The Giants have agreed to terms on a minor-league pact with veteran righty Tyson Ross, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter. He’ll earn at a $1.75MM rate in the majors with $1.75MM in available incentives.
Ross fell flat last year with the Tigers, making seven middling starts before he was sidelined with nerve issues in his neck. Those troubles were never resolved. It’s not clear at this point just when Ross will be available to work off the mound, though the Giants can afford to be as patient as necessary with this low-risk agreement.
While he hardly returned to his once-lofty levels of performance in a bounceback 2018 season, Ross did show that he had something left in the tank. But he never came close to his prior heights — Ross’s 2018 swinging-strike rate was about a third lower than in his prime — and the more recent struggles raise yet more questions about his future. The former Athletics and Padres hurler lost more than a full tick on his fastball in 2019.
Clearly, there are some significant barriers. But teams around the game obviously saw some reason for hope, as the Giants were compelled to include a fair bit of contractual upside to lure Ross back out west.
nice buy low deal.
That’s what was said last year.
Well in defense of that, it was said about drew pomeranz who ended up netting them dubon. So yes, it was said last year but id say it was a huge success
^this
Wow I thought Eppler would get him knowing the Angels were going to get a “ frontline starter”. Haha
Don’t get that cult started, Larry! But I did upvote your comment ‘cause it was damn funny.
Plus I think the “Angels tried and he left money on the table,” or “he wanted to live in SF before this offseason started,” or whatever else the excuse of the day is. Oh, can’t forget Trout envy either, lol. That one still makes me laugh.
surprised a Jeff Samardzija trade hasn’t been rumored
It’s been mentioned, but I dont think they Giants want to trade him since they are in need of reliable innings eaters. Maybe gone at the trade deadline tho..
thought I might’ve missed it. interesting since he’s on an expiring deal
Yeah I think they should trade him and get what they can. I think they are worried about putting too much pressure on their young arms.
makes sense. appreciate the genius
they tried in 2016, the astros wanted him but he didn’t waive his no trade clause, he has I believe a full no trade clause in his contract. you have similar issues with Crawford and belt.
Giants like keeping their players and then losing them for nothing in free agency.
Draft compensation isn’t nothing
Now this is exciting
Below average pitcher for what promises to be a below average team.
Your grasp of the obvious is frightening
Cool name, though. I await your full frontal assault…
It’s a gift.
Rebuilding teams should sign as many Tyson Ross types as possible. Hopefully Tajuan Walker is next.
always had a good heater but hasn’t been good since 2015…
He had a couple good months in 2018.
More Zaidi “dumpster diving” but this time it’s going to the scrap heap!
And Zaidi didn’t want to resign MadBum!
Zaidi is becoming more and more of a joke.
Dude, relax. Wait it out and in a year or two, there will be good talent coming through the pipeline and plenty of money to burn. In the meantime, it’s all about playing out expired contracts. Makes perfect sense if you think about what Zaidi inherited.
Exactly. Not much else to do until they can get out from under the bad contracts
Still waiting for the emergence of: Mac Williamson, Jarred Parker, Joe Panik, Aramis Garcia, Chris Shaw, Ryder Jones, Austin Slater, Steven Duggar, Ty Blach, Tyler Beede, Derrick Rodriguez, Andrew Suarez, Ray Black, Michael Reed, Connor Joe, Tyler Austin, Jake Barrett, Hanser Alberrto, Dan Slania, Wander Franco, Steven Okert, John Anderoli, Tyler Herb, Alen Hanson, Breyvic Valera, Williams Jerez, Sam Coonrod, Aaron Altherr, Travis Bergen, Josh Osich, Derek Law, Tyler Rogers, Mike Herber, Drew Ferguson, Julian Fernandez, Hunter Strickland, Logan Webb, Kelby Tomlinson, Ablatal Avelino, ……. and so it goes……….
How many of those guys is Zaidi responsible for?
And dude said Webb LMAO. He’s our best pitching prospect and was a rookie. Learn baseball lol.
Giants fans are so fn dumb. Y’all won THREE titles. The players got old. It’s time to rebuild. Chill the f out.
Zaidi turned Sam Dyson, who may not play again for a long, long time due into 3 pretty good upside prospects.
He turned Drew Pomeranz into a potential starting 2B.
He got the Braves to take all of Melancon’s contract AND give a pretty decent prospect for him.
He bought a 1st Round Draft pick by taking on Cozart.
The farm system took a massive step forward under his 1 year as President of Baseball Ops.
But because he didn’t overpay for a pitcher with a lot of mileage simply because he was a fan favorite, he’s becoming a joke?
My goodness, Giants fans truly deserve Bobby Evans to come back.
that ain’t all giants fans, I actually like farhan’s moves and for the complainers, he isn’t getting rid of everyone but maximizing returns for what he has to work with without just tearing the team apart and building a tank team. bum looked like he wanted to move on without bochy a d change happens.
People just don’t get it. And by people, I mean many Giants fans. There is no conceivable collection of trades and free agent contracts that Zaidi could have brought to consummation this offseason that would help this club compete for a wild card, much less, the NL West crown this year. This team is not good and much of the existing MLB roster has aged a full decade in just three years. Zaidi is doing what he can now to move bad deals, allow the core to expire, rebuild the putrid farm system of Bobby Evans, and put this team in a spot to contend during the Bart/Ramos/Bishop era. This is just a move to fill out the roster at a position of need. Even better, a move that allows you to sell high on Shark or Cueto if either have a hot first few months of 2020. Sit back and relax. Let a few bumpy years go by and then check back to see if Zaidi is actually the fool that you’ve branded him to be.
How do we even know that guy’s a Giants fan to begin with?
Most of the Zaidi hate seems to be coming more from fans of other teams as far as I can tell
I’d say most Giants fans like him and realize we need patience before they start contending again
I for one think he’s doing a great job with the little he has to work with.
I think enough Giants fans have responded to the contrary to dispel the “all Giants fans are f’n dumb” comments, thanks. Like any team, some fans are, some aren’t
Have a feeling that after this signing in addition to the Gausman contract that they are gonna be moving either Johnny Cueto or the Shark.
Probably not until the deadline.
Think the Giants would flip Cueto to the Pads? I know its an in division trade but the Pads need a vet to anchor the rotation. Pads have plenty of pieces thatd work with the Giants. Just a thought
Giants would gladly flip Cueto to anyone that is willing to take the remainder of his contract
If possible Padres should.take.cueto and shark for Myers and C prospects and consider it a bad contract swap.
No way the Giants trade 2 serviceable innings eaters for 1 sunk-cost, bad player, and C prospects.
STOP TRYING TO TRADE THAT BUM MYERS. NO ONR WANTS HIM. NOT NOW. NOT EVER.
I’d like to see the following:
Pads get Johnny Cueto
Giants get Wil Myers, Manuel Margot & $10MM
I like Myers for Cueto and a 4A relief pitcher.
Not close, really, but I just realized Margot has 3 years pre-FA, not 2, so makes sense to drop the $10MM.
Yeah, I’m sure you do. But is it fun to be alone on a boat ?
Of course you would. The problem is everyone except Preller realizes that Wil Myers is a 4-A
The Giants have little rotation depth. They aren’t trading either Cueto or Shark. It might have been a possibility if they were willing to tank, but that’s not the way they do things. The deadline is a 50/50 possibility depending on the returns.
They could certainly entertain moving both of them.
They’re not getting anything for Cueto right now. He’s well into his 30’s, making over $20M, and (other than a brief comeback in September) is coming off of Tommy John. He’ll almost certainly fetch a better haul if they wait and he shows he can pitch some reliable innings in 2020. Seeing as he has some room to improve his stock, the Giants should hang onto him until then. If he falls apart, it’s not like they’re losing out on anything other than an ugly contract swap.
Samardzija, I’m the other hand, quietly had a nice 2019 and should be traded for the right offer. Wouldn’t be surprised either if they dealt him soon or waited until a higher demand in July.
Well put Cainer.
Agree completely on both players.
Since he did pitch in September, you can’t really couch his return from TJS as a negative. More guys do well coming back, than not. Setbacks are the big issue and he proved himself healthy. And now he has the off-season to build his strength back up.
I agree that his value is very low, which is why I said he wouldn’t be traded. But given the dearth of big returns at the deadline for guys like Cueto, Shark, and previously Bum, leads me to believe that the odds are 50% at best that either one is traded at the end of July.
Cueto just needs more than 4 starts to prove he has something left on that arm. I can see him running through spring training, starting the season in SF, and moving on before the kids are out for summer.
This is a minor league signing, dig?
no way he is moving cueto, it would be selling low on a guy with upside off of an injury. you at least want to wait to the deadline to let him build value. shark has peripherals that teams like but you have to get past the no trade clause
I dig it, might still have some upside.
This dude had so much promise in the beginning. Rooting for him
Tyson Ross on minor league deal makes sense. Possible opener or multi inning reliever if he’s not healthy enough to be traditional starter. Always a guy with talent but many injuries have sapped his skills. Low risk low to medium reward scenario.
Is it too early to buy playoff tickets?
Yeah. wait until 2026
More like 2022/2023
With their resources, the Giants should be doing this every day of the week. If it works, Ross gives them some OK innings and is flip-able on July 31. If not, there isn’t too much financial risk.
With that fan base, they’re not going to tank. If they can stay around .500 and rebuild the farm over the next couple of years, they’ve done amazing work.
Bingo !
Zaidi is a genius. This will win the West for sure.
Because this move is about winning the west after all, and not just filling out a rotation.
Tyson Ross has never had very good command of the strike zone. Even his peak years he usually walked around 4 per 9 ip. Apart from last year, he is pretty good ar preventing homers. How his resume merits a MLB deal I don’t know. But he signed one so I hope it works out for him.
Are you saying that he deserved a major league deal ?
Tyson “The Lock” Ross
No hitter vs SD in 2020. Book it
Best signing of the decade.
The 2019 Tigers did not see so much as a ghost, not even a whisper, of the Padres version of Tyson Ross. I figured a sinkerballer might survive some loss of stuff, but Ross is way past that.
He no longer has velocity and command. If in 2020 the slab is moved to 57′ 6″ from the slab…and we invent a cure for nerve damage in the next month….the Giants might see some return on their meager investment.
Otherwise, call him Melba because his career is toast.
$1.75 million seems to be the standard make-good deal of the Zaidi era. If I’m not mistaken wasn’t that the same base amount Parra, Solarte, Pomeranz, and Maybin signed for ?
We can get down on the Giants for not making better signings, but there are probably many players who don’t want the Giants’money knowing what kind of team they’d be playing for. If you’re a Giants fan there’s not much incentive to go to a game for the time being, aside from watching the All- Stars that play for the opponents. If you’re feeling nostalgic maybe you go hoping that Posey or Crawford can channel their former greatness just for your visit. It’s a bleak situation.
I still don’t blame them for the Crawford and Posey contracts. The team valued its young stars, and those monstruous contracts are what it took to keep them. Those 2 could’ve Trevor Bauer’ed the Giants until they became free agents if they didn’t get that kind of financial security. Bumgarner bet against himself, and it cost him a lot of money in SF.
Look for a Ross bounceback. I think he threw too many innings in 2018.
He can pitch half his games in an even larger park than Petco.
Good rotation depth move. I complained hard about the Giants Longoria trade and most Giants fans yelled at me. Well looks like I was right. Let Zahidi do his thing, he inherited a trash farm system and bad contracts, it’s not going to happen over nite. He has already improved the farm system though.
Bobby Evans needs to be fired again. He really set this team up for failure.
Zaidi is going to need another two years until we see any promise. I have faith Zaidi knows what he’s doing.
If Ross is able to pitch this year he will likely spend some time in Sacramento, which will add to the list of players who have been with the River Cats as both A’s and Giants farmhands. Some examples:
Stephen Vogt
Vin Mazzaro
Chris Denorfia
Ryan Webb
There are others, just can’t think of them at the moment. I want to say Miguel Olivo, but I believe the A’s traded him before he reached Triple- A
One of the greatest woulda, shoulda, coulda pitchers of his time.
Screw our fans. It’s just one signing that’s very low risk. Zaidi will spend money when we’re good.