How Wilmer Flores and other ex-Giants fared outside the United States in 2026

The SF Giants were not very much fun to watch in 2026. They went 65-97 on the year for one of the worst seasons in the history of the franchise. Some old friends escaped the carnage though and actually played the bulk of their baseball outside of the United States this year.

Wilmer Flores was forced to join the Mexican League after no MLB team was willing to take a chance on him and there were other former Giants who also had to keep their careers going either south of the border or overseas. Let’s see how Flores and four other ex-Giants fared outside the U.S. in 2026.

How 5 former Giants did outside MLB in 2026

Wilmer Flores

It’s not as if Flores was awful in 2025. He was arguably one in the best hitters for San Francisco in the first half of the year but after the Rafael Devers trade he saw less and less playing time.

Flores wound up signing with the Toros de Tijuana and put up some solid numbers, hitting .298/.372/.484 with 11 home runs and 37 runs batted in across 76 games.

The Toros actually ended up winning the Mexican League title under manager Roberto Kelly who Giants fans will remember as the team’s first base coach during the championship years. Flores was also teammates with Justin Turner so apparently a longtime ex-Dodger and longtime former Giant can get along just fine down in Tijuana.

Jerar Encarnacion

Remember Jerar Encarnacion? The guy who made San Francisco’s Opening Day roster and only hit .176/.200/.206 and forgot his glove in the dugout which resulted in a pitch clock violation, forgot how many outs there were, and challenged a pitch that was right down the middle? Yeah, well he understandably spent most of the year in Japan.

In 62 games with the Yokohama DeNA Bay Stars of NPB, he hit .293/.322/.498 with 11 home runs and 38 runs batted in. He’s always had power so maybe another MLB team will take a chance on him by giving him a minor league contract.

Thairo Estrada

Flores was not the only former Willie Mac Award winner in the Mexican League as Thairo Estrada played for the Saraperos de Saltillo. He hit quite well, slashing .351/.383/.484 with six homers and 30 runs batted in.

He could get a minor league contract and get a chance to make a club out of spring training next year potentially.

J.D. Davis

Former Giants third baseman J.D. Davis was once a pretty solid player for San Francisco, but he too was relegated to the Mexican League in 2026. He hit a paltry .220/.324/.300 with three homers and 15 runs batted in across 42 games. 

That got him released and he’s now with the Kansas City Monarchs of the American Association of Professional Baseball.

Sean Hjelle

After a rough 2025 season with the Giants which included some very serious allegations made against him that did not result in any disciplinary action from MLB, Hjelle departed for Japan and posted a 3-10 record and 3.38 ERA with the Orix Buffaloes in 21 appearances. Some pitchers like Cody Ponce have thrived overseas, returned to the big leagues and gotten big contracts so maybe that’s the path Hjelle is trying to follow.

Former Giants are everywhere so it’s nice to know that if I decide to take a vacation to Mexico or Japan there’s a chance I’ll see a familiar face if I go catch a game.

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