SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 27: Jerar Encarnacion #59 of the San Francisco Giants reacts after hitting a two-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals in the second inning at Oracle Park on September 27, 2024 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
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The San Francisco Giants entered the season with high hopes after adding some win-now pieces to the roster.
Instead of making good on those expectations, though, the Giants are entering a series with the rival Los Angeles Dodgers as one of the worst teams in the division and with questions swirling around president of baseball operations and franchise icon Buster Posey.
“This isn’t what the Giants or their fans envisioned,” Ken Rosenthal wrote for The Athletic. “Fans grew weary of the teams constructed by Posey’s predecessor, Farhan Zaidi, pining for greater roster continuity, bigger names. Posey has delivered on both those fronts, and still the team isn’t successful. So now, he’s scrambling.”
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Posey has added several veteran stars to the team in his brief tenure, including Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman and Willy Adames, though they haven’t performed as hoped. And he hired rookie manager Tony Vitello, who had no major-league experience before taking the job, in another move that is under scrutiny following the team’s poor start.
And now, with so many individuals falling short of expectations and a season quickly spiraling out of control, the Giants have seen a familiar face leave for free agency.
“Jerar Encarnacion has cleared waivers and elected free agency,” the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser reported.
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Encarnacion joined the Giants for the 2024 season and he appeared in more than 70 games in his three-year stint with the club, slashing .223/.248/.371.
But as Posey and company continue to shuffle the roster in search of some combination that works, he was designated for assignment while outfielder Will Brennan was optioned to Triple-A so that the Giants could bring up Bryce Eldridge and Jesus Rodriguez.
Ultimately, that might have marked the end of Encarnacion’s tenure with the team after he emerged as a promising under-the-radar addition two years ago.
“Encarnacion signed a minor league deal with the Giants in May of 2024,” Darragh McDonald wrote for MLB Trade Rumors. “At that time, he had just come off a massive .366/.439/.989 showing in 26 Mexican League games. That’s a hitter-friendly league but that line was impressive regardless. He then put up a .352/.438/.616 showing in Triple-A and got added to the big league roster in August.”
Now Encarnacion might return to the Giants on a new deal, but he’s free to assess his options and could find an opportunity with an organization that is in a better place as his former team grows more desperate for answers.