Giants DFA gives Guardians golden opportunity to reunite with former outfielder

In September 2022, Will Brennan burst onto the scene with Cleveland Guardians. After spending almost all of the year in Triple-A, Cleveland’s front office recalled him on Sept. 21, and he rewarded that faith by hitting .357 in 42 at-bats in the regular season before becoming a mainstay on their postseason roster. 

It may not have been a full season’s worth of production (far from it), but it made it seem like Brennan was going to be a key piece for the Guardians for years to come. 

That didn’t end up being the case, as he struggled with injuries and underperformance for the next couple seasons before being cut loose last offseason. 

But that doesn’t mean his story with the Guardians needs to end there. 

The Guardians have a chance to reunite with Will Brennan

Earlier this week the Giants designated Brennan for assignment after his underwhelming performance this season. He had signed a split-level deal with the Giants, which seemed like a great spot for him to turn his career around. 

The exact opposite happened, as Brennan hit just .087 (2-for-23) in multiple stints with San Francisco before being DFA’d. 

Brennan still made plenty of contact at the plate (13% strikeout rate and 8% whiff rate), but he didn’t barrel up any of the balls he put in play. 

That was pretty much Brennan’s profile during the end of his time with Cleveland. He slashed .266/.299/356 in 138 games with the Guardians in 2023 (the most games he played with them in a season) and posted a fairly similar slashline in 2024. 

He only played in six games with the Guardians last season before undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery last June that brought about the end to his time on the roster. 

While the Guardians’ outfield need isn’t as dire compared to last year thanks to Chase DeLauter and Angel Martínez, their outfield is still in a bit of a flux. 

While they have plenty of outfielders on their 40-man roster who are either bonafide big leaguers (pretty much everyone on the active roster) they also have guys who haven’t made the most of their big league chance like Petey Halpin and CJ Kayfus. 

Getting rid of one of them in place of Brennan (who was outrighted off Clevleand’s roster in the offseason) may seem silly, but his 2022 success makes it worth rolling the dice on him (especially since he’s already a plus defender and runner). 

He also still has two minor league options remaining, so it’s not like he’d be a MLB or bust waiver claim. He’d be able to bide his time in the minors until the Guardians need him. 

Brennan’s still just a year out from that Tommy John surgery, so it makes sense that he wouldn’t be all full health just yet. But the Guardians have a chance to buy low now and take a chance on him bouncing back.

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