The Giants have acquired utilityman Luke Williams from the Phillies in exchange for minor league third baseman Will Toffey and cash considerations. Both teams have announced the trade. To create a 40-man roster spot, the Giants placed southpaw Matthew Boyd on the 60-day injured list.
Williams was designated for assignment by Philadelphia earlier this week when the Nick Castellanos signing became official. After six seasons in the Phils’ farm system and a brief stint in the Australian Baseball League, Williams made his MLB debut in 2021, appearing in 58 games. While Williams hit only .245/.315/.316 in 108 plate appearances, he made a mark with his versatility, making multiple appearances at every position except catcher and pitcher.
Williams began his career as a third baseman, but has more recently moved all over the diamond, with the bulk of his brief big league career spent as an outfielder. Giants manager Gabe Kapler is surely familiar with Williams from Kapler’s past job as the Phillies’ skipper, and San Francisco has frequently sought out multi-positional players in recent years. Williams is also a right-handed hitter, which could give him an opportunity for playing time given how the Giants’ projected starting outfield (Mike Yastrzemski, LaMonte Wade Jr., and Joc Pederson) are all left-handed bats.
Toffey has something of a similar resume to Williams, as Toffey is also a third baseman who has started to branch out at other positions. The 2021 season saw Toffey play both corner outfield positions, first base, and second base while playing with the Mets’ Double-A affiliate and the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate. San Francisco acquired the 27-year-old Toffey from the Mets last July, with left-hander Anthony Banda going back to New York in return.
Boyd signed a one-year deal with the Giants last week, and the former Tigers lefty is set to earn $5.2MM in guaranteed money in 2022. First, however, Boyd will have to fully recover from flexor tendon surgery last September. The 60-day IL placement was expected, as Boyd wasn’t expected to be ready until early June.
damn
Curious, does he have upside or something? His #s don’t really pop out to me but don’t know much about him
Very speedy and a good clubhouse guy. Had a walkoff last year ehich was cool, but he is not an everyday player by any means.
he’s progressively improved each year of his pro career. whether that will be enough to keep him in the Majors is still TBD, but I see some upside.
Upside? Late game baserunning/defensive substitution. Utility option for daily lineup changes based on opposing pitchers. Righty when Giants outfield is full of lefties. Seems like he already has a decent amount of value.
It’s not often farhan gets taken to the cleaners but he did in this trade ! Williams is not a major league player and giants set cash on fire basically! And toffey alone is a win for Phillies
Huh? He’s a fine enough utility type and Toffey’s late 20s and cant hit AA pitching.
I really don’t see there being a winner or a loser here. Williams and Toffey will be lucky to combine for 50 games played next season.
yeah I mean in some ways they are the same guy, the upside of williams being that he is a guy you can slot in to play now which may be a reality with longo and now flores possibly not able to make opening day
Taken to the cleaners? They both suck but Williams is 24 whereas Toffey is 27.
The Giants recent history is to take players that are doing so-so and make them into productive pieces of the team. The Phillies recent history in this regard is awful.
Williams should have been an asset for the Phillies. He will be with the Giants.
i think Williams is a nice player, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, he was a fungible asset.
Yeah I wouldn’t be surprised if Williams contributes to the Giants more than Toffey for Philly. Doubt either has any impact but who knows.
World Series Bound!
Said no Padres fan ever
Could be, but knowing Farhan, Williams could be gone in the next week.
On behalf of all Padrehood, that TGSD19 account does not speak for us. He only trolls on SF posts. Probable Dodger fan. Block advised!
This take won’t age well @noel
Huh?
Will Toffey former Vandy great
Provided the best moment of the 2021 season. Reminded me of why I love sports. Good luck Luke.
Definitely. That 2021 shot gave me the chills we used to get all the time in 2007-2011. Luke Williams will always be remembered fondly by Phillies fans.
would’ve preferred a low minors flyer type. Toffey can’t hit to save his life.
*flier
Guessing they wanted to get something rather than outright lose him on a waiver claim. This can’t be the last move for DD and Fuld though.
yeah, but I still think they could have gotten more again, some rando in the GCL with a lower floor but higher ceiling. Toffey might not even be a 2.5 A player
Toffey can’t hit for toffee.
Over or under, the Giants win 87 games this year?
Over
Under
Under
What a very bad decision by the Phillies. Williams displayed versatility and was useful but instead they keep a horrible player with no future like haseley.
Curse of the first round pick. He had some issues last year. Hopefully he can at least play serviceable center for a game or two a week.
Haseley is just a tad older than Williams and more proven in the Majors at an area of greater current need.
Luke Williams’ ceiling was always lower than Haseley’s. I think a lot of people are letting a big moment blind the overall picture. I like Williams a lot, but this is a nothing trade.
Williams’ minor league stats certainly are not indicative of a player you’d expect to succeed at a major league level.
Toffey is 27 and still not on a 40 man roster. Phils should have gotten an A ball player in return and let SF keep the cash.
Austin dean 2.0
Could be the 2022 version of Mike Tauchman, hit a key grand slam, make some unbelievable defensive plays then absolutely stink and be kept on the roster 2 months longer than necessary.
Hmmmm Baby when you see these Giants! Hmmm Baby when you watch them play! Hmmm Baby, Hmmm Baby, it’s gonna be fun!
Phillies are opening up a 40-man roster spot for Conforto…book it!
That’d be a very entertaining offense (in a good way) and defense (not in a good way).
Would have to make another move since Williams DFA was to make room for Nicky C.
Farhan Zaidi and the Mighty San Francisco Giants continue to impress
Win something, then talk
Hey, be fair. The Padres once won a WS game. Of course, that’s it – one WS game won in 53 years.
The odds are good that they might win another WS game at some point over the next 53 years, too. And that will make the dozens of people who call themselves Padres fans very proud.
Gotta give you credit, this is more creative than your usual played out line.
Haha! I called this when Philly designated him.
Nice story with regards to his first at-bat, but let’s not lose our minds because FZ made a trade. However, if Luke Williams becomes the next Ryne Sandberg, I owe all of you an apology.
Would have been a terrible idea to spend money on an actual major league right handed hitting outfielder. After all, the Giants owe a ton of money on their stadium and are right up against the luxury tax and have a bunch of bad long-term contracts on the books. Oh wait, none of those things are true. I’m a Giants fan but I fully believe last year was a huge outliar, getting huge years from multiple players in their mid 30’s. Definitely expect them to regress to somewhere around .500, as not doing anything whatsoever to replace the production of Posey and Bryant when they have so much available payroll capacity is in my opinion GM malpractice, not to mention a huge middle finger to the fanbase when beers are 20 bucks and sandwiches are 25 bucks.
Ha ha. Maybe let them play a game or two first.
your $20 beer comment piqued my curiosity. I found this article from 4 days ago interesting.
blog.cheapism.com/mlb-hot-dog-beer-prices/#slide=8
Maybe 9 bucks for one of those Coors light cans, but if you want anything better than that it’s around 20. It’s also 50 bucks to park your car. I get it, they charge what the people are willing to pay, but when you hear about them having interest in all the star free agents every off-season and they never pull the trigger on any of them it gets frustrating.
50 bucks to park? Good lord. I hope there are alternate lots.
Caltrain drops you right at the ballpark. It’s extremely accessible via public transport.
Went to a Lakers playoff game, my “normal” $50 lot jumped up to $200. To park my car. For 3 hours.
This is not the year. Last year was short of a miracle with the roster we had. This year we cannot expect Crawford and others to put up numbers again. Yes I believe we are a .500 team. I guess he felt Bryant and Castellanos was not worth the terms. I would have rather have gone after Conforto then Peterson. Maybe Ramos, Estrada, Wade, or Dubon can come up big this year. Pitching will be our strength in a pitchers park so hopefully we can keep the game close and eek out more than not. Torture Baseball 2022 continues in SF.
Every Phillies fan loves Luke Williams. He has a great attitude and is a very smart player. Problem is he is a fringe major league player at this point. I hope he continues to hone his skills and wish him the best with the Giants.
Giants will release him in about a week
This is simply a guy Farhan will try to pass through waivers for minor league depth. The Giants will need his roster spot plus a few more.
Remember him – I am not sure how long he will be a giant for…..lets admire his Giants greatness a CA raised right hand bat that has shown nothing other than a carrying a baseball ‘stache
Dudes’ picture reminds me of Jeff Kent. His stats however…less so