The Giants acquired infielder Osleivis Basabe from the Rays in exchange for cash, according to announcements from both teams. Tampa Bay designated Basabe for assignment earlier in the week. The Giants already had an open 40-man spot to accommodate Basabe.
The 24-year-old Basabe’s only big league experience came back in 2023, when he totaled 94 plate appearances across 31 games and batted .218/.277/.310. That inauspicious debut came after a more encouraging .296/.351/.426 output (95 wRC+) in Triple-A that year. However, the 2024 campaign brought significant declines for Basabe in nearly every meaningful category. He spent th entire year in Triple-A Durham, hitting .248/.293/.336. Basabe’s walk rate dropped from 7.3% to 4.9%. His strikeout rate jumped from 15.5% to 18%. His average exit velocity dipped by nearly three miles per hour, while his hard-hit rate fell by a hefty eight percentage points.
Rough as the previous season was, Basabe is regarded as a solid defender who can handle shortstop, second and third. He ranked within the top 10 prospects in Tampa Bay’s system an offseason ago and has a minor league option remaining, so the Giants can send him to Triple-A without needing to expose him to waivers.
With Willy Adames at short, Matt Chapman at third and Tyler Fitzgerald at second, there’s no immediate path to Basabe logging any kind of consistent at-bats in the majors, even if he has a big spring showing. However, the Giants’ bench is far less solidified, and he’ll join Brett Wisely, Casey Schmitt and David Villar (among others) in competing for a utility role on Bob Melvin’s bench.
It would cool if Osleivis drives a Lincoln and likes Ace of Base. But he still would not pass Wisely on my depth chart.
Osleivis Basabe, correct pronunciation, Hack. Ahahahahaha!
If you don’t want him in your if and cannot roster him in your outfield just trade Luciano already buster instead of expecting him to be an as on the major league roster when he’s clearly played hurt at the mlb level.
Luciano and Basabe both have a minor league option, you don’t have to make that decision this year.
Sure looks like Encarnacion is ahead of Matos and that Matos is ahead of Luciano. At least through April 2025.
encarnaceon has no options and I assume he is leading candidate to start in a dh spot to see how he does and if he sticks
I’m sure the Giants will try to sneak Basabe through waivers when they’ll likely DFA him for the next roster spot they need.
He has an option.
He’ll be on the 40-man. But the roster is full now. They’ll have to DFA him, or someone else, if they need a 40-man roster spot later on.
Yes, that’s how the 40 man roster works.
KirkRueter, I was responding to @Johnny Vander Meer. Maybe I misunderstood him, but it sounded like he was suggesting there would be no need to DFA Basabe because he had an option. I was pointing out that having an option was irrelevant if they needed a spot on the 40-man at some time.
Wake up basabe new signing just dropped
His grandfather Akeem used to ride with the Lone Ranger.
Filling out the spring training roster.
Came here for some baseball news, stayed to read the not so hot takes.
Def a hoo-hum transaction. Even if Basabe is optioned to the minors he won’t make a difference in Giants future plans for him
As a Rays fan, I’m sad to see him go. He apart of the horrible Nathan Lowe trade. The Rays kept a poor performing Choi and traded Lowe and got three minor leaguers who never developed as hoped. I think the FO may have outsmarted themselves and traded a way better player while keeping a glorified mascot.
Giants fans; he is a solid player and a hard worker. Basabe never got a real opportunity in TB whether it was being passed over by Walls and Franco or wanting to give Brujan a solid look. Last year should have been Basabe year but he got injured( like most of the 49 man roster). Nice pick up for the best Rays draft pick that Friedman chose not to choose (Posey).
I hope you’re right. The increase in SOs, with a decrease in walks, is troubling though. That seems to point to poor pitch recognition, which I think is the hardest thing to learn about hitting. Maybe he’ll be able to turn that around with hard work. But it’s a low-risk signing for SF so why not?
Yep, none of the prospects generated MLB positive results. That is the usual outcome of prospects. And Lowe did perform well over those four years. 10.6 fWAR. Pete Alonso’s generated 12.2 fWAR.
However, in those four seasons, the performance of players playing 1b for the Rays outperformed the players playing 1b for the Rangers, 13.5 to 9.7. That is a significant difference. In short, the Rays got more benefits by trading away Lowe than by keeping him.
P.S. Yes, thank you Dan Johnson… multiple times.
Could end up being Xavier Edwards 2.0 for the Giants.
Says the Pad fan who can only wish that they did anything at all..
Frisco Kid was a friend of mine
He will join the A’s to play in Sutter Health Field
His cousin is Luis Alexander Basabe who was also in the Giants’ farm system.
Just trivia.
Thought he sounded familiar
Basabe been vedy vedy good to me
Can I buy another vowel?