The Giants have reached agreement on a minor league pact with first baseman Yoshi Tsutsugo, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). The 31-year-old is looking to get back to the big leagues for a fourth consecutive season.
Tsutsugo began this season on a minor league contract with the Rangers. He spent a couple months in Triple-A, hitting .249/.380/.432 in 280 plate appearances. Tsutsugo opted out of that deal in late June but didn’t immediately land another affiliated opportunity.
Instead, he made the jump to the Atlantic League. Tsutsugo signed with the Staten Island FerryHawks but very quickly hit his way back out of independent ball. The left-handed hitter connected on seven home runs in 12 games, posting an overall .359/.479/.949 batting line in 48 trips. That excellent showing earns him another crack at Pacific Coast League pitching with the Giants’ top affiliate in Sacramento.
Tsutsugo has suited up for three MLB clubs since heading over from Japan during the 2019-20 offseason. He has struggled for the bulk of that time. Tsutsugo hit .187/.292/.336 in 77 games with the Rays, who had originally signed him to a two-year contract. Tampa Bay released him in the second season of that deal. He briefly caught on with the Dodgers before signing with the Pirates for the end of 2021. Tsutsugo had the best stretch of his career in Pittsburgh, hitting .268/.347/.535 in 43 games to close out that season.
The rebuilding Bucs re-signed him on a $4MM free agent deal that offseason. His production cratered, however, as he hit .171/.249/.229 through 50 contests before being released in August. Tsutsugo hasn’t returned to the big leagues since then, as successive minor league deals with the Blue Jays and Texas didn’t result in a call.
San Francisco has left-handed hitting LaMonte Wade Jr. and Joc Pederson as the primary first base/DH tandem. The offense has floundered lately, with each of Wade and Peterson putting up well below-average numbers since the All-Star Break (although the former has turned things around a bit in August after a dismal July).
Tsutsugo adds some depth to the upper minors. Since he’s in the organization before September 1, he would be eligible for postseason play if he hits well enough to warrant a look and should the Giants qualify. San Francisco currently occupies the second NL Wild Card spot but is just a game a half clear of the D-Backs, Reds and Marlins (the top non-playoff teams at the moment).
My Japanese friend had a dog named Yoshi.
I Shih Tzu not.
Reds- Too funny.
Hey bottom of the barrel, meet the Giants from office
Hey same joke made on every Giants post, meet the MLBTR comments section
Go back to Japan you dope seriously he failed in the u s here is no shame in going back to NPB and playing high level baseball in front of 30 -40 thousand fans every night.
Yoshi wants a bag in his lifetime… yeah Japan pays well, but how much of a pay cut did Bauer take again?
I like Yoshi. He had a monster career in Japan and could go back there and sign a big contract but instead chooses to stay stateside and try to fulfill his promise. He had a good showing with Pittsburgh in 2021 and his MLB OBP is nearly 100 points higher than his poor BA. Although odds are stacked against him, I’ll be rooting for him.
Interpreter secured for the Ohtani offseason negotiations.
Yoshi in the second half of 2021 was a glorious time to be alive as a Pirates fan. Doesn’t matter how he played in 2022, I was immediatley a fan of him when he capped off a massive comeback against the Cardinals with a home run in late-August.
MLB- With all due respect,you and I know that the only glorious time for the Pirates over the last thirty years has been a three year blip in the middle of the last decade.
I was using a little bit of hyperbole. I Still very much enjoyed watching Yoshi in 2021, regardless.
I remember when he hit his first one.I said that will be his last,as he was a Pirate.Then he hit another.Then another.Then another.Needless to say,I was happy when they signed him for 2022.
Alas,as we can both lament,such has been the fate of most Pirate players over the last several years.
The only reason to pick this guy up is if he is good friends with Ohtani, so he could lure him over during off season otherwise this is a ridiculous pick up
One of FZ’s favorites, late season 1st base type pick up to stash at AAA, just to walk about a month and a half later.
Nothing wrong with hoping to catch an incredibly streaky hitter on a hot streak.
I think autocorrect misspelled Paul DeJong.
Or maybe Farhan misdialed the wrong Benchwarmer.
at this point FZ might as well sign DeJong..Thairo and Craw hurt again..Schmitt and Wisely need more time in Sac to work on their “hitting”..
You called it, Millar!!