Giants right-hander Jharel Cotton recently cleared waivers and elected free agency, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.
Cotton, 31 in January, spent most of the season bouncing on and off the Twins’ roster, frequently going unclaimed on waivers and sticking with Minnesota. However, the Giants swooped in for an interception in September, claiming Cotton for the final few weeks of the season. Between the two clubs, he tossed 43 innings this year with a 3.56 ERA, 21.5% strikeout rate, 11% walk rate and 29.4% ground ball rate.
The Giants, like many clubs at this time of year, are facing a roster crunch. They have placed numerous players on the 60-day injured list throughout the season, which those players not occupying a roster spot while on the shelf. However, there’s no IL between the World Series and Spring Training, meaning they will soon have many players needing to retake their spots and leading to some cuts.
Cotton was eligible for arbitration and projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to get a raise to $1.1MM. The Giants evidently weren’t planning on tendering him a contract and placed him on waivers instead. Any player with three years of service time or a previous career outright has the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. Cotton qualifies on both counts and will now return to the open market.
What happened to this guy? I seem to remember him being an up-and-coming stud with Oakland.
He originally was in the Rich Hill/Cheater Josh Reddick trade with the Dodgers. The A’s also got Frankie Montas and Grant Holmes (first round pick who has never panned out). Reddick was a bust and Hill was good for 2 months, but losing Montas was too steep for me
More often than not, free agency elects Jharel Cotton.
Another Zaidi dumpster dive that wasn’t going to be retained.
Chaim Bloom is calling right now.
The Giants LOL
Oh Wait ?
Giants know when they’re getting fleeced
Smart move by Cotton 2yrs 2.25 with incentives.
Everyone needs a reliable arm in AAA
Dryfit > Cotton. Therefore Farhan decided to change.
Jharel Cotton: forever Giant