The Giants have signed right-hander Rowan Wick to a one-year major league deal, the team announced. The agreement includes a club option for 2027. Wick is recovering from Tommy John surgery and is not expected to pitch this season. The team has not announced a corresponding move.
The 33-year-old Wick returns stateside after spending the past two seasons with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He was excellent out of the bullpen during his time in NPB, recording a 1.75 ERA across 87 2/3 innings. Wick secured five saves last season with the BayStars. He’ll look to impact the San Francisco bullpen next year as he continues to rehab from TJ.
The majority of Wick’s big-league experience has come with the Cubs. He was traded to Chicago straight up for Jason Vosler after a brief stint with the Padres. Wick was a semi-regular in the Cubs’ bullpen from 2019 to 2021. He emerged as the team’s closer in 2022. Wick notched a career-high nine saves that season, but faltered down the stretch and lost some opportunities to trade deadline acquisition David Robertson.
Wick began the 2023 season in the minors. The Cubs would release him in July. He bounced to the Braves and then the Blue Jays, but never made it back to the majors. After posting a 6.66 ERA at Triple-A, he made the jump to NPB.
San Francisco has a history of signing injured pitchers with the intention of getting contributions once they recover. The strategy has continued even after Buster Posey took over as president of baseball operations. The club added right-hander Jason Foley in December. He’s coming back from shoulder surgery and is a candidate to begin the year on the 60-day IL. San Francisco also signed Sam Hentges this offseason. The lefty hasn’t pitched since 2024 following shoulder and knee surgery, but could be ready for the start of this season.
Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images
