The San Francisco Giants appear content to start the 2024 season with a semi-stable outfield of Luis Matos in left field, Jung-Hoo Lee in center field and a Mike Yastrzemski/Austin Slater combination in right field. If Blake Sabol makes the Opening Day roster, he could serve as a left-handed complement to Matos against certain right-handed starters. That alignment would leave Michael Conforto as the primary designated hitter against righties, with Wilmer Flores seeing most of his playing time against lefties. The 22-year-old Matos hit .250/.319/.342 with two homers and 14 RBI in his first 76 big-league games in 2023 after tearing up the upper level of the minors. The Giants will be hoping Matos can grow into some more power as he matures, but his elite contact rates in the minors carried over to his small sample size for San Fran last year, and it looks like he'll see plenty of playing time to start the 2024 campaign.

The San Francisco Giants officials tossed the idea around of re-signing first baseman/designated hitter Brandon Belt, but signing the lefty-hitting DH would mean shifting lefty hitting Michael Conforto to the outfield and potentially sending Luis Matos back to Triple-A, reducing the team's overall range and athleticism. Belt hit 19 home runs in 339 at-bats in 2023 with the Toronto Blue Jays, and his 136 OPS+ would have matched Wilmer Flores for the highest on the Giants last season. The 35-year-old plans to continue playing in 2024 and is believed to be close to signing with a new team, but it won't be the Giants, and he's also unlikely to return to Toronto after they recently signed veteran Justin Turner, who at this point in his career will most likely be a full-time DH. The best-case landing spot for Belt is probably the World Series-champion Texas Rangers.

The Washington Nationals signed free-agent left-hander Richard Bleier to a minor-league deal on Thursday, according to a source. The 36-year-old southpaw spent last year with the Boston Red Sox before being designated for assignment in August. In 27 appearances out of the bullpen for the BoSox in 2023, Bleier had a 5.28 ERA (5.11 FIP), 1.37 WHIP, five walks and 16 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings pitched. In parts of eight major-league seasons with the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Miami Marlins and Red Sox, Bleier holds a career 3.27 ERA (3.64 FIP) and 1.22 WHIP with five saves and 187 strikeouts in 330 1/3 innings over 335 appearances (two starts). He'll most likely end up starting the year at Triple-A Rochester while providing the Nationals with left-handed relief depth in the minors.

Free-agent right-handed reliever Ken Giles signed a minor-league deal with the Atlanta Braves on Friday, according to the team. The deal includes an invite to major-league spring training, and he'll receive $1.75 million if he's in the majors in 2024. Giles impressed some teams during his showcase a month ago and will now join the Braves for spring training as he looks to get back to the big leagues. The 33-year-old veteran struggled at Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2023, allowing 19 earned runs in 18 innings. Injuries have derailed his career, as he has thrown only eight innings in the majors since 2020 with the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners. Giles was among the top closers in baseball in his prime and has 115 career saves in eight big-league seasons, but he'll just be hoping to stay healthy and give Atlanta some bullpen depth in 2024.

The Milwaukee Brewers "have entertained the possibility" of trading star closer Devin Williams, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. This news comes on the heels of a big night for the Brewers as they traded starter Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles. Milwaukee has already parted with Burnes and Brandon Woodruff this offseason, so moving on from Williams would be quite significant. A Williams trade would presumably signal a rebuild of sorts for the Brewers, though such a path would counter some of the moves they've made this offseason, like signing Rhys Hoskins. Nevertheless, it's no secret that the Brewers could fetch quite the haul for Williams, who accrued a phenomenal 1.53 ERA and 13.35 K/9 while locking down 38 saves in 2023. He figures to be an All-Star-caliber closer for several years to come.