Giants settle with Webb, seven others ahead of arb deadline

The Giants agreed to terms on one-year contracts with right-hander Logan Webb and their seven remaining arbitration-eligible players ahead of Friday’s deadline to exchange salary figures for the 2023 season.

Webb and the Giants avoided arbitration by settling at $4.6 million. The 26-year-old, who was in his first year of arbitration eligibility, secured a significant raise from the $730,000 he earned in 2022, when he went 15-9 with a 2.90 ERA over a career-high 192 1/3 innings.

The agreement wouldn’t preclude the Giants from potentially attempting to lock up Webb to a long-term extension in the near future. Despite falling short in their high-profile pursuits of Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa this offseason, the Giants still have an ideal player to build around in Webb, a Rocklin, Calif., native who has emerged as the club’s homegrown ace over the last two seasons.

The Giants also announced deals with reliever John Brebbia ($2.3 million), right-hander Jakob Junis ($2.8 million), outfielder Austin Slater ($3.2 million), infielder J.D. Davis ($4.21 million), outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. ($1.375 million), reliever Tyler Rogers ($1.675 million) and infielder Thairo Estrada ($2.25 million).

Two other arbitration-eligible players, left-hander Scott Alexander ($1.15 million) and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski ($6.1 million), previously agreed to deals in November.

The Giants haven’t gone to an arbitration hearing with a player since 2021, when they won their case against second baseman Donovan Solano, who received $3.25 million instead of the $3.9 million he requested.

Wynns outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento

The Giants also announced Friday that catcher Austin Wynns cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Sacramento. Wynns was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for outfielder Michael Conforto, but president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said he hoped Wynns would remain in the organization to compete for the backup catcher role this spring.

“He did a nice job for us last year,” Zaidi said Thursday. “We just got stuck in a difficult roster crunch. Hopefully he comes back and joins this mix.”

Joey Bart and Rule 5 Draft pick Blake Sabol are the lone catchers on the 40-man roster, but Zaidi said he didn’t anticipate signing any other backstops to Major League deals this offseason. The Giants could still try to bring in another veteran option on a Minor League contract, but Zaidi said he wanted to create paths for Bart and Sabol to seize regular roles with the club in 2023.

Sabol, 25, was originally drafted by the Pirates as an outfielder in 2019, but he took up catching in the Minors in '21 and has impressed the Giants with his work behind the plate thus far.

“He’s been working really hard,” Zaidi said. “He’s been connecting with a lot of our pitchers. He’s really impressed us with his preparation for the season. … We’re going to have to give some of these guys opportunities. They need to be part of the vehicle for improvement for us.”