One name that’s surfaced in connection with the Giants is Michael Kopech, a former top prospect who could represent a classic buy-low opportunity. According to recent reports, San Francisco has been in touch with Kopech’s camp, and while nothing is imminent, the fit makes sense on multiple levels.
Kopech’s 2025 season was a frustrating one, limited to just 11 regular-season innings with the Dodgers due to a trio of injuries. He landed on the 60-day injured list twice – first for a shoulder impingement, then for meniscus surgery – before finishing the year back on the IL with renewed knee discomfort. It was a stop-and-start campaign that never really got off the ground, and he didn’t appear in the postseason for L.A.
Still, even in that small sample, Kopech flashed the kind of stuff that keeps teams intrigued. He posted a 2.45 ERA and struck out 22.6% of the batters he faced.
The flip side? A walk rate north of 24%, with 13 free passes against just 12 strikeouts.
This isn’t just any reclamation project. Kopech was once one of the most electric arms in the game, a headline piece in the blockbuster deal that sent Chris Sale to Boston back in 2016. He debuted with the White Sox in 2018, but his early career was derailed by Tommy John surgery and a decision to opt out of the 2020 pandemic-shortened season.
By 2021, he was easing back into action as a reliever, and in 2022, he held his own as a starter despite battling through more injuries. But the wheels started to come off in 2023. Control issues and a tendency to give up the long ball made it tough to keep him in the rotation, and in 2024, the White Sox moved him to the bullpen in hopes of stabilizing both his performance and his health.
That shift paid off – eventually. After a deadline trade to the Dodgers, Kopech found something.
He posted a 1.13 ERA over 24 regular-season innings with L.A. and followed that up with a 3.00 ERA in nine postseason frames, helping the Dodgers secure a World Series title. He even notched 15 saves across the year between Chicago and L.A., showing he can handle high-leverage moments when he’s right.
Now 30 years old, Kopech still brings premium velocity – he averaged 97.5 mph on his fastball in 2025 – and the kind of swing-and-miss stuff that teams covet in the late innings. The question, as always with him, is whether he can stay on the mound and keep the walks under control. If he can do that, there’s real upside here.
From the Giants’ perspective, this is the kind of low-risk, high-reward play that makes a lot of sense. A one-year deal is likely the ceiling for Kopech coming off an injury-marred season, and that suits both sides.
For Kopech and his agent, Scott Boras, a bounce-back campaign could set the stage for a more lucrative deal next winter. For San Francisco, it’s a chance to add a potentially dominant arm to a bullpen that’s still taking shape.
There’s also a small connection worth noting: new Giants bullpen coach Jesse Chavez briefly shared a clubhouse with Kopech during Spring Training 2024 in Chicago. That stint was short-lived, but any familiarity might help as the Giants look to add experienced arms with upside.
More importantly, the Giants can offer Kopech something every reliever wants – opportunity. With no clear closer and a bullpen in flux, there’s a real path for Kopech to earn high-leverage innings quickly. If he’s healthy and throwing strikes, he could be a major piece of the puzzle in San Francisco’s late-game plans.
The Giants still have work to do to round out their roster, but if they can land a motivated Kopech on a prove-it deal, it could be one of those under-the-radar moves that pays off in a big way by the time summer rolls around.
