The Giants have reinstated infielder Casey Schmitt from the 10-day injured list. As a corresponding move, fellow infielder David Villar has been designated for assignment. The club’s 40-man roster count drops from 39 to 38. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area was among those to pass along the transaction.
It’s the second DFA of the year for Villar. The first one came just prior to Opening Day. He came into the year out of options and without a firm hold on a roster spot. That got him bumped onto the waiver wire, but he passed through unclaimed and stuck in the Giants’ organization. About three weeks into the season, he was called back up when Schmitt landed on the IL with an oblique strain.
Villar hasn’t gotten much playing time since returning to the big leagues. In the one month since his contract was selected, he received just 26 plate appearances over nine games. He put up a .200/.360/.250 line in that time.
Now that Schmitt is back, Villar is likely destined for the waiver wire once again. He has shown some pop at the plate at times but has often been a strikeout victim, which likely led to him clearing waivers a couple of months ago. He has hit 15 home runs in 383 career big league plate appearances but has gone down on strikes at a 31.6% clip.
Given that he cleared waivers last time, there’s a decent chance he will do so again. If that comes to pass, he would be able to elect free agency this time around, as players with a previous career outright have that right.
It’s also possible that some team that passed on him last time will take a flier on him now, perhaps due to injuries changing their roster outlook. Villar has played the three non-shortstop infield positions, meaning he can provide a bit of defensive versatility.
He has shown some home run power in the majors, as mentioned, and has tremendous minor league numbers. He has taken 1,248 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level since the start of 2022. His 25.6% strikeout rate in that time is still a bit high but far more tolerable than his big league rate. He’s also drawn walks at a 13.4% clip and hit 61 home runs, helping him produce a .273/.381/.507 line and 130 wRC+.
Photo courtesy of D. Ross Cameron, Imagn Images
Hopefully he clears waivers.
I’d guess he does. Last time he went unclaimed. And he didn’t do much to change other team’s opinions either.
I disagree. I hope they finally get him out of the giants system so they stop wasting 40 man slots for a worthless player.
Not sure what productive player, that Villar is blocking from the 40-man, that you refer to.
Exactly. Giants farms system is ranked like 26 out 30 its Trash
They don’t have much depth at first, I’m not thinking Villar is going to breakout similar to Ramos . But they are playing Schmitt at first Wilmer can barely play the field. I just don’t mind him as depth at Sacramento with Wade struggling.
LOL no one is making a trade for Villar. He is definitely clearing waivers
Obviously no one is trading for Villar. Everyone knows that, and no one suggested otherwise. And that’s because, if any team was willing to take a flier on a guy making the MLB minimum, they claim him. I doubt even that happens, but just not sure where you got the idea anyone was talking trade.
You’re right dude, I’m not sure why I was thinking a waiver claim required a trade. Weird.
Villar always looked like a Major league hitter in Spring Training, but a change of scenery will do him good, I hope.
Villar – thanks for your time with Giants & best of luck going forward
4a.
I’ve always said that. Lots of guys mash in AAA but can’t figure it out in big leagues. Luciano and Matos might be those guys too.
A little too early to be speculating that Matos and Luciano are AAAA guys. They’re both 5 years younger than Villar. When Ramos was 23, 2 years ago, he posted a 48 OPS+ and many had him as a AAAA player.
That’s a fair point. I really hope they aren’t for the Giants sake. They haven’t developed a ton of impact bats lately.
Luciano has yet to “mash” at the AAA level. He has a cumulative .750 OPS there, across 3 seasons – with no improvement there (so far) this year – sitting at an uninspiring .735.
He’s still relatively young, of course, but at this point, I’m skeptical that he’s got any big league game in him.
Pretty sure Luciano has had a great few weeks in aaa. Not gonna tilt the scales but nice to see him start hitting again.
goob, Yeah, between Luciano and Matos, I have more hope for Matos. Although, Luciano is still too young to write off, he may be one of the many to not live up to the potential.
I would agree with that. He is too young to write off completely. Ramos is a perfect example. Got into the organization at 17 years old, and took about 7 to 8 years to develop into an above average major league hitter.
Vilar had had many chances but Schmidt is better but ….another who’s had many opportunities and never seems to catch on.
Agree. Schmitt has more defensive value, and being 2 years younger than Villar, carries more hope that he can figure it out. I’ve never been much of a Schmitt fan, once I got to see him hit, but I’d be more than happy for him to prove me wrong.
Casey Schmidt can’t hit. That doesn’t work at the big league level
Pirates will pick him up and he’ll hit 15 homers the rest of the way with a .750 OPS.
They probably will
Schmidt is trash
Villar is worse.
It’s about time, Villar was a complete waste of a 40 man slot. Hopefully he ends up in another organization.
Change of scenery, maybe a team struggling like Rockies might try to claim him
Korea or Japan?
VillAAAr.