3 San Francisco Giants free agents who will leave, and 2 who will return in 2024

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After a difficult end to the 2023 season that included a failed run at a Wild Card spot and ultimately landed the San Francisco Giants in fourth place in the NL West, there's really nowhere to go but up. This offseason, the Giants have eight free agents and three players with opt-outs, which could leave the team looking pretty different next season. It's a perfect time for the Giants to try to rework their 28th-ranked offense, and preserve its seventh-best bullpen.

3 Giants free agents who won't be back, 2 who'll return for 2024

The most interesting moves the Giants can make in the offseason will probably revolve more around a certain two-way player they'll try to acquire or how much money they choose to give their multiple Super 2 arb players, but there are still free agents whose futures with the team need to be considered. Here are three who won't be coming back to Oracle Park, and two who might.

Giants Free Agent Who Will Leave: Joc Pederson

The Giants really need to let go of Joc Pederson. After making a qualifying offer in November 2022, San Francisco retained him for a second year and staved off free agency. He had a great 2022, an up in a career filled with peaks and valleys, but he leveled out again in 2023. His performance this year has made the nearly $20 million he made in one season hard to justify, batting a just okay .235/.348/.416 with 15 home runs.

It's likely that if Pederson comes to the table with the Giants, he'll be angling toward a multi-year contract that will give him more stability than he's had in the past three years, which have sent him from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs to the Atlanta Braves and finally to the Giants. After making more money this year than any other in his 10 year career, by far, it's a little inconceivable that Pederson will settle for a pay cut, if the Giants decide to make him an offer at all.

The best and most likely course of action is that the Giants will let Pederson go to free up over 10% of their payroll and move a more effective bat into their DH spot.

Giants Free Agent Who Will Leave: Brandon Crawford

The longest tenured Giant by far, Brandon Crawford is beloved in San Francisco, and for good reason. He's a clubhouse leader, a two-time World Series champion, a three-time All-Star, a Gold Glover, a Silver Slugger, and maybe a lifer with the club, having been drafted by the Giants in 2008. His playing time has waned significantly over the last two years, with the Giants moving No. 2 prospect Marco Luciano up to the majors this year and giving him more time at shortstop.

Crawford's $16 million makes him the third-highest-paid Giant, and given his age and the talent coming up behind him, it would only make sense for the Giants to let him go despite his sentimental value to the team and the city. Whether or not he signs with another team to keep his career alive is more nebulous, but it seems unlikely that after 13 years in the same city he'll want to start all over again somewhere new. We've probably seen the last of Crawford not only in a Giants uniform but a MLB uniform, and he'll definitely be missed.

Giants Free Agent Who Will Leave: Alex Wood

As one of San Francisco's most seen relievers/openers, Alex Wood had an underwhelming season. Despite pitching under 100 innings, he's tied with Sean Manaea for first in walks on the team, and his strikeout count is down by nearly half from last year. It's not what you want from your highest paid pitcher (Wood made $12.5 million in 2023), to say the least.

Letting go of Wood would mean freeing up a lot of necessary cash to offer to some of the Giants' many players who are in various stages of Super 2 arbitration, including lineup staples like JD Davis, Mike Yastrzemski, and Thairo Estrada. Though it would mean losing a lefty arm, there are too many other considerations that don't work in Wood's favor.

Giants Free Agent Who Will Return: Jakob Junis

Despite pitching fewer innings in 2023 than 2022, Jakob Junis has made a good case for himself as a bullpen arm to keep around. His K rate was up this year, with 96 to last year's 98 with 26 fewer innings, resulting in a 10.0 K/9, and his 3.87 ERA to end the season is his lowest to date. He's proven his usefulness as a long reliever and opener, having pitched multiple scoreless 4-inning appearances over the 2023 season.

The Giants bullpen ranked seventh in the league with a collective 5.4 fWAR, 0.7 of which comes from Junis alone. San Francisco should try to preserve its bullpen where it can, especially be retaining guys like Junis, who should still come relatively cheaply.

Giants Free Agent Who Will Return: John Brebbia

Although he missed a lot of time for the Giants in 2023 with a lat strain that sat him from mid-June to early September, John Brebbia looked solid in a spot relief role this year. He looked a little shakier upon his return on Sept. 1 than he did in May before he went down, but he closed out the season only allowing 31 hits over a span of 38 1/3 innings and averaging 11.03 K/9, giving him the fifth-highest K rate of the Giants' arms.

Like Junis, Brebbia should come affordably for the Giants, and because of his history of injury should probably come cheaper than Junis. If that is the case, it would be unwise of the Giants to let go of a solid arm.

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3 Giants free agents who will leave, and 2 who will return in 2024