Giants Release Ryan Borucki
TODAY: The Giants have released Borucki, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. Borucki is now a free agent and free to sign with any club.
May 31: The Giants have designated left-hander Ryan Borucki for assignment and selected the contract of outfielder Jonah Cox from Double-A Richmond, according to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser. Outfielder Will Brennan has also been optioned to Triple-A, with righty Tristan Beck recalled in his place.
After being cut by the White Sox near the end of Spring Training, Borucki quickly caught on with the Giants on a big league contract. The results haven’t been there for Borucki in his ninth MLB season, as the southpaw has a 4.94 ERA, 14.4% strikeout rate, and 8.7% walk rate across 23 2/3 relief innings. Just when it seemed like Borucki was getting on track after a shaky start to the season, he gave up five earned runs over his last three outings and 5 1/3 innings of work.
As usual, Borucki has drastic splits, as left-handed batters have only a .550 OPS against him this season (while righty batters have a whopping 1.085 OPS). A team in need of southpaw relief help could be inclined to claim Borucki off San Francisco’s waiver wire, but the likelier scenario is that he’ll clear waivers and then be outrighted to Triple-A. Borucki has been outrighted in the past, so he can elect free agency rather than accept that assignment.
The 24-year-old Cox will be making his Major League debut whenever he appears in a game, and Cox will get his first taste of the Show before even getting a look at the Triple-A level. It seems like Cox’s superb performance in Richmond couldn’t be ignored, as Cox is hitting .400/.453/.644 with six home runs and 27 steals (in 34 attempts) over 183 Double-A plate appearances.
Cox has never posted anything close to these numbers in his previous three minor league seasons, and he is surely getting a lot of help from an eye-opening .464 BABIP. That said, Cox’s elite speed has helped him generate large BABIPs in the past, and he has drastically cut back on his strikeout rate to 16.9% in Double-A ball.
The bat has been the only question mark about Cox’s game, as his defense and speed were already seen as ready for primetime. Those plus skills alone make Cox a viable bench piece for the Giants and perhaps a platoon partner for Drew Gilbert in center field, even if there’s bound to be a learning curve as Cox makes the big jump from facing Double-A pitching to big league arms. The Giants rank last in baseball in stolen bases, so Cox should provide an immediate boost on the basepaths.
Baseball America ranks Cox 21st on their list of Giants prospects. Cox was a sixth-round pick for the Athletics in the 2023 draft, and he was dealt to San Francisco in the February 2024 trade that sent Ross Stripling to the A’s.
Logan Porter Elects Free Agency
1:25pm: Porter has chosen to elect free agency, MLBTR has learned.
11:49am: The Giants announced Friday that catcher Logan Porter cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Sacramento. He’d been designated for assignment earlier in the week. San Francisco also recalled righty Carson Seymour from Triple-A and optioned righty Wilkin Ramos in his place.
Porter appeared in one game with the Giants this season and was hitless in his lone trip to the plate. He tallied nine plate appearances across five games with San Francisco last season and also saw a bit of big league action with the 2024 Royals. Porter has played 17 games in the majors and posted a .184/.326/.289 slash in 47 trips to the batter’s box.
Though he hasn’t provided any offense in his tiny major league sample, the 30-year-old Porter has a decent track record in the minors. He’s a .244/.359/.389 hitter in parts of five Triple-A seasons. He doesn’t hit for much power, but Porter has drawn a walk in a hefty 14.4% of the 1237 plate appearances he’s tallied at the top minor league level.
Defensively, Porter is sound. He’s nabbed a respectable 22% of runners who’ve attempted to steal against him in the minors, including an outstanding 33% (17 of 51) dating back to 2025. Baseball Prospectus credits him with plus framing skills but slightly below average blocking ability. It’s a solid defensive skill set all around, and when coupled with his penchant for drawing free passes, Porter’s defensive acumen makes him a fine option to stick around as a third catcher on the depth chart or a big league backup.
Porter has been outrighted in the past, so he has the option to elect free agency now that he’s been outrighted again. He briefly elected free agency last summer after the Giants outrighted him, though he quickly reupped on a new minor league contract.
Giants’ Grant McCray, Christian Koss Diagnosed With Fractures
The Giants provided updates on a pair of injured minor leaguers on Tuesday (via Evan Webeck of The California Post). Infielder Christian Koss has a broken left wrist and outfielder Grant McCray fractured the hamate bone in his left hand/wrist. McCray is undergoing surgery on Thursday, while Koss will be reevaluated in two weeks.
Koss and McCray both occupy spots on the 40-man roster. They’re two of San Francisco’s four position players on optional assignment. Outfielder Will Brennan and rookie catcher Jesús Rodríguez, both of whom were just sent down, are the only healthy options. The Koss injury explains why the Giants selected Buddy Kennedy yesterday when they wanted an extra infielder off the bench.
McCray was optioned to begin the season and has spent the entire year with Triple-A Sacramento. He’s hitting .237/.360/.370 with four home runs across 211 plate appearances. McCray appeared in 59 big league contests between 2024-25 as a depth outfielder, batting .185 while striking out 67 times in 156 trips.
Koss spent the first six-plus weeks on Tony Vitello’s bench. He only tallied 15 plate appearances over 10 games before being optioned in mid-May. Koss suffered the injury after three Triple-A games. He hit .264/.309/.368 over 76 games as a rookie in 2025. San Francisco could place either player on the 60-day injured list if they need to open a spot on the 40-man roster.
Giants Hire Gary Pettis As Third Base Coach
The Giants announced Tuesday that they’ve hired Gary Pettis as their new third base coach. He’ll replace Hector Borg, who was relieved of third base coaching duties recently and reassigned to a player development role within the organization.
An 11-year major league veteran known for his stellar outfield defense and baserunning prowess, the now 68-year-old Pettis has 27 years of coaching experience, including 22 prior seasons in the majors. The five-time Gold Glove winner served as both a third base coach and first base coach across stints with the White Sox, Angels, Mets, Rangers and Astros. Pettis spent a decade as Houston’s third base coach and was on the staff for both of the Astros’ World Series victories.
Pettis brings a highly experienced dugout veteran to rookie big league manager Tony Vitello’s staff. Notably, he served on the Rangers’ coaching staff under then-manager Ron Washington, who’s now the Giants’ infield coach. In addition to his work as the third base coach, Pettis will have plenty of wisdom to share with the Giants’ lineup about the finer points of baserunning, and he’ll presumably work with the team’s young outfielders as well.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale first reported that the Giants were hiring Pettis as their new third base coach.
2026-27 Club Options: NL West
MLBTR wraps up our division by division look at the upcoming team/mutual option decisions with the NL West.
Previous: AL East, AL Central, AL West, NL East, NL Central
Arizona Diamondbacks
- Lourdes Gurriel Jr., OF: $14MM club option ($5MM buyout)
This is the final guaranteed season of Gurriel’s three-year, $42MM free agent contract. The veteran outfielder bypassed an opt-out last winter, which gave the Diamondbacks a $14MM club option or $5MM buyout for the 2027 season. The latter looks more likely.
Gurriel had a solid 2024 season. His numbers took a slight step back last year before he tore the ACL in his right knee trying to avoid an outfield collision in early September. He underwent surgery and began this season on the injured list. Gurriel made a quicker than expected recovery to return to the roster by mid-April. He hasn’t looked in full form, however. He managed just one home run while hitting .228/.284/.304 in 102 plate appearances.
One could justifiably write this past month off as him shaking off rust. Gurriel didn’t get any game action during Spring Training. His minor league rehab assignment consisted of exactly two games in Double-A. If Arizona’s outfield were in better shape, they’d probably have given him a few weeks on a rehab stint to get more accustomed to game speed.
All that said, Gurriel’s pre-injury performance probably wouldn’t have merited the extra $9MM to exercise the option. He also went back down last week with a left hamstring strain that’ll again interrupt his attempt to get into a rhythm.
- Carlos Santana, 1B: Mutual option
The details on Santana’s mutual option were never publicly reported. It’s probably a moot point, as mutual options are typically included simply to defer a portion of the guarantee to the end of the season via the payment of a buyout. Signed to platoon with Pavin Smith at first base, Santana has been limited to eight games by an adductor strain and was transferred to the 60-day injured list this afternoon.
- Michael Soroka, RHP: $10MM mutual option ($1MM buyout)
Arizona added Soroka on a $7.5MM free agent deal. He’s playing on a $6.5MM salary and will collect a $1MM buyout at season’s end. Soroka has already added another $500K in incentives by making 10+ starts and could get up to $2MM in bonuses if he reaches 25 starts.
Soroka has been a surprisingly key piece of Torey Lovullo’s rotation. He carries a 3.25 ERA with a 23.5% strikeout rate against a tidy 5.5% walk percentage over 61 innings. Durability is an ever present question with the Canadian-born righty, who hasn’t reached 100 frames in a season since 2019. If Soroka can hold anything close to this level over the full schedule, his side will easily pass on the option. He should command at least two years and would have a case for three if he stays healthy, as he’s one of the youngest pitchers (29 in August) in what looks like a bad free agent class.
Colorado Rockies
- Michael Lorenzen, RHP: $9MM club option ($250K buyout)
Lorenzen’s $8MM free agent deal pays him a $7.75MM salary and at least a $250K buyout on next year’s $9MM team option. The Rockies made a few late-offseason rotation pickups, mostly low-ceiling veterans with deeper arsenals whom they hoped would raise the floor. Tomoyuki Sugano has worked out well enough, but Lorenzen and Jose Quintana have not.
The 34-year-old righty has been blitzed for a 7.22 earned run average across 57 1/3 innings. He has gotten destroyed at Coors Field and hasn’t performed especially well on the road either. Lorenzen’s strikeout rate has dropped from nearly league average to a career-worst 15.4% mark, and he’s only completed six innings one time — a seven-inning start at Citi Field on April 24. This will be an easy buyout if Lorenzen sticks on the roster all season.
- Antonio Senzatela, RHP: $14MM club option (no buyout)
Senzatela is in the final guaranteed season of a five-year, $50.5MM extension signed in October 2021. It was one of the first moves under former GM Bill Schmidt, whose front office continued Colorado’s habit of remaining too committed to their internal development successes. It looked like an unforced error at the time and started disastrously, as Senzatela was injured and/or ineffective from 2022-25.
Colorado moved the righty to the bullpen late in the ’25 season. Senzatela has remained in relief and is thriving this year, seemingly opening a second act as a quality bullpen arm. He has fired 33 innings of 1.36 ERA ball while averaging a career-best 97.1 mph on his four-seam fastball. He’s now using a low-90s cutter — which he picked up last August — as his best secondary offering. Opponents are hitting .143 in 43 plate appearances that end with that pitch.
Senztaela’s 21% strikeout rate and 11.1% swinging strike mark are both easily career highs. They’re still middling for a reliever, but Senzatela has better stuff to go with his longstanding plus control. He’s capable of working multiple innings in leverage spots and has picked up his first three saves. He’s unlikely to close games for a contender, but he has certainly pitched well enough to make himself a deadline trade candidate.
The Paul DePodesta-led front office figures to cash Senzatela in for a couple mid-level prospects this summer. The $14MM option price still seems rich for a reliever without huge strikeout stuff, but Senzatela could command two years at a lower annual range in free agency going into his age-32 season.
Los Angeles Dodgers
- None.
San Diego Padres
- Miguel Andujar, DH: Mutual option ($2.5MM buyout)
The Padres make heavy use of the mutual option, as they’re seemingly always walking a tight rope in trying to add around the margins without taking on short-term commitments. Andujar will be paid a $2.5MM buyout after playing this season on a $1.5MM salary. He’s having an alright but hardly exceptional season, batting .259/.292/.441 with five homers as San Diego’s primary designated hitter.
- Griffin Canning, RHP: Mutual option ($1.5MM buyout)
Canning is pitching on a $1MM salary and will collect a $1.5MM buyout at year’s end. He returned from last year’s Achilles rupture at the beginning of May. Opponents have tagged him for a 7.16 ERA in his first six starts, only one of which has lasted six innings. His stuff looks the same as it did a year ago, but he’s struggling to throw strikes and has already given up six home runs across 27 2/3 frames.
- Lucas Giolito, RHP: $8MM mutual option ($1.5MM buyout)
San Diego finally brought an end to Giolito’s lengthy free agent stay with a $3MM contract in mid-April. He’s making a $1.5MM salary and will earn a matching buyout on an $8MM mutual option. Giolito spent a month in the minors building into game shape and hasn’t looked good in his three MLB starts. He has had at least as many walks as strikeouts in each, and a fastball that averaged 93 mph last season in Boston is sitting 90-91 this year. There’s nothing to suggest Giolito isn’t currently healthy, but it’s not encouraging that he’s working with this kind of stuff after finishing last season on the injured list with flexor irritation.
- Kyle Hart, LHP: $2.5MM club option ($200K buyout)
Hart struggled last year in his first season back in MLB after a strong ’24 campaign in Korea. The Padres nevertheless brought him back for a $1MM salary and at least a $200K buyout on a $2.5MM club option for 2027. Although the 6’5″ lefty didn’t need to show a whole lot to make that a real consideration, this year hasn’t gone smoothly.
San Diego moved Hart to relief. He has worked 16 2/3 innings over 12 big league appearances, allowing 10 runs on 12 hits. Hart has walked six, hit two batters, and recorded 10 strikeouts. The Padres optioned him to Triple-A a month ago, and the minor league results have been even worse. Even with the Pacific Coast League caveats, there’s not much reason for optimism about Hart meriting an offseason 40-man roster spot barring a second half turnaround.
- Germán Márquez, RHP: Mutual option ($750K buyout)
Márquez will take home a $750K buyout after this year’s $1MM salary. This will be another easy one for the team to decline, as the former Colorado righty has given up a 5.76 ERA through 29 2/3 innings. He has missed the past month with nerve irritation in his forearm.
San Francisco Giants
- Rowan Wick, RHP: $800K club option ($100K buyout)
San Francisco signed Wick to a big league deal during Spring Training. The move was always geared toward 2027, as the 33-year-old reliever underwent Tommy John surgery last year and will spend all of this season on the injured list. They’ll evaluate his rehab progress before making the decision on the option.
Wick hasn’t pitched in MLB since 2022 but is coming off a fantastic season in Japan (0.84 ERA across 42 2/3 innings). That the Giants were willing to pay him the MLB minimum salary this year to get him on the roster suggests they’re leaning toward exercising the option as long as his early recovery is smooth.
Giants Select Buddy Kennedy
The Giants announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Buddy Kennedy. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle noted that Kennedy was in the clubhouse prior to the announcement. They also announced their selection of right-hander Wilkin Ramos, a move that was previously reported. In corresponding active roster moves, catcher Jesús Rodríguez has been optioned to Triple-A Sacramento and right-hander Joel Peguero has been placed on the 60-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. The Peguero move also opened one 40-man spot. The other was opened by catcher Logan Porter being designated for assignment.
Kennedy, 27, signed a minor league deal with the Giants in the offseason. Since then, he has been putting up huge numbers for Triple-A Sacramento. He has matching walk and strikeout rates of 12.4%, which are both great numbers. He also has eight home runs. Even in the hitter-friendly context of the Pacific Coast League, his .321/.424/.543 line translates to a 153 wRC+, indicating he has been 53% better than the league average hitter. He has gotten some help from a .342 batting average on balls in play but would be having a good season even with some more neutral luck.
The Giants will be the latest team to try to benefit from a big league breakout from Kennedy. He has often put up good numbers on the farm, which has led to many major league chances he hasn’t been able to take advantage of. He received 181 plate appearances over the previous four campaigns, spending time with the Diamondbacks, Tigers, Phillies, Blue Jays and Dodgers. He put up a dismal .178/.271/.274 line with those clubs.
Despite that rough performance, it’s understandable why he keeps getting chances. For one thing, his MLB track record thus far consists of a very small sample size. In the minors, dating back to the start of 2024, he has a .285/.386/.458 line and 126 wRC+. He also provides defensive versatility, with professional experience at all four infield spots and left field. He shouldn’t be considered a real shortstop option since he has just ten minor league innings there and none since 2024, but the ability to bounce around to the other spots is valuable.
If he could combine that defensive versatility with some capable big league offense, he would be an attractive piece, but he hasn’t yet been able to cement himself as such. He has exhausted his options, pushing him to fringe roster territory. He had to settle for a minor league deal but has earned another big league shot with the Giants.
The Giants have been using a three-catcher system for a while now, with Rodríguez promoted in early May. At that time, he was sharing the roster with Patrick Bailey and Eric Haase. The Giants then traded Bailey to the Guardians and selected Porter to the roster. Porter was optioned not long after, just before the Giants reinstated Daniel Susac from the injured list. Rodríguez hasn’t been playing much in that setup lately, with just one plate appearance since May 26th. Instead of riding the pine in the big leagues, he’ll get regular reps in the minors while Kennedy gives the major league club a bit more infield depth.
Porter, 30, now heads into DFA limbo. That can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Giants could take as long as five days to explore trade interest, but they could also put him on waivers sooner than that.
He has generally been considered a good defender in the minors. His offense has shown flashes but has been inconsistent. From 2022 to 2024, he had a .267/.387/.433 line and 113 wRC+ on the farm, but he has a .218/.336/.325 line and 81 wRC+ since then. He has received some very brief looks in the majors and produced a .184/.326/.289 line 47 plate appearances.
He is still optionable and could perhaps appeal to a club in need of extra catching depth but he has cleared outright waivers twice before. Since he has been outrighted previously, he has the right to reject further outright assignments in favor of free agency.
As for Peguero, it’s a rough blow. He began the season on the IL due to that left hamstring and missed over a month, getting reinstated in early May. He made 11 appearances since then but is now right back on the IL. His exact timeline isn’t clear but the injury is apparently severe enough that the Giants have placed him directly onto the 60-day IL. He won’t be eligible for reinstatement until the end of July.
He has a 2.41 earned run average in the first 33 2/3 innings of his career, though that number is surely somewhat misleading. His 9% walk rate is around average and his 53.6% ground ball rate is quite good but his 16.4% strikeout rate is subpar. His .240 batting average on balls in play and 74.6% strand rate are both to the fortunate side, which has helped keep some runs off the board. His 3.83 FIP and 4.38 SIERA are perhaps better indicators of his true performance to date.
Those numbers will be locked in for at least another couple of months. In the meantime, Ramos will make his major league debut. If he can succeed, it will soften the blow of Peguero’s departure, at least to some degree.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
Giants To Select Wilkin Ramos
The Giants are calling up right-hander Wilkin Ramos, reports Ari Alexander of 7News Boston. San Francisco will need to open space on both the active and 40-man rosters for Ramos, who will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.
Ramos, 25, was an international signing of the Athletics back in 2017. The following year, he was the player to be named later in the deal which sent righty Tanner Anderson to the A’s. By the end of 2022, Ramos was just about to turn 22 and hadn’t yet climbed higher than Single-A. The Mets then grabbed him in the minor league phase of the 2022 Rule 5 draft. He climbed to Triple-A in 2024 but posted a 5.40 earned run average at that level. He didn’t have a roster spot at the end of that season and became a minor league free agent. The Bucs brought him back by signing him to a minor league deal for 2025 but he had a 6.60 ERA in his Triple-A appearances last year.
He became a minor league free agent yet again and signed a minor league deal with the Giants for the 2026 season. He has been with Triple-A Sacramento and putting up good numbers in a multi-inning role. He has logged 27 frames over 17 appearances with a flat ERA of 2.00. His 23.5% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate are both a bit better than average while his 61.4% ground ball rate is massive. He is averaging over 94 miles per hour with both his four-seamer and sinker while also throwing a high-70s curveball.
The Giants have been impressed by that performance and will give him a shot to face major league hitters. The San Francisco bullpen has been decent this year, despite a curious offseason. The club traded away Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers at last year’s deadline, then lost Randy Rodríguez to Tommy John surgery. To address those notable subtractions, their offseason additions were mostly injury reclamation types. Despite the strange tactic, the relief corps has a collective 3.69 ERA on the year, putting them 12th out of the 30 big league clubs.
They will inset Ramos into the mix to see if he can strengthen the group. Since this is his first MLB call, he has a full slate of options and can be easily sent back to Sacramento in the future if he struggles or if they simply need fresh arms at some point.
Photo courtesy of Matt Kartozian, Imagn Images
Which Impending Free Agent Bats Are Actually Improving Their Stock?
In case you weren't aware, the upcoming offseason's free agent class is ... well, it's... not exactly the stronge-- ok, it's not good. It's a weak class. Despite being headlined by a two-time Cy Young winner, that was always expected to be the case. The fact that said Cy Young winner, Tarik Skubal, is currently out following surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow only further dampens the group's overall earning power.
We're due for an update on our Free Agent Power Rankings. That'll likely be published at some point next week. Our power rankings are always based on total earning power rather than individual impact. If you're a 38-year-old ace, you probably won't rank as highly as a 28-year-old regular at third base, because that 28-year-old is going to have access to a much longer (and thus more lucrative overall) contract than said 38-year-old. Sorry Chris Sale, them's the breaks.
That said, it's been a brutal year for most of the names at the top of an already underwhelming free agent class -- pitchers and hitters alike. Skubal, as mentioned, had elbow surgery. He'll be back -- sooner than originally anticipated, by all accounts -- but he's not going to take home a third straight Cy Young Award. Bo Bichette can opt out of his Mets contract ... but he's hitting .225/.273/.317. Trevor Rogers missed time on the injured list and has a nearly 7.00 ERA through nine starts. Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been terrific in May, but that only offsets an awful April. Tatsuya Imai came to MLB with plenty of hype and an opt-out-laden contract that potentially set him up to reenter free agency and cash in on a mega-deal next winter -- at least until he posted a 6.17 ERA through his first six MLB starts.
Any and all of these players have time to turn things around, and while the headline of this particular post is admittedly a bit hyperbolic, it's also true that most of the market's top bats aren't doing much to elevate their case. A big four months would make Chisholm's April a distant memory, but we're not there yet. Daulton Varsho has been better than average at the plate but hasn't shown the same power he did last year. Bichette's start has been dismal. Taylor Ward has followed up his 36-homer 2025 season by hitting two round-trippers through the first third of the 2026 season.
We'll cover a lot of the bigger names on the forthcoming update to our Power Rankings, but here's a look at some bats who probably won't make the list but are nonetheless trending in a positive direction. (Note that I'll be excluding some smaller-sample breakouts/resurgences for this list; Jorge Mateo's .324/.370/.471 slash looks great, but it's 73 plate appearances being propped up by a silly .455 BABIP and combined with a 30% strikeout rate. Let's not get too carried away.)
Brandon Lowe, 2B, Pirates
Pittsburgh's acquisition of Lowe in the three-team trade that sent Mike Burrows to Houston and Jacob Melton to Tampa Bay looks like one of the best moves of the offseason. The 31-year-old (32 in July) is in the midst of arguably the best season of his career. Lowe has belted 14 home runs in only 51 games. His 11.2% walk rate is the second-highest of his career, while his 23.7% strikeout rate is the second-lowest.
Not only are those excellent marks both relative to his career levels and the rest of the league, they both put a halt to some worrying trends. Lowe has always struck out a fair bit, but his 2022 mark of 22.9% looked like it might be a step in the right direction. Instead, it climbed to 27% from 2023-25 and did so while his walk rate plummeted to a career-worst 6.9% last year. Lowe still chases a bit too much, but he's made big gains on his in-zone contact rate and done so without sacrificing much in the way of hard-hit balls.
Durability will be key for Lowe, who played in only 415 of 648 possible games from 2022-25 (64%). However, he's currently on pace to match his career-high 39 home runs, set back in 2021, and he's doing so with the best strikeout-to-walk profile of his career.
If Lowe actually stays healthy and flirts with 40 homers, it's hard to imagine a scenario where he's not in the top 10 on our list. But even if his power output cools down, he's done a nice job improving his stock thus far.
The open market in modern baseball rarely rewards pure second basemen, which is what Lowe is at this point. He's played exactly three innings of outfield since the 2021 season wrapped, and he has all of 155 career innings at first base. It also rarely compensates 32-year-olds on long-term deals. Lowe has an uphill battle based on position and age, but he's still angling for a nice multi-year deal.
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Giants Reassign Third Base Coach Hector Borg
The Giants announced they’ve reassigned third base coach Hector Borg to a different role in player development. Ron Wotus will handle the role on an interim basis while the team searches for a full-time replacement.
Borg, 40, is an organizational lifer who has been employed by the Giants since 2008. He also managed his native Dominican Republic for the 2023 World Baseball Classic. After nearly two decades working with minor leaguers, Borg was promoted to the MLB staff for the first time last offseason. He had no previous ties to first-year skipper Tony Vitello but is clearly highly regarded in the organization.
Unfortunately, Borg’s time as a third base coach was largely unsuccessful. The Giants have had a handful of runners cut down at home or between second and third base this season. Arguably the worst came on Wednesday, when the Diamondbacks easily nabbed Willy Adames at the plate with one out in the bottom of the eighth. Adames represented the tying run in what would turn out to be a 3-2 loss.
The running game as a whole has been a major issue for the Giants. Statcast grades them alongside the Angels as the worst overall baserunning teams in MLB. Their 14 stolen bases are easily the lowest in the league. That certainly doesn’t all fall on one coach, but it’s clear the Giants felt some kind of change was necessary. A third base coach’s responsibilities go far beyond making the send/hold decision during games, so the Giants will keep Borg around in a player development capacity with which he’s previously had success.
Wotus has ample coaching experience under various Giants managers going back to the 1990s. He retired from full-time coaching after the 2021 season and has spent the past four-plus years in a special assistant role. The 65-year-old seemingly doesn’t want to commit to the daily responsibilities of being a permanent coach but will get back in the dugout as a stopgap. Wotus handled third base coaching for a few days last week while Borg was away from the team to attend a family funeral.
Giants Place Tyler Mahle On Injured List
The Giants announced they’ve placed starter Tyler Mahle on the 15-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. The placement, which is retroactive to May 27, opens a spot on the pitching staff for Logan Webb. He returns from the IL to start tonight’s game at Coors Field. San Francisco also activated Jung Hoo Lee from the 10-day IL after optioning fellow outfielder Will Brennan to Triple-A Sacramento last night.
Mahle has had a frustrating year as a $10MM free agent signee. He only has one quality start in his first 11 outings. Mahle has allowed more than six earned runs per nine and has been hit hard in each of his last four times out. He’s striking hitters out at a decent 23% clip, but that belies a modest 8% swinging strike rate. The righty has also given up 11 home runs, a top 10 mark in the National League.
It’s unclear how long Mahle will be sidelined. The injury defers what might’ve been a decision for skipper Tony Vitello on how to handle the starting five. Trevor McDonald has pitched well at the back of the rotation, meaning Mahle and fellow offseason pickup Adrian Houser seemed the better candidates to drop their rotation spot once Webb made it back to the mound.
Webb missed just under three weeks with bursitis in his right knee. Lee, meanwhile, had a minimal stay due to a back strain. He’s in right field tonight against Colorado righty Michael Lorenzen. Rookie outfielder Victor Bericoto was called up when Lee went on the shelf. He’ll stick on the big league roster as a righty-hitting bench bat while the left-handed Brennan goes back to the minors.