Dean, 29, has never played for the Giants. He was just cleared off waivers by the Dodgers in early November, shortly after winning the World Series with Los Angeles. The Dodgers used him mostly as a pinch runner and defensive replacement. He played in 18 games last year, making his Major League debut, but made only two at-bats. He then appeared in 13 postseason games without a plate.
In the minors, Dean had double-digit steals in every season of his career going back to 2018, with the exception of the canceled 2020 season. However, he never reached double figures in home runs. He has made 2,038 minor league appearances between 2021 and 2025, with a solid walk rate of 12.1% but a high strikeout rate of 28.6%.
There was some recent improvement in terms of punchouts, as he struck out just 23.6% of his minor league plate appearances in 2025, a noticeable improvement from previous years. That helped him slash .289/.378/.431 for a 110 wRC+ in Triple-A last year, while stealing 27 bases in just 90 games.
It’s the profile of a decent bench outfielder, as a base. The Giants were intrigued enough to sign him off the wire a few months ago, but he has now been removed from their roster. Maybe they hope he can clear waivers this time, allowing them to keep him as non-roster depth. He doesn’t have three years of big league service, nor a previous career, so he wouldn’t have the right to turn down an outright assignment and opt for free agency.
He has a slew of options, so perhaps he will appeal to other organizations looking for a deep piece of the speed and defense variety. He will be in DFA limbo for up to a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so it could take the Giants five days to field any trade interest.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
#Giants #appoint #Justin #Dean #assignment