The San Francisco Giants are bringing back a familiar face and adding depth to their infield, signing pitcher Caleb Kilian and infielder Buddy Kennedy to minor league deals, according to the team’s transaction log. Both players come with big league experience and could be in the mix for spring training invites as the Giants look to bolster organizational depth ahead of the 2026 season.
Buddy Kennedy: A Versatile Infielder with a Patient Approach
Kennedy’s path through the majors has been anything but conventional. In 2025 alone, the 27-year-old infielder made brief stops with the Phillies, Blue Jays, and Dodgers-three teams with postseason aspirations. While he was part of the Blue Jays organization during the playoffs, he’s expected to receive a World Series ring after the Dodgers emerged victorious in a seven-game showdown against Toronto.
Over parts of four MLB seasons, Kennedy has logged 181 plate appearances, hitting two home runs and driving in 20 runs with a .545 OPS. The raw numbers don’t jump off the page, but his minor league track record tells a more complete story.
Kennedy owns an .816 OPS across eight minor league seasons, and in 2025 at Triple-A, he slashed .280/.378/.412 with eight home runs, 49 RBI, and 50 runs scored over 384 plate appearances. His 116 wRC+ indicates he was comfortably above league average at the plate.
What sets Kennedy apart isn’t power-it’s plate discipline. He’s known for his ability to control the strike zone, rarely chasing pitches out of the zone and consistently working quality at-bats. That kind of approach gives him a shot to contribute as an on-base threat, even if the slugging numbers stay modest.
Defensively, Kennedy has logged most of his innings at third base but has experience at first, second, and even shortstop and left field-though the latter two have been more experimental than regular assignments. His versatility gives the Giants some flexibility as they build out their roster depth heading into camp.
Caleb Kilian: A Reunion with Upside
Kilian’s return to San Francisco is a full-circle moment. Drafted by the Giants in the eighth round out of Texas Tech back in 2019, he quickly climbed the minor league ladder before being traded to the Cubs in 2021 as part of the deal that brought Kris Bryant to the Bay.
Since then, Kilian’s journey has been a bit rocky. He struggled to find consistent command in the upper minors and never quite stuck in Chicago’s rotation. In limited major league action, he’s posted a 9.22 ERA over 27.1 innings across three seasons.
But there’s a reason the Giants are taking another look.
In recent seasons, Kilian has transitioned to a bullpen role, and the stuff has started to tick up. He’s now flashing a mid-90s fastball with life, complemented by a cutter that gives hitters a different look. His four-seamer has shown the ability to miss bats, while his sinker generates a healthy dose of ground balls-an intriguing combo for a team that values ground-ball pitchers in high-leverage spots.
The key for Kilian, as it’s always been, is command. If he can tighten up the control, there’s a legitimate path to a bullpen role in San Francisco. The raw tools are there, and the Giants clearly see enough to bring him back into the fold.
What This Means for the Giants
These are the kinds of moves that don’t make headlines in January but can pay dividends come summer. Kennedy offers a disciplined bat with defensive versatility-an archetype that often finds a place on a 26-man roster over the course of a long season. Kilian, meanwhile, is a low-risk, high-upside arm who already has familiarity with the organization and could emerge as a bullpen option if things click.
For a Giants team that’s looking to stay competitive in a tough NL West, these minor league deals are about building depth, creating competition in camp, and taking calculated chances on talent that still has something to prove.
