties discussed the terms of the deal. Oddly enough, there were quite a few players coming off of a down year in 2023 who were able to land a guaranteed deal in 2024.

Despite the solid level of production, a deal did not come to fruition. Belt has been mum on his future since then. If the 36-year-old first baseman does decide to hang up his cleats, it would be nice to see him get a one-day contract to finish his career with San Francisco.

On the other hand, both Evan Longoria and Madison Bumgarner were briefly teammates with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023. Bumgarner struggled through much of his Diamondbacks tenure. After a couple of rough starts early in the 2023 season, the Diamondbacks decided to cut ties with the veteran hurler with more than a year remaining on his deal.

There was a report that Bumgarner was contemplating a return to the mound this year but that idea never got off of the ground. The southpaw pitcher did return for the 10-year reunion of the 2014 World Series team and was showered with appreciation from the fan base.

Longoria did finish the year with Arizona. He got off to a solid start but sustained a back strain that affected his performance down the stretch. Overall, he posted a .717 OPS with 11 home runs and 28 RBI in 237 plate appearances.

The veteran third baseman hoped to play for one more year and performed well enough to land a low-cost, guaranteed deal. However, that did not materialize and admitted that his playing days are likely over.

Each player had a long run in the majors and plenty of memorable highlights. However, the 2023 season likely marked the end of the line fo all three players.