Pair of former SF Giants top prospects on the chopping block after roster moves

The SF Giants have added a couple of strong defensive outfielders recently in Justin Dean and Joey Wiemer. These moves could mean that former top prospects Marco Luciano and Luis Matos are now on the chopping block.

Outfield defense was an obvious weakness for the Giants in 2025 so it makes sense that the team is trying to address this deficiency. It also shows that the Giants probably acknowledge the fact that they are going to have to move on from some outfielders this offseason.

SF Giants seem likely to move on from former top prospects after recent moves

A recent article from Andrew Baggarly in The Athletic highlighted all of the outfielders the Giants currently have. Wiemer, Matos, Luciano, and Jerar Encarnacion are all out of minor league options so the Giants are going to have to make some choices on these players soon because it does not make sense to enter camp with so many outfielders.

Matos and Luciano seem like two guys the Giants have already moved on from in their minds. Both of them were considered two of the top prospects in the organization just a few years ago, but after Luciano's defensive struggles in the infield in 2024 forced him to become an outfielder and Matos' inability to hit consistently at the big league level, the Giants have to be considering trading them.

There is always the risk you can give up on a player too soon. Maybe 2026 is the year that Matos turns into Heliot Ramos and finally realizes his potential. But the Giants cannot keep waiting around for these guys to blossom.

Maybe the team will opt to sign a free agent to give them more of an established option in right field to begin the year. They could trade Matos and Luciano to clear the way for a competition between Dean, Wiemer, and Gilbert for a fourth of fifth outfielder role.

The problem is the Giants probably would not be able to get a ton in a trade for either Matos or Luciano. Neither has looked great at the big league level outside of a few brief flashes from Matos so the Giants would most likely have to sell low on both of them.

At this point, it may be best for San Francisco to cut its losses and just try to move on and focus on the new outfield additions going forward.