Former Texas Rangers righty Tyler Mahle signs with San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants agreed to a one-year deal with former Minnesota Twins right-handed starting pitcher Tyler Mahle, according to the San Francisco Chronicle's Shayna Rubin. It has yet to be reported how much the Giants will pay Mahle, 31.
Mahle spent parts of six seasons (2017-22) with the Reds to begin his MLB career, posting a 4.25 ERA across 593 2/3 innings.
The Twins acquired Mahle from the Cincinnati Reds for Spencer Steer, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Steve Hajjar on August 2, 2022. After making just four starts with Minnesota in 2022, Mahle landed on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation, which kept him out for the remainder of the season. Then, Mahle made just three starts with the Twins in 2023 due to right arm posterior impingement and flexor pronator strain before becoming a free agent.
Mahle signed a two-year, $22 million deal with the Texas Rangers in the 2023-24 offseason. The deal paid him $5.5 million in 2024 and $16.5 million in 2025.
Mahle appeared in just three games with Texas in 2024 due to recovering from right elbow surgery and later suffering right shoulder tightness. He also missed about three months in 2025 due to right shoulder fatigue.
Mahle was dominant when healthy last season. In just 16 outings during the 2025 campaign, Mahle posted 2.2 bWAR and a 2.18 ERA (3.37 FIP) with 66 strikeouts and 29 walks in 86 2/3 innings.
The Giants' addition of Mahle is a low-risk, high-reward move. The Giants won't be happy if he is injured most of the season, but the risk is minimal given it's just a one-year deal. If he is healthy for most of the 2026 campaign and pitches like he did last year, San Francisco will be ecstatic.
Adding a veteran starter like Mahle would improve the Twins' roster. However, given their limited budget this offseason, Mahle's injury history and their abundance of starting pitchers, bringing back Mahle wouldn't have made much sense for the Twins, a team that desperately needs bullpen help and possibly a right-handed-hitting position player.