The Giants acquired the outfielder Joey Wiemer from the Marlins in exchange for money, according to the team. Miami designated the former top prospect for assignment earlier in the week when setting its roster before the deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. San Francisco designated receiver Andrew Knizner for an assignment in a corresponding list movement.
Now 26, Wiemer was the Brewers’ fourth-round pick in 2020. He was near the bottom of MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects list in 2022 and 2023, but has seen his stock decline since then. Milwaukee sent him to the Reds alongside Jacob Junis in 2024 Frankie Montas trade, and Cincinnati then distributed it to Kansas City with Jonathan India in exchange for a right-hander Brady Singer. The Marlins picked him up on waivers in early August, shortly after this year’s trade deadline.
Wiemer appeared in parts of three major league seasons between the Brewers, Reds and Marlins. He hit 13 homers and swiped 11 sacks as a rookie in ’23, but did so with poor rate stats. He is a career .205/.279/.359 hitter after 499 trips to the batter’s box in the majors. That said, he showed plenty of pop against southpaws, albeit with still shaky OBP skills; in 173 plate appearances against lefties, right-hander Wiemer is a .255/.298/.484 hitter (106 wRC+).
Beyond his above-average power against lefties, Wiemer is capable of playing all three outfield spots and doing so at a fairly high level. Even the bearish scouting reports about him over the years have pegged him as a potential defender. Defensive measures confirm this. Wiemer has positive grades at all three spots individually and a collective 11 defensive runs saved and 7 putouts above average in 1,249 innings of work in the field at the big league level.
Wiemer is out of minor league options, so he will have to remain on San Francisco’s 40-man roster for the entire offseason and break camp with the team, or he will be designated for assignment again. He cannot be sent to minors without first going through exemptions. For now, he is considering a bench that could form a platoon with a left-wing movement as a possible option. Dr.Gilbert in right field — if the Giants don’t make a larger-scale addition at that position. Former top prospects Luis Matos And Marco Luciano could compete for a similar role, but both have had poor success in 2025 and have seen their once lofty prospects crumble in recent years. Like Wiemer, Matos and Luciano are out of minor league options, so at least two of the three should be casualties by Opening Day.
Knizner, 31 in February, was arbitration eligible and, according to MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, is expected to make $1.3 million next year. The journeyman backstop hit .221/.299/.299 in 88 trips to the plate with the Giants this season. He has improved his once-poor framing grades over the past few seasons, but has struggled blocking throws in the dirt and controlling the running game. Knizner is a career .211/.281/.316 hitter in 975 plate appearances during his big league career.
The Giants can spend the next few hours looking for a trade partner, even though they’ve probably already done so without success. If there is no commercial opportunity, it will not be offered before the deadline of 5 p.m. ET tonight.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle first reported that the Giants were acquiring Wiemer. Jon Heyman of the New York Post was first to report Knizner’s DFA.
