📰 NEWS FLASH: Following a resilient return from injury, former Guardians reliever Sam Hentges signs with a new team eager to tap into his revived form ⚡.NL

Sam Hentges is getting a fresh start out west.

After being non-tendered by the Cleveland Guardians last week, the left-handed reliever has landed with the San Francisco Giants on a one-year, $1.4 million deal. It’s a slight bump from his projected arbitration figure of $1.3 million, and it gives the Giants a potentially high-upside bullpen piece-if Hentges can return to form.

This move comes after a lost season for Hentges, who spent all of 2025 rehabbing from both Tommy John surgery and a late-season arthroscopic knee procedure. He hasn’t pitched in a game since July 2024, but when healthy, he’s shown the kind of stuff that can anchor a bullpen.

From 2022 through 2024, Hentges carved out a 2.93 ERA while transitioning from a starter to a dynamic left-handed weapon out of the ‘pen. His breakout came in 2022, when he posted a 2.32 ERA and punched out 72 batters across 62 innings. He didn’t just shine in the regular season, either-he allowed only two runs over 6 2/3 postseason innings that year, showing he could handle the big moments.

But injuries changed the equation. After the Guardians stuck with him through his Tommy John recovery by tendering him a contract last offseason, his hopes of returning in 2025 were dashed when he needed knee surgery in September. That setback-and the emergence of other lefty options like Tim Herrin and Erik Sabrowski-ultimately pushed Hentges out of Cleveland’s plans.

Now, he joins a Giants bullpen still trying to find its identity after trading closer Camilo Doval to the Yankees at last year’s deadline. Ryan Walker led the team in saves with 17, but his 4.11 ERA left room for improvement. The Giants do have other lefty arms in Erik Miller, Matt Gage, and Reiver Sanmartin, but none offer quite the ceiling Hentges brings when he’s right.

This is a low-risk, potentially high-reward signing for San Francisco. Hentges isn’t coming in to be the closer, but he could be a valuable middle-leverage or matchup option for new manager Tony Vitello. And with the Giants finishing last season at 81-81 despite making a splashy move for Rafael Devers, they’re clearly still tinkering with the roster to find the right balance.

If Hentges can stay healthy and recapture the form he showed in 2022, he could be a sneaky difference-maker in a bullpen that needs a few more reliable arms.