San Francisco Giants bring back Hunter Pence

Hunter Pence (Arturo Pardavilla III, Wikimedia Commons)

The San Francisco Giants will have a familiar face back in their lineup or 2020. On Friday, outfielder Hunter Pence of Fort Worth, Texas agreed to a one year contract worth $3 million.

Pence previously played for the Giants from 2012 to 2018 and played an integral role in winning World Series with the Giants in 2012 and 2014. He was an all-star with San Francisco in 2014 as he batted .277 with 20 home runs and 74 runs batted in and leading the National League with 650 at bats.

Last season with the Texas Rangers, Pence batted .297 with 18 home runs and 59 runs batted in during 286 at bats. In 83 games and 316 plate appearances, Pence scored 53 runs and had 85 hits, 17 doubles, one triple, six stolen bases, 26 walks, 158 total bases, two sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .358 and a career high .552 slugging percentage.

It appears Pence can still hit at age 36. The fact that he was an all-star in 2019 and batted 71 points better in terms of batting average in 2019 compared to 2018 is impressive. However one must also realize it is a lot easier to hit for power in Arlington than San Francisco.

Pence has also played for the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies. He was an all-star with the Astros in 2009 and 2011.

It will also be interesting how Pence performs in San Francisco with Gabe Kapler as his manager rather than Bruce Bochy. Following the 2019 Major League Baseball regular season, Bochy announced his retirement after being with the Giants since 2007. It appears that Pence should see regular playing time in right field with the Giants in 2020 with Alex Dickerson in left field and Mike Yastrzemski in center field.