Brief former SF Giants outfielder joins National League West rival

SF Giants fans will never miss the chance to ironically call a former player a Forever Giant, and there is no better player to employ that irony on than Connor Joe. The Forever Giant just signed a contract with the San Diego Padres.

The 32-year-old San Diego native is continuing his tour of the National League West. Joe was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization for several years but never appeared in the big leagues with LA. He made his MLB debut with the Giants in 2019 and eventually he joined the Colorado Rockies in 2020. Now he only has to check off the Arizona Diamondbacls to have been a member of every team in the NL West.

SF Giants legend Connor Joe signs with the San Diego Padres

Some Giants fans may not remember Joe's tenure in San Francisco all that well. They can be forgiven considering he only appeared in eight games and had 16 plate appearances for the Giants. He recorded one hit with the team in those 16 plate appearances before the Giants designated him for assignment. Joe does at least have the distinction of being one of the 18 different Opening Day left fielders the Giants have had since Barry Bonds' last year in 2007.

Joe went on to have some good success with Colorado. In 2021 he slashed .285/.379/.469 with eight home runs and 35 RBI. That was his best season in the big leagues to date as his numbers dropped off a bit in the years that followed with both Colorado and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Last season with Pittsburgh he slashed .228/.320/.368 with 9 home runs and 36 RBI.

The move is a fairly low risk signing that adds depth for the Padres who have been fairly quiet this offseason. There has been a nasty ownership battle this offseason for San Diego which may have made for some uncertainty for the team.

However, this move could end up being a prudent one. The Padres got good value out of another former Giant in Donovan Solano last season, but he departed for Seattle in free agency. Joe fills the hole left by Solano as a right-handed hitter who can also play multiple positions.

It is always nice to see a hometown kid join his local team. It should be a blast for him to play for his hometown team in 2025, but let's just hope he does not do too much damage against the Giants next season.