The Giants are heading into the offseason with one free agent on their own roster, and it’s right-hander JT Brubaker.
According to an official release from the MLB Players Association, Brubaker is the only Giant with an expiring contract this winter. The announcement comes a day after the 2026 Major League season ended, with the Milwaukee Brewers capturing their first World Series title in franchise history.
Brubaker joined San Francisco in August 2025, shortly after the New York Yankees designated him for assignment and later released him. He stayed with the club through the offseason and just finished his first full season in a Giants uniform.
Most of his work came out of the bullpen, with only one start removed from the mix. In that role, he gave manager Tony Vitello a steady source of multiple innings and handled the kind of long-relief job teams always seem to need but rarely have enough of. His approach was built around a five-pitch mix: sinker (45%), slider (26%), changeup (14%), curveball (9%), and four-seam fastball (6%).
That wasn’t a brand-new lane for him. Brubaker had spent three seasons as a starter with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and over 63 career starts he owns a 5.07 ERA and 1.39 WHIP. His move to relief also ties back to his injury history, since he underwent Tommy John surgery on April 12, 2023 and didn’t pitch in the majors in 2023 or 2024.
This season, Brubaker appeared in 41 games for the Giants, with 40 coming out of the bullpen. He covered 60.1 innings and posted a 3.58 ERA with a 1.24 WHIP.
The surface numbers look usable, but the deeper profile points to a pitcher who may be due for some regression. Brubaker was worth 6 pitching run value in 2026, placing him in the 62nd percentile, but the swing-and-miss just wasn’t there.
He generated whiffs at a 20.9% clip and struck out 15.6% of hitters, which ranked in the 5th percentile. He also ran into command issues, walking 10.4% of batters faced.
Those numbers help explain his 4.28 FIP and 5.02 xERA.
There were still a few things to like. Brubaker produced a 30.4% chase rate, held hard contact to 36.1%, and kept barrels to a strong 5.5%.
Spotrac projects him to land a one-year deal worth $3.6 million per season, and that’s the number the Giants have to weigh. San Francisco already has plenty of pitching on the 40-man roster, including 25 active pitchers when the injured list is excluded. Five more pitchers are on the injured list - Hayden Birdsong, Trevor McDonald, Blade Tidwell, Carson Whisenhunt and Rowan Wick - and all of them underwent Tommy John surgery this year.
So while a reunion with Brubaker is possible, it may not be the cleanest use of that money. The Giants need bullpen help, but the long-relief role he filled is one they may be able to cover internally. In other words, Brubaker is a reasonable option - just probably not the one at the top of their offseason list.
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