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Giants Sign Jorge Guzman To Minor League Deal

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The Giants have agreed to a two-year minor league contract with free-agent righty Jorge Guzman, his agents at PNY Sports announced earlier this month on Instagram.

It’s rare to see two-year minor league pacts, which are typically agreed upon when it’s known that a player will miss a portion of the upcoming season. Guzman missed nearly all of the 2021 campaign with the Marlins due to elbow issues, which landed him on the 60-day IL in August. I’m told he ultimately required elbow surgery in September, from which he’s still rehabbing. An exact timetable for his return to the mound hasn’t been established, but because Guzman isn’t on the 40-man roster, he’s able to head to the team’s spring complex and work out with the training and medical staff even during the lockout.

Once viewed among the game’s Top 100 prospects over at Baseball America, Guzman was the headline prospect in the trade that sent Giancarlo Stanton from Miami to the Bronx. Prior to that deal, he was involved in another swap of note, going from Houston to New York in exchange for Brian McCann. At the time of the Stanton deal, Guzman was coming off a 2.30 ERA and an 88-to-18 K/BB ratio through 66 innings with the Yankees’ short-season Class-A affiliate. He went on to have a pair of solid seasons in the middle levels of the Miami system, including a career-high 138 2/3 innings of 3.50 ERA ball in 2019.

Unfortunately, owing to elbow troubles and the canceled 2020 minor league season, Guzman has pitched just 18 total innings since that time. Those injuries eventually led to Guzman being jettisoned from the Marlins’ 40-man roster, and he elected minor league free agency after clearing outright waivers.

Health issues notwithstanding, it’s easy to see why any club would want to take what’s more or less a zero-risk flier on this type of arm. Guzman has averaged better than 96 mph in his limited big league action and can reach 101-102 mph with his heater. His slider has received above-average or better grades on scouting reports, and he only just turned 26 over the weekend. He still has just 18 total innings above the Double-A level, so beyond any necessary rehab work, the Giants may prefer to get him a look at the Triple-A level once healthy.

This Date In Transactions History: January 30

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Let’s take a look back at some notable moves taking place on this day in years past…

  • 2021: The Blue Jays officially announced their one-year, $18MM deal with Marcus Semien, as the two sides agreed to the contract a few days prior.  In the aftermath of a disappointing 2020 season with the A’s, Semien opted for the one-year pact with Toronto in order to rebuild his free agent value with a better performance in 2021.  This plan worked to perfection, as Semien finished third in AL MVP voting after hitting .265/.334/.538 with 45 home runs (a new single-season record for a second baseman).  Semien then cashed in during his most recent trip to the open market, signing a seven-year, $175MM contract with the Rangers signed prior to the lockout.
  • 2021: In another notable move completed one year ago, the Athletics acquired Cole Irvin from the Phillies in exchange for cash considerations.  Irvin hadn’t done much over 45 1/3 career innings with Philadelphia, but the southpaw emerged as a valuable member of Oakland’s rotation last year, posting a 4.24 ERA over 178 1/3 innings.  While the Statcast metrics weren’t kind to Irvin and questions remain as to whether or not he can stick as a reliable starting pitcher, and yet for the cost of just a minor cash outlay, the trade was already a win for the A’s.  It is possible Irvin wouldn’t have broken out without a change of scenery, and yet the deal doesn’t look great in hindsight for the Phillies, especially considering the Phils spent much of the season looking for consistency at the back of their rotation.
  • 2016: Jean Segura was traded for the second of four times in his career, as the Diamondbacks acquired Segura and right-hander Tyler Wagner from the Brewers for a package of Chase Anderson, Isan Diaz, Aaron Hill, and $5.5MM to cover part of Hill’s remaining salary.  Segura’s lone season in Arizona was the best of his career (.319/.368/.499 with 20 homers as part of a 5.0 fWAR campaign), but it wasn’t enough to keep the D’Backs from a 93-loss season.  With Mike Hazen taking over as Arizona’s GM in the aftermath of that rough season, Segura found himself on the move again in November 2016, traded to the Mariners in another notable swap that brought Ketel Marte to the desert.  From Milwaukee’s perspective, their Segura trade ended up being a nice win.  Anderson became a solid member of the rotation for four seasons, while Diaz was part of the prospect package the Brewers sent to the Marlins to land Christian Yelich.
  • 2006: Hey, remember when Mike Piazza played for the Padres?  The Hall-of-Famer spent only one season in a Friars uniform, but it was a memorable one, sparked when Piazza signed a one-year, $2MM deal (with an $8MM mutual option for 2007).  Getting the bulk of playing time as San Diego’s starting catcher, Piazza still plenty left in the tank at age 37, hitting .283/.342/.501 with 22 home runs over 439 PA.  Piazza’s big year helped the Padres win the NL West, but the team declined their end of the mutual option after the season.
  • 1954: Bobby Thomson’s legendary home run helped THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT in 1951, but it can be argued that trading Thomson helped the Giants win the World Series in 1954.  On this day 68 years ago, the then-New York Giants picked up left-handers Johnny Antonelli and Don Liddle, backup catcher Ebba St. Claire, infielder Billy Klaus and $50K in cash from the then-Milwaukee Braves in exchange for Thomson and catcher Sam Calderone.  Antonelli became a fixture of the Giants rotation for the next seven seasons, reaching six All-Star games and posting a league-best 2.30 ERA in 1954.  Liddle was also a solid arm for New York in 1954, and might be best remembered for allowing the long Vic Wertz fly ball that required Willie Mays to make “The Catch” in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series.  Brought into the game specifically to face Wertz, Liddle was removed after facing his one batter — according to legend, Liddle then wisecracked “well, I got my man” in mock-bragging fashion after leaving the game.
  • 1923: It’s not quite the most famous example of the Red Sox trading a future Hall-of-Famer to the Yankees, since it’s not like Boston fans bemoaned “The Curse Of Herb Pennock.”  Still, the Yankees never won a World Series before Pennock came to the Bronx, dealt from Boston for $50K and three players who were all gone from the Sox roster by 1925.  Pennock was already a 10-year veteran with a solid career behind him at the time of the trade, but after a couple of relative down years in 1921 and 1922, the Sox were ready to move on.  Pennock went on to pitch 11 seasons with the Yankees, posting a 3.54 ERA over 2203 1/3 innings and helping New York win four Series championships.  The southpaw was at his best in October, with a 1.95 ERA over 55 1/3 career innings in World Series play.

Latest On Seiya Suzuki’s Market

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TODAY: In another view of Suzuki’s market, Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe writes that “within the industry the Giants and Mariners are seen as the leading contenders” to land the outfielder.

Jan. 27: The consensus among general managers to whom Peter Gammons of The Athletic has spoken is that the Giants are perhaps the favorites to sign Suzuki (Twitter link). Again, it seems difficult to proclaim any concrete favorite when Suzuki has not yet traveled to the U.S. and is still planning multiple in-person meetings, but that bit of informed speculation is nevertheless of some note.

Elsewhere, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes that the Marlins, known to be in the market for another power bat in the outfield, “appreciate” Suzuki’s skill set and have some level of interest, though he characterizes the Fish as something of a long shot to actually push a deal across the finish line.

Jan. 26: Star Nippon Professional Baseball outfielder Seiya Suzuki is set to travel to the United States in preparation for face-to-face negotiations with Major League teams once the lockout is lifted, per a report from Japan’s Nikkan Sports. Suzuki and agent Joel Wolfe of Wasserman have already conducted virtual meetings with at least eight clubs, and they’ll continue prepping for advanced negotiations once the transaction freeze has thawed.

Nikkan’s report suggests that the Padres, Cubs, Mariners and Giants are “expected” to be among the finalists for Suzuki once negotiations resume. That’s not an exhaustive list, but it’s worth noting that all four host their Spring Training in Arizona, particularly given this report’s implication that teams with Spring Training camps in Florida may be at a disadvantage when it comes to negotiating with Suzuki. If that’s indeed the case, it’d be a welcome preference for the four “expected” finalists and the Rangers — who’ve also been tied to Suzuki thus far. The Red Sox, Yankees and Blue Jays — each of whom hosts Spring Training in Florida — have all been linked to Suzuki as well, however, and Yahoo Japan suggests the Red Sox could be an early favorite (although it seems dubious to crown any kind of front-runner after just nine days of talks and before Suzuki has had a single in-person meeting).

A 27-year-old right fielder who won his fifth NPB Gold Glove in 2021, Suzuki is regarded as the best player to jump from NPB to Major League Baseball since Shohei Ohtani. That’s not a comparison between the two, of course — far from it. Scouting reports on Suzuki peg him as a potential everyday right fielder who can hit for power and play average or better defense, however, which should generate plenty of interest around the league.

MLBTR spoke to multiple Major League evaluators prior to the point at which Suzuki was formally posted by the Hiroshima Carp, receiving generally favorable reviews and hearing at least once that Suzuki is currently the best player in Japan. Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times received a similar opinion back in August, and Sports Info Solution’s Ted Baarda took a lengthier look at Suzuki in early November.

Statistically, Suzuki checks every box. He posted a mammoth .317/.433/.636 batting line with 38 home runs, 26 doubles and nine steals in 533 plate appearances this past season in Japan, and that’s roughly in line with the type of production he’s delivered dating back to 2018. Over the past four seasons, Suzuki owns a .319/.435/.592 slash line with 121 home runs, 115 doubles and four triples in 2179 plate appearances. He’s also walked nearly as often as he’s punched out, drawing a free pass in 16.1% of his plate appearances against just a 16.4% strikeout rate since 2018.

Of course, it remains to be seen just how Suzuki will fare against more advanced pitching. Major League Baseball features, in particular, considerably higher velocity than NPB hitters face on the regular. That’s often led to some struggles from NPB hitters making the jump to North American ball — including recent examples like Yoshi Tsutsugo and Shogo Akiyama — but it should be stressed that Suzuki is younger than either was upon coming to MLB and has a much better offensive skill set.

Whenever the transaction freeze lifts, Suzuki will have 21 days remaining in his 30-day posting window. He and Wolfe are free to use the entirety of that three-week window to find a new club, although given the possibility (if not the likelihood) that the start of Spring Training will be delayed, it could behoove them to act sooner than later in order to begin the process of making the already difficult transition to Major League Baseball.

As a reminder, any team that signs Suzuki will also owe a release fee to the Carp. The current iteration of the NPB/MLB posting system stipulates that an MLB team must pay a fee equal to 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, plus 17.5% of the next $25MM, and 15% of any money spent thereafter. That’s on top of the actual value of the contract. So, for instance, a $55MM contract for Suzuki would come with a $10.125MM release fee — a total investment of $65.125MM.

Salary that can be unlocked via club/player options, performance incentives, etc. is not immediately factored in but does fall under the purview of the release fee once Suzuki reaches those thresholds. For example, in that same $55MM hypothetical, if Suzuki’s new team were to exercise a $10MM club option for an additional season, they’d owe the Carp an additional $1.5MM in release fees. Were Suzuki to unlock a $1MM bonus based on total plate appearances, another $150K of release fees would go to the Carp.

Transcript Of Our Chat With Former Two-Time MLB All-Star Shea Hillenbrand

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Drafted in the tenth round in 1996 by the Red Sox out of Mesa Community College, Shea Hillenbrand made his MLB debut for Boston in 2001 at the age of 25.  In his sophomore season with the Red Sox, Hillenbrand hit .293/.330/.459 with 18 home runs and 83 RBI, starting for the AL All-Star team at third base.  He finished 10th in the AL in hits in ’02 and sixth in doubles.

In May of ’03, Hillenbrand was traded to the Diamondbacks for reliever Byung-Hyun Kim.  Not long after that, he hit three home runs in a game against the Rockies.  Hillenbrand hit .310/.348/.464 with 15 home runs and 80 RBI the following year for the D’Backs, with his batting average ranking 13th in the NL.

Dealt to Toronto after the ’04 season, Hillenbrand hit .291/.343/.449 with 18 home runs and 82 RBI en route to his second All-Star nod.  Hillenbrand managed to lead the AL by being hit by a pitch 22 times in ’05 as well.  He’d go on to play with the Giants, Angels, and Dodgers.

Hillenbrand wound up with a fine .284 batting average over the course of his career.  His 108 home runs included shots off Mike Mussina, Mariano Rivera, Zack Greinke, and Jake Peavy.

Today, we were proud to host a live chat with Shea.  Click here to read the transcript!  Shea was honest and forthcoming and the chat is well worth reading.  And be sure to check out his website, Your All-Star Life, here.  Shea is also on Instagram @shea_hillenbrand.

If you’re a former or current MLB player and you’d like to do a one-hour chat on MLBTR, reach out to us through our contact form!  It’s a fun and easy hour where you choose which questions to answer, and we’ve had great success with Chipper Jones, Paul Sewald, Chad Cordero, and many others.

Giants, Matt Carasiti Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Giants have agreed to a minor league deal with right-hander Matt Carasiti, per their official transactions log. He’ll give them some bullpen depth in the upper levels of their system heading into the 2022 season.

Carasiti, 30, has appeared in parts of two Major League seasons: the 2016 campaign with the Rockies and the 2019 season with the Mariners. This will be Carasiti’s second stint with the Giants organization, as he’d signed on for the 2020 season on this same type of minor league arrangement. However, the right-hander’s elbow gave out in an early-March appearance during Spring Training (just a week or so prior to the Covid-19 shutdown), and he wound up requiring Tommy John surgery.

Last offseason, Carasiti joined the Red Sox on a minor league pact, but he was still on the mend from that Tommy John procedure when camp opened. He was quickly reassigned to minor league camp and placed on the injured list in Triple-A when the season began. However, he never made it back to the mound to pitch for one of Boston’s minor league affiliates.

Carasiti and the Giants will hope for better health this time around, and if he’s able to match his career output at the Triple-A level, he could well earn a ticket back to the big leagues. A sixth-round pick by the Rockies back in 2012, Carasiti carries a lifetime 3.15 ERA, 26.2% strikeout rate, 9.9% walk rate and 49.4% grounder rate in 100 Triple-A frames. He’s averaged 95.4 mph on his sinker in both of his relatively brief MLB stints, though it remains to be seen if he can recapture that velocity post-Tommy John.

In 25 1/3 Major League innings between Colorado and Seattle, Carasiti has a 7.46 ERA — albeit with a sky-high .429 opponents’ batting average on balls in play. He’ll need to sharpen the shaky command he’s shown in the big leagues (16 walks, three hit batters) if he’s to replicate his minor league success, but given his strong results between Triple-A and Double-A, it’s not hard to see why multiple clubs have been intrigued by bringing him to Spring Training in recent years.

Gene Clines Passes Away

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The Pirates announced this morning that former Major League outfielder and veteran big league coach Gene Clines has passed away at the age of 75.

“Gene was a speedy outfielder who was a key member of our 1971 World Series team,” Pirates president Travis Williams said in a press release. “He made a tremendous impact on the game, not only as a player after his career with the Pirates, but also as a long-time coach in the big leagues.

“It was an honor to have Gene back in Pittsburgh this past September to recognize him and his teammates from our 1971 World Series Championship team who took the field as part of Major League Baseball’s first all-minority lineup. It was a joy to talk to him about his deep passion for baseball, his love for his teammates and his appreciation for the city of Pittsburgh. Our hearts go out to his wife Joanne, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”

Clines spent parts of 10 seasons in the Majors, debuting as a rookie with the 1970 Pirates and indeed playing a key role on that ’71 championship team, when he batted .308/.366/.392 through 300 plate appearances with the World Series-champion Bucs. He’d remain in Pittsburgh through 1974 before being traded to the Mets in advance of the ’75 season. New York flipped him to the Rangers a year later, and Clines eventually landed with the Cubs following a third trade.

All told, Clines played 870 big league games, batting a combined .277/.329/.341 through 2556 plate appearances. He hit just five homers at the MLB level but also notched 85 doubles, 24 triples and 71 stolen bases while logging considerable time at all three outfield positions. Clines may not have been known for his power, but the first postseason hit of his career was a solo homer in Game 2 of the ’71 NLCS that gave the Bucs some breathing room, pushing their lead over the Giants to 4-2. (Bob Robertson eventually tacked on his second and third homers of the day in what proved a 9-4 Pirates victory.)

Following his playing career, Clines remained deeply involved in the game. He spent several years as the Cubs’ first base coach before settling in as a highly respected hitting coach, working with the Astros, Mariners, Brewers and Giants in that capacity before finally returning to the Cubs for the 2003-06 seasons. Along the way, Clines coached some of the greatest hitters of the generation, working with a young Craig Biggio in Houston, a young Ken Griffey Jr. in Seattle and, eventually, Barry Bonds in San Francisco. In addition to that impressive collection of pupils, Clines also teamed (and at times shared an outfield) with all-time greats such as Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell while playing with the Pirates.

Between his 10 years as a player and 20 years as a coach, Clines amassed three decades in a Major League dugout, leaving his mark on multiple generations of the nation’s pastime. We at MLBTR extend our condolences to the friends, family, loved ones and former teammates of Clines, as well as the innumerable fans who are surely mourning his passing as well.

Giants Hire Ron Wotus As Special Assistant

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The Giants announced this evening they’ve hired Ron Wotus as a special assistant to baseball operations. According to the team, he’ll “serve as a mentor to the coaching staff and players at both the major and minor league levels and provide on-field instruction.” Wotus will attend Spring Training and make appearances with each of the team’s minor league affiliates.

It’s a first-time role for Wotus, but it marks the continuation of a longstanding relationship with the organization. He first joined the Giants as a player in the late 1980’s, then transitioned into managing in their farm system. By 1998, Wotus was promoted to the big league coaching staff. He started off as the club’s third base coach, then spent nearly two decades as bench coach.

Prior to the 2018 campaign, Wotus transitioned back to third base coaching. The 60-year-old spent another four years in that capacity before announcing his retirement from coaching last August, effective at the end of the 2021 season. While that looked to be bringing an end to his 34-year tenure with San Francisco, he’ll now return for a 35th season.

Presumably, the special assistant role will afford Wotus more flexibility in his schedule than would’ve been possible had he remained on Gabe Kapler’s coaching staff. After the season, the Giants promoted assistant coach Mark Hallberg to replace Wotus as third base coach in 2022.

Kevin Gausman: Giants “Never Made Me An Offer”

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The Giants were known to be looking to re-sign Kevin Gausman, and as the free agent right-hander neared his decision, it appeared as though the Giants were one of the favorites to get Gausman’s name on the dotted line.  However interested the club may have been in a reunion, it appears as though the Giants’ explorations never manifested themselves into an actual contract offer.

According to Gausman himself via his Twitter account, “I want to set the record straight for y’all [because] there has been a lot of [BS] out there about this.  SF never made me an offer.  Simple as that.”   It doesn’t appear that Gausman necessarily had any hard feelings over the lack of an offer, as after signing with the Blue Jays prior the lockout, he issued a pair of tweets thanking both the Giants and San Francisco fans.

Gausman’s 2020 season in San Francisco was impressive enough that the Giants issued him a qualifying offer following the season, and the two sides discussed a multi-year deal before Gausman ultimately opted to just accept the one-year, $18.9MM QO.  With Gausman pitching even better in 2021, the righty was now lined up nicely for a much bigger multi-year deal that whatever would’ve been on the table from the Giants or other teams in the 2020-21 offseason, and Gausman ended up landing a five-year, $110MM pact from the Jays.

Beyond the Blue Jays and Giants, at least six other teams (the Tigers, Mets, Red Sox, Angels, Mariners, and Cubs) were known to have at least some degree of interest in signing Gausman.  Of that group, the Mets reportedly offered Gausman a larger contract than what he accepted from Toronto.

As Gausman’s incumbent team, the Giants had extra time to negotiate with his agents at the Tidal Sports Group and ascertain how much the now 31-year-old was looking for on the open market.  If San Francisco either felt Gausman was out of their preferred price range to begin with, or felt the bidding got too intense once the other seven clubs got involved, the Giants might have not bothered making Gausman an offer that they knew wouldn’t be accepted.

This tracks with the perception that the Giants aren’t keen on making nine-figure contract offers in general, or at least not a high salary spread out over an extended period of time.  Farhan Zaidi’s front office has spent some money this offseason, if only on shorter-term deals — re-signing Anthony DeSclafani for three years and $36MM, re-signing Alex Wood on a two-year, $25MM pact, and adding a new arm to the pitching staff in Alex Cobb on a two-year, $20MM deal.  Beyond those pitchers, Brandon Belt also accepted San Francisco’s qualifying offer, staying in the Bay Area on an $18.4MM salary for 2022.

That adds up to $99.4MM for four players, or less than the Jays paid for Gausman alone.  While it could be argued that the Giants have more than enough available payroll space to have signed that quartet plus Gausman, the team seemingly either prefers to spread their dollars around, or are saving a bigger splurge for another player.  A right-handed hitting outfielder could fit the bill, as the Giants have been linked to Seiya Suzuki and (before he signed with the Mets) Starling Marte.  Free agents like Nick Castellanos or former Giant Kris Bryant also fit the description, but they have asking prices beyond the $100MM mark.

Melky Cabrera Announces Retirement

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Longtime major league outfielder Melky Cabrera announced his retirement this morning (h/t to Héctor Gómez of z 101). Cabrera last appeared in the majors in 2019 but had played winter ball in each of the past two years.

The announcement officially closes the book on Cabrera’s successful big league playing career. He broke into the majors with the Yankees halfway through the 2005 season, getting to the majors a bit before his 21st birthday. The switch-hitter emerged as a regular in the Bronx the following year, playing with the Yankees through their World Series-winning 2009 campaign.

The following offseason, New York traded Cabrera to the Braves. The Dominican Republic native struggled in Atlanta and was released after one year, but he bounced back after hooking on with the Royals the following season. After a solid year in Kansas City, he was traded to the Giants before the 2012 campaign. He’d only spend one year in the Bay Area as well, but that season proved to be the most productive of Cabrera’s career. He hit .346/.390/.516 across 501 plate appearances, earning his only All-Star nod in the process.

Down the stretch, however, Cabrera was suspended after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. That ban carried over into 2013, where he landed with the Blue Jays after signing a two-year deal over the winter. Cabrera struggled in the first season of that deal but bounced back with a very productive 2014 campaign. He proved a capable, high-contact bat for a good chunk of 30s, suiting up with the White Sox, Royals (for a second time), Indians and Pirates.

Cabrera’s run of productivity came to a close in 2019. Despite hitting .280 that year, his overall offensive output was 16 percentage points below the league average (by measure of wRC+) due to a lack of power and a minuscule 4.3% walk rate. Cabrera briefly caught on with the Mets in 2020 Summer Camp but was cut loose before the start of the season.

Altogether, Cabrera had a lengthy, impressive showing in the big leagues. He appeared in fifteen consecutive MLB seasons from 2005-19, donning the uniforms of eight different clubs. Over a bit more than 7,500 plate appearances, Cabrera hit .285/.334/.417, an overall slash line a hair above average by both wRC+ and OPS+. He hit 144 home runs, 383 doubles, drove in 854 runs and stole 101 bases. FanGraphs valued his career around 16 wins above replacement, while Baseball Reference pegged him around 21 wins. Cabrera tallied a bit more than $72MM in earnings, according to B-Ref. MLBTR congratulates the 37-year-old on a very fine run and wishes him the best in retirement.

Giants Sign Corey Oswalt, Luis Gonzalez, Joe Palumbo To Minor League Contracts

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The Giants have recently signed right-hander Corey Oswalt, left-hander Joe Palumbo, right-hander Sam Delaplane and outfielder Luis Gonzalez to minor league contracts, as reported by Baseball America’s Chris Hilburn-Trenkle.  All four players were minor league free agents, and thus eligible to be signed during the lockout.

Gonzalez and Palumbo are both back for what is technically their second stint with the Giants, as San Francisco claimed both off waivers in 2021 (Gonzalez from the White Sox in August, Palumbo from the Rangers in November) before releasing the duo back at the November 30 non-tender deadline.  There was speculation at the time that the Giants would look to re-sign both to fresh contracts post-deadline, and now both Gonzalez and Palumbo are back and clear of the 40-man roster.

Oswalt is the new face, joining the Giants after being outrighted off the Mets’ 40-man in October and opting for free agency.  A seventh-round pick for the Mets in the 2012 draft, Oswalt has spent his entire pro career with New York, including 94 2/3 innings over parts of the last four seasons.  The majority (64 2/3 frames) of that work came in Oswalt’s 2018 rookie season, and he has since been back and forth between New York and Triple-A Syracuse on multiple occasions.

The righty has a 5.89 ERA and a 17.2% strikeout rate during his MLB career.  Oswalt has worked mostly as a starter in the minor leagues, but the Mets experimented with him as something of a swingman or a multi-inning reliever.  Given the Giants’ success at unlocking potential in seemingly unheralded pitchers in recent years, Oswalt’s flexible usage could provide the team with an interesting weapon if the coaching staff can get him on track.

Gonzalez underwent a season-ending shoulder surgery in August, which also triggered his release from the White Sox due to some 40-man roster machinations.  San Francisco jumped in to claim Gonzalez off release waivers, giving the Giants some extra outfield depth heading into 2022.  The 26-year-old Gonzalez was a third-round pick for the White Sox in 2017, and he has hit .266/.345/.414 with 32 home runs over 1539 minor league plate appearances.  Gonzalez has appeared in each of the last two Major League seasons, playing in nine total games in a White Sox uniform.

Palumbo is another longtime member of another organization, having been a member of the Rangers since being selected in the 30th round of the 2013 draft.  Splitting time between starting and relief duties, Palumbo has a strong 2.92 ERA and 28.4% strikeout rate in 363 2/3 career innings in the Texas farm system, though he was limited to only 6 2/3 frames in 2021 due to injury.  Palumbo tossed 19 innings over nine games at the Major League level in 2019-20 without much success, with a 9.47 ERA to show for that brief time in The Show.

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