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Giants’ Farhan Zaidi On Gausman, Offseason, Belt, Injuries

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Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi discussed several topics with reporters (including the San Francisco Chronicle’s John Shea and NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic) earlier this week.  Some notable highlights…

  • Kevin Gausman returned to San Francisco after accepting the one-year, $18.9MM qualifying offer, though the two sides also had some negotiations about a multi-year contract.  However, Zaidi said those talks are “on the back burner right now” while the Giants explore other offseason business.  “We’ve obviously got other things that we’re looking to accomplish….I could see that being something we revisit, but I don’t think anything there is imminent,” Zaidi said.
  • In terms of what else the Giants are working on, pitching continues to be a focus.  According to Zaidi, “we’re in a better position to role the dice on additional pitching moves now that we have Gausman in the fold, bringing us veteran certainty to the front of our rotation.”  Position player additions aren’t as much of a priority given how well the Giants lineup performed in 2020, though in the wake of that success and the more hitter-friendly renovations made to Oracle Park, Zaidi said that free agent batters and their representatives have shown more interest in coming to San Francisco.
  • While Zaidi’s first two years running the Giants’ front office have been defined by his many acquisitions of rather unheralded or under-the-radar players, the team is looking to expand that scope this winter.  As Zaidi said with some humor, “it’s not a prerequisite to be injured or come off a down year for us to sign somebody….I wouldn’t limit our opportunities to just bounce-back guys.”
  • There isn’t any new information on Brandon Belt’s recovery from heel surgery, as Zaidi “it’s a little too early to tell right now” if Belt will be ready by the time Spring Training camp opens.  “Everything we’re hearing is positive, but I don’t think that we have a firm timetable or target date yet,” Zaidi said.  As Pavlovic noted, Belt’s heel problems caused him to miss most of Summer Camp but it didn’t hurt him during the season, as Belt hit an outstanding .309/.425/.591 over 179 plate appearances.
  • In other injury updates, Zaidi said star prospect Heliot Ramos (oblique) and outfielder Austin Slater (right flexor strain) are both expected to be healthy for the start of Spring Training.  Outfield prospect Alexander Canario, however, will miss the start of the minor league season as he recovers from recent shoulder surgery.

Giants Notes: Ruf, Pence, Dubon

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Darin Ruf’s loud bat is making a play for a roster spot in San Francisco, per John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Ruff, 33, made major-league appearances for five consecutive seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies from 2012 to 2016, totaling 833 plate appearances. He was mostly used as a pinch-hitting option off the bench while seeing time at first base and in both outfield corners. The Giants are pretty settled at first base with veteran Brandon Belt, but there’s room for Ruf to make a play for an outfield spot where Michael Yastrzemski, Alex Dickerson, Austin Slater, Joey Rickard, Joe McCarthy, and Hunter Pence are his top competition.

  • Pence, of course, will line up as the regular designated hitter, assuming he can stay healthy. After missing some workouts due to pain in his right foot, Pence underwent an MRI but results returned nothing more serious than inflammation, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. He’s not expected to miss a significant amount of time. The fan favorite returned to the Giants this year just in time to resume his role as a designated hitter, a role in which he thrived last season for the Texas Rangers. Pence enjoyed a real resurgence in 2019, making the All-Star team and hitting .297/.358/.552. the 36-year-old outfielder was limited to 83 games, however, and it’s safe to assume he’ll be a part-time player moving forward. That should leave plenty of at-bats for a crowded veteran infield or any of the names above to snag some extra ABs from the DH slot.
  • In preparation for a hectic season, Giants manager Gabe Kapler is encouraging players to cultivate as much flexibility as possible, per Kerry Crowley of the Mercury News. Joe McCarthy is spending more time at first, Yastrzemski, Austin Slater and others are seeing time in centerfield, and former Brewer Mauricio Dubon has moved all over the diamond, from second to center to right to first. When Dubon was acquired from the Brewers, there was some question as to exactly where he’d fit in, given the veterans stocked in the Giants’ infield. Well, the answer is anywhere and everywhere.

Giants Recall Austin Slater

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The Giants have recalled outfielder/infielder Austin Slater to make his season debut, the team announced. In a corresponding move, right-hander Dereck Rodriguez was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento for the second time this season. Slater will be the 12th different outfielder used by the Giants in 2019. Five of the previous outfield options are no longer with the organization.

Now 26 years old, Slater showed some promise when he was called up for his big league debut in 2017, hitting at a .282/.339/.402 clip with three home runs in 127 plate appearances. Over a larger sample of 227 plate appearances the following season, however, Slater’s strikeout rate spiked from 22.8 percent to 30.7 percent as his batting line dipped to .251/.333/.307. He posted characteristically strong numbers in Triple-A last year, but his struggles led him to pursue some changes to his swing mechanics in the offseason, as recently explored at McCovey Chronicles.

Within that interview Slater admitted to struggling with his new swing in Spring Training, but the results so far in 2019 have been promising. Slater has posted a .308/.436/.529 line with a dozen homers and 17 doubles in 296 plate appearances. The Pacific Coast League is a known hitters’ haven, so the numbers are surely a bit inflated, but it’s also worth noting that Slater is walking at a career-best 15.5 percent clip as well.

Perhaps most interesting with Slater is the manner in which he’s been deployed defensively in Sacramento. While he’s primarily been a corner outfielder and first baseman in recent seasons, Slater has played all three outfield positions as well as first base, second base and third base. That marks his first real exposure to third base and his first significant action at second base since playing 96 games there back in 2015. If he’s able to continue his hot hitting in the big leagues, he could be deployed all over the diamond and give manager Bruce Bochy some flexibility when making moves late in games.

The demotion for Rodriguez, 27, is the latest speed bump in what’s been a disappointing season for the righty. Rodriguez looked like a needle-in-a-haystack find for the Giants last season when he parlayed a minor league contract into a 2.81 ERA / 3.74 FIP over the course of 118 1/3 innings. The organization surely hoped that Rodriguez could be a long-term option, at least at the back of the rotation, but he’s struggled to a 5.27 ERA in 2019. Rodriguez’s walk and home-run rates have soared while his strikeout rate has simultaneously dipped. San Francisco has also tried him in the bullpen, but Rodriguez has yielded 10 runs in 15 innings out of the bullpen. Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle suggests (via Twitter) that the plan for him is to go to Sacramento and get regular work as a starter once again.

Injury Notes: Duda, Santana, Sano, LeMahieu, Hanson

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Here are the latest health updates from around the game:

  • Royals first baseman Lucas Duda is heading to the DL as well, the team announced, owing to a bout of plantar fasciitis. It seems the expectation is that the left-handed-hitting slugger won’t miss too terribly long, with skipper Ned Yost saying it may be anywhere from just under a week to three weeks before he’ll be back. (Via Rustin Dodd of The Athletic, on Twitter.) Duda is still sitting under league average with his output on the year, though he has surged a bit of late. If he can get back to health and start hitting closer to his career mean, Duda could still be a trade piece for K.C. this summer. Former first-round pick Hunter Dozier will come up to take the open roster spot.
  • The Twins provided updates on a pair of key rehabbing players, as conveyed by Phil Miller of the Star Tribune (Twitter links). Righty Ervin Santana has finally thrown his first live batting practice session and may be nearing a start in extended spring. He has been coming along slowly from finger surgery and will still need to fully ramp up and complete a rehab assignment before he’s ready for the majors. Meanwhile, third baseman Miguel Sano is still not close to being activated from a hamstring strain. Indications are he’ll at least be out for another week.
  • Not long after returning from a brief DL stint, Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu is going back on the shelf, this time with a left thumb sprain. It’s not clear how long he’ll be out, but there’s also no reason to suspect it’ll be a lengthy absence. The 29-year-old, a pending free agent, has played well thus far, slashing a sturdy .279/.350/.457 with five home runs in his 143 plate appearances. Utilityman Pat Valaika takes the open roster spot.
  • Meanwhile, the Giants have sent infielder Alen Hanson onto the 10-day DL with a hamstring strain while bringing back Austin Slater, who may need to see a bit of time in the infield. That’s a tough break for Hanson, a minor-league signee who had impressed in his 14 games of action after previously failing to gain traction in the majors. He has produced at a healthy .298/.346/.638 clip in 52 trips to the plate. As for Slater, the 25-year-old has demolished Triple-A pitching thus far, with a .386/.456/.670 batting line in 103 plate appearances. He has spent most of his career in the outfield, but does have a bit of experience under his belt at second base.

NL Notes: Bruce, Kang, Stratton, Panik, Gohara, Pennington

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Mets outfielder Jay Bruce has been taking ground balls at first base, James Wagner of the New York Times reports. Wagner adds that the Mets may consider playing him there in order to open up room for Brandon Nimmo to receive everyday playing time again. First base incumbent Adrian Gonzalez has struggled mightily thus far, with just a .203/.300/.320 batting line on the season. It’s still only April, but in light of his struggles last year with the Dodgers, Gonzalez’s leash might be fairly short. That’s particularly true since Nimmo reached base in half of his 38 MLB plate appearances this season. It’s fair to think that the Mets are looking hard for ways to lock Nimmo into an everyday role.

Other news out of the NL…

  • Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang won’t receive any discipline from MLB, nor will the team dole out any punishment, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on Twitter. Kang was denied a U.S. visa for all of last year due to multiple DUI-related arrests. He’s finally able to return to the Pirates as of Thursday.
  • Today, the Giants reinstated Chris Stratton from the paternity list, optioning outfielder Austin Slater to Triple-A Sacramento in a corresponding move. Within hours, however, the club reversed its reported stance on Mac Williamson’s status, placing him on the seven-day concussion DL. The move allowed the Giants to recall Slater, who’s directly replacing Williamson. Stratton sports an impressive 2.32 ERA and 2.69 FIP across five starts this season, though the fact that he hasn’t allowed any homers despite a 37.8% hard contact rate suggests he might have been a bit lucky in that regard. Stratton will take his scheduled turn through the rotation today against the Dodgers.
  • In other Giants news, second baseman Joe Panik has been placed on the disabled list with a sprained left thumb. The club correspondingly purchased the contract of second baseman/outfielder Alen Hanson, who leads the Triple-A Pacific Coast League with a .403 batting average. The club moved Mark Melancon to the 60-day DL in order to clear room on the 40-man roster for Hanson.
  • The Braves have reinstated left-hander Luiz Gohara from the disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Gwinnett, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Gohara suffered a sprained ankle during a spring training outing, and had exhausted the maximum amount of time allotted for rehab starts. He’ll likely make a couple more starts in the minors before returning to help the Braves at the major league level. Gohara had figured to be a prominent part of Atlanta’s rotation before the season began.
  • The Reds announced that infielder Cliff Pennington has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Louisville. Pennington, who signed a minors deal in the offseason, made the club out of spring training camp as a bench player. However, he’s struck out in nearly 40 percent of his plate appearances thus far and has yet to sock an extra-base hit.

Injury Notes: Teheran, Buchter, Giants, Donaldson, Schoop, Nats

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Braves righty Julio Teheran left his outing today with what the team is calling “right upper trap tightness.” He had shown a concerning velocity drop before departing, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. The 27-year-old Teheran entered the day with a 4.00 ERA in his 27 innings, while carrying a career-best 12.8% swinging-strike rate, but gave up three earned in his three frames. It seems generally promising that there’s a muscular explanation for Teheran’s sudden loss of velo, though of course that does not necessarily mean he’s out of the woods and we’ll have to await further word.

Here’s the latest on some other health situations around the league:

  • The Athletics have placed southpaw Ryan Buchter on the DL, per a club announcement. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by Danny Coulombe. At this point, the team plans to shut Buchter down for at least ten days and possibly longer, as MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweets. The 31-year-old southpaw, who was acquired over the offseason, has been quite good thus far for the A’s. He’s carrying a 1.69 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 over 10 2/3 innings.
  • While the Giants will hold off on putting Mac Williamson on the DL, he’s in the concussion protocol at present, as manager Bruce Bochy informed reporters including Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). In the meantime, the organization has brought fellow outfielder Austin Slater onto the active roster, creating space by sending reliever Josh Osich to the 10-day DL. It’s unclear at this point how long Slater will have in the majors, but he’ll surely be hoping to follow the same track as Williamson, who kept on raking after receiving a promotion. Slater owns a .358/.435/.642 slash with just six strikeouts in his 62 plate appearances on the year at Triple-A.
  • Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson is beginning his rehab assignment tomorrow, as the team announced. He’ll open as a DH as he eases back into action, though the real test will come when he puts his throwing back on display at game speed. There’s similarly good news for the division-rival Orioles, who expect to send second baseman Jonathan Schoop on a brief rehab assignment next week, as Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. He has been out for two weeks with an oblique strain.
  • The Nationals, who are still waiting for a trio of important players, gave some updates today. (Links to the Twitter feed of Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com.) Third baseman Anthony Rendon is reasonably close and is expected to return in relatively short order after a brief stint on the shelf. It’s not quite as rosy for outfielder Adam Eaton, who has seemingly had some ups and downs in rehabbing his ankle issues, but — GM Mike Rizzo emphasized — also has not experienced any setbacks. As for second baseman Daniel Murphy, who has yet to play at all following offseason knee surgery, there’s still no timeline for a return.
  • A number of other players are already coming off of the DL. The Reds have activated righty David Hernandez and the Mariners have brought back first baseman Ryon Healy. Both were relatively significant offseason acquisitions for their organizations. Meanwhile, the Rays activated infielder Matt Duffy and the Rangers did the same with righty Tony Barnette.

NL West Notes: Reynolds, Giants, Tomas

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First baseman Mark Reynolds is hoping to return to the Rockies in 2018, but he’s seeking a big league deal this time around after playing his way onto the team on a minor league pact last season, he tells Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. “I talked with the Rockies during the winter meetings and Jeff (general manager Jeff Bridich) told me that they had to take care of the bullpen and then see what the money situation was,” says Reynolds. “So now I’m waiting to see what happens.” The 34-year-old Reynolds hit .267/.352/.487 with 30 homers for the Rox last season, though there was a glaring 275-point difference between his OPS at home (.978, 21 homers) and on the road (.703, nine homers). Power is Reynolds’ biggest attribute, but it’s a tough selling point at a time when home runs were hit at an all-time high in 2017.

More from the division…

  • Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tackled some questions from Giants fans. The outfield remains a key point of focus, of course. With Andrew McCutchen expected to play every day in right, Austin Slater could share time in left with Hunter Pence while also picking up some action in center, says Pavlovic. That doesn’t mean the team is bowing out of the pursuit of another up-the-middle player, of course — or that Slater has locked up a roster spot. (He’ll be competing in camp with Jarrett Parker, Mac Williamson, and Gorkys Hernandez.) There’s one other notable name to consider in the internal mix. But as Pavlovic wrote yesterday, the San Francisco front office seems inclined to take its time with center fielder Steven Duggar. “This is a time of year when you would rather have Duggar in your back pocket and bring in a center fielder that allows us to have more time,” GM Bobby Evans explains. Of course, the club has little wiggle room if it hopes to stay under the luxury tax line; it remains to be seen just how the outfield mix will look when camp opens.
  • Diamondbacks outfielder Yasmany Tomas is facing charges after he was clocked by police driving at high rates of speed, as MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reports. Tomas, who was reportedly driving at 105 mph, was initially charged with reckless driving and criminal speeding. While the incident evinces poor judgment on the part of the 27-year-old, thankfully it is said not to have involved drugs or alcohol. It’s not the best start to the new year for Tomas, who is looking to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2017 season in which he struggled when he was on the field.

NL Notes: Mets, Colon, Phillies, Giants

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With the 39-46 Mets well out of the playoff picture, Mike Puma of the New York Post looks ahead to what could be an offseason of upheaval for the club. In addition to having a slew of veterans set for free agency over the winter, general manager Sandy Alderson and manager Terry Collins are also on expiring contracts. Given the way the Mets’ season has gone, it’s possible owner Fred Wilpon will nudge the soon-to-be 70-year-old Alderson toward retirement, per Puma. Regardless of whether Alderson or someone else is their GM, Puma expects the majority of the Mets’ offseason attention to go to their bullpen. Meanwhile, they probably won’t re-up either first baseman Lucas Duda or outfielder Jay Bruce over the winter (if they’re not already gone by the July 31 deadline, of course), relays Puma, who writes that the latter is likely to seek a four-year contract on the open market. It’s certainly debatable whether the 30-year-old Bruce would be worth that type of commitment, but he has made a case for it this season with a .265/.334/.539 line and 23 home runs over 353 plate appearances.

More from New York and two other National League cities:

  • Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said Friday that first basemen Tommy Joseph and Rhys Hoskins “can’t coexist on the same team,” and GM Matt Klentak implied the same on Saturday. Asked if the Phillies have considered using one of the two in left field, Klentak told reporters, including Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer: “We haven’t tried that, so you wouldn’t know until you tried it. But there’s a reason both of them are playing first base right now.” With only one position available for the two of them and Hoskins currently running roughshod over Triple-A pitching, Joseph could be the odd man out by the deadline. The 25-year-old’s trade value likely isn’t high, suggests Gelb, who posits that Philadelphia could package him with a rental in order to extract more value in a deal.
  • The Mets believe Bartolo Colon chose to sign with Minnesota over returning to New York because they wouldn’t have been able to guarantee him a rotation spot for the rest of the season, according to Puma. A starting job is particularly important to the 44-year-old right-hander because he’s vying to become the winningest Dominican-born pitcher of all-time, notes Puma. With 235 victories, Colon is eight away from tying Hall of Famer Juan Marichal.
  • Giants outfielder Austin Slater suffered a torn adductor muscle in his right hip Friday and will miss two to three months, likely keeping him out for the rest of the season, reports Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. The 24-year-old Slater began his major league career in promising fashion between his early June promotion and the injury, hitting .290/.343/.430 in 108 PAs.

Justin Ruggiano Elects Free Agency

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JUNE 5: Ruggiano cleared waivers and has elected free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment to the minors, as first noted on the Giants’ transactions page at MLB.com.

JUNE 2: The Giants announced that they’ve designated outfielder Justin Ruggiano for assignment in order to clear a roster spot for outfielder Austin Slater, whose contract has now been formally selected from Triple-A Sacramento (Twitter link via CSN Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic).

Ruggiano, 35, has failed to receive much in the way of major league opportunities over the past three seasons. At times, though, he has been a quality weapon off the bench against left-handed pitching.

Through 63 plate appearances on the season, Ruggiano managed only a .217/.238/.333 batting line. He was one of the numerous players the Giants have tried in the outfield, none of whom have provided consistent production. Now, Slater will have his shot at holding down a role in left.

Giants To Purchase Contract Of Austin Slater

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The Giants will purchase the contract of outfielder Austin Slater, according to Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News. Slater, 24, was taken in the eighth round of the 2014 draft.

A corresponding move has yet to be reported, but the Giants will need to clear roster space to make way for Slater. While that could involve optioning youngster Christian Arroyo, a 40-man move of some kind will be needed regardless.

Slater has thrived in the upper minors since the start of the 2016 season. All told, he owns a .308/.381/.487 slash through 474 trips to the plate at Triple-A, with 48 walks to go with 91 strikeouts.

While the right-handed hitter can play center, it makes sense to expect he’ll find most of his opportunities in left field. San Francisco has struggled to find production from the outfield all year long.

The struggling Giants could ultimately begin cycling in more new faces, Baggarly notes, if the club can’t quickly break out of its season-long struggles. It seems that light-hitting outfielder Gorkys Hernandez is the most likely player to go to make way for Slater, though a few of other roster spots also appear to be less than secure.

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