Giants Rumors

Giants To Sign Melvin Upton Jr.

By charliewilmoth | April 8, 2017 at 3:14pm CDT

3:12pm: Upton will sign with the Giants, Feinsand reports (Twitter links). Upton’s deal will be of the minor-league variety, and he will report to Triple-A Sacramento. He is a client of Reynolds Sports Management.

As noted below, the Giants can use extra outfield depth, and Upton could conceivably play left field against lefties, pairing with Jarrett Parker. As Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets, the Giants until recently did not seem to have interest in Upton. Parker and the Giants’ other left fielders have started the season poorly, though, with Parker going 0-for-10 with six strikeouts. The Giants’ change of heart might have had something to do with those struggles.

The Giants also have Mac Williamson for the sort of role Upton might eventually occupy, although Williamson is currently on the DL with a quad injury. Another potential option, Michael Morse, is also currently hurt. The Giants also recently signed another veteran, Drew Stubbs, to bolster their supply of outfielders. The Giants had also been connected to free agent Angel Pagan, who of course is no stranger to the organization; Upton’s signing perhaps makes a reunion less likely.

2:50pm: Free agent outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. is likely to sign with a National League team today, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets. The Blue Jays released Upton last week after telling him he wouldn’t make their club out of Spring Training.

The identity of the signing team isn’t currently known. Speculatively, the Giants could use a bit of extra depth, and the right-handed Upton could be a fit, with left-handed Jarrett Parker in left field. If Upton and the Braves might have interest in a reunion, that club has been known to have interest in bench help, and they have left-handed Nick Markakis in right. The Padres have a very young outfield and presumably have memories of Upton’s previous tenure there; they might see him as a stabilizing presence. Upton might also be a decent short-term fit in Colorado, where lefty Gerardo Parra is playing left while David Dahl nurses a rib injury.

Of course, Upton could also potentially sign a minor-league deal elsewhere and wait for an opportunity. But he might be able to find a situation where he can play right away, or close to it. He hit poorly down the stretch last year with the Blue Jays, but as Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe pointed out earlier today, Upton previously having revived his career in San Diego might convince interested teams to gamble on his upside. He seems likely to generate more interest than the typical minor-league free agent. The Padres are also paying the bulk of his remaining salary, so interested teams won’t have to worry much about his cost.

Giants To Sign Drew Stubbs

By Steve Adams | April 5, 2017 at 10:17pm CDT

TODAY: The deal has been completed, Alex Pavlovic of NBC tweets. Stubbs will earn at a $1MM rate in the majors and $130K in the minors, with bonus money also available.

YESTERDAY: The Giants are nearing a minor league agreement with veteran outfielder Drew Stubbs, tweets Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. As Baggarly notes, recent injuries to Mike Morse and Mac Williamson have thinned out the team’s outfield depth. Beyond that, center fielder Denard Span is day-to-day with some tightness in his left hip, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (Twitter link via Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle).

San Francisco is currently utilizing an outfield alignment consisting of Hunter Pence in right field, Span in center field and a platoon of Jarrett Parker and Chris Marrero in left field. Gorkys Hernandez made the roster out of Spring Training as a reserve and can handle center in Span’s hopefully brief absence.

Stubbs, 32, was in camp with the Twins during Spring Training but didn’t crack the roster after logging a disappointing .139/.273/.278 with 15 strikeouts in 36 at-bats over the life of 15 games. Stubbs had a career year with the Rockies in 2014, hitting .289/.339/.482 with 15 home runs and 20 stolen bases — though the vast majority of his damage was done at the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field. Since that season, Stubbs has struggled to a .207/.302/.365 batting line in 234 plate appearances between the Rockies, Braves, Rangers and Orioles.

Those recent struggles notwithstanding, Stubbs is capable of handling all three outfield positions and has a strong track record against left-handed pitching over the life of his career. In 952 plate appearances against southpaws, he’s a .272/.348/.444 hitter.

Giants Sign Ryan Webb To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | April 5, 2017 at 9:38am CDT

The Giants have signed right-hander Ryan Webb, who was released by the Brewers near the end of Spring Training, to a minor league contract, according to Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. The Wasserman client is set to open the year in Triple-A Sacramento. (He’s been announced as a member of the River Cats’ Opening Day roster.)

Webb, 31, is coming off a rough and abbreviated season with the Rays, in which he pitched just 17 1/3 innings with a 5.19 earned run average. That represented Webb’s lightest big league workload in any season since he made his Major League debut with the Padres back in 2009. Prior to that disappointing campaign in Tampa Bay, though, Webb had logged a career 3.35 ERA in 376 innings with the Padres, Marlins, Orioles and Indians.

Webb isn’t an overpowering arm by any means; he averaged 92 mph on his heater in 2014-15 and sat at 90.9 mph in last year’s limited sample. Beyond that, he’s averaged just 6.2 strikeouts per nine innings pitched in his Major League career. However, Webb’s control has continually improved since his rookie season. Over the past three years he’s issued only 27 walks (five of them intentional) in 117 1/3 innings of work. Beyond that, Webb boasts a strong 56.1 percent ground-ball rate in his career and has routinely posted lower hard-contact rates than that of the league-average reliever.

The bullpen was a significant question mark for the Giants in 2016 and has already taken a notable hit in 2017 with the loss of southpaw Will Smith to Tommy John surgery. While signing Webb obviously won’t be construed as any kind of marquee addition, it’s also nice for San Francisco to have a depth option that comes with plenty of Major League success under his belt.

The Giants currently have Mark Melancon, Hunter Strickland, Derek Law, George Kontos, Cory Gearrin and Neil Ramirez as right-handers in their bullpen, plus Ty Blach on hand as a southpaw option. Behind that group, right-handers Albert Suarez, Dan Slania and Chase Johnson all represent 40-man options for the Giants.

Giants Not Interested In Melvin Upton Jr.

By Connor Byrne | April 2, 2017 at 4:33pm CDT

The Tigers will “look into” signing just-released outfielder Melvin Upton Jr., according to general manager Al Avila, though Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press relays that a deal sounds unlikely (Twitter links). With J.D. Martinez on the shelf because of a foot injury, Upton’s brother, Justin Upton, will enter the season as Detroit’s only established outfielder. The Uptons played together in both Atlanta and San Diego from 2013-15, but it doesn’t seem as if they’ll reunite in the Motor City. Meanwhile, it doesn’t appear the Giants will even consider signing Melvin Upton. He’s not on their radar, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Giants DFA Ray Black, Ian Gardeck

By Connor Byrne | April 2, 2017 at 11:42am CDT

The Giants have designated right-handers Ray Black and Ian Gardeck for assignment, according to the club.

The 26-year-old Black has thus far spent his entire professional career with the Giants, who selected him in the seventh round of the 2011 amateur draft. Black ascended to the Double-A level last year and, thanks to an outrageous walk rate (9.19 per nine innings), recorded a 4.88 ERA across 31 1/3 frames. At the same time, he did strike out 15.22 batters per nine, and Black posted both sky-high strikeout rates and better walk rates from 2014-15.

Gardeck, like Black, entered the pros as a Giants draft pick, going in the 16th round in 2012. He missed all of 2016 on account of Tommy John surgery, but the now-26-year-old produced the previous season at the High-A level, where he logged a 3.54 ERA, 10.84 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 86 1/3 innings.

Neil Ramirez Wins Giants' Last Bullpen Spot

By Connor Byrne | April 1, 2017 at 10:41pm CDT

The Giants have chosen righty Neil Ramirez over southpaw Steven Okert for their final bullpen spot, Alex Espinoza of MLB.com was among those to report. The out-of-options Ramirez, who inked a minor league pact with the Giants over the winter, planned to opt out of the deal had he not made their roster, tweets FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. San Francisco “didn’t want to lose Ramirez,” said manager Bruce Bochy, whose bullpen will open the year with one lefty (Ty Blach).

Melvin Upton Jr. Won’t Make Blue Jays

By Connor Byrne | April 1, 2017 at 7:51pm CDT

8:07pm: The Giants are content with their current outfielders, meaning they’re not inclined to go after Upton, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. However, Schulman doesn’t rule out a trade, noting it could come down to the caliber of prospect the Jays are seeking for Upton (Twitter links).

6:25pm: The Tigers won’t pursue Upton, either, adds Heyman (on Twitter).

6:07pm: The Orioles are “not a fit” for Upton, Heyman hears (Twitter link).

5:40pm: Outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. won’t make the Blue Jays’ Opening Day roster, reports Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Jays are listening to offers for Upton, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman, who lists the Tigers, Orioles, Rays and Giants as sensible fits.

Toronto hasn’t finalized its roster yet, though the last spot was reportedly down to Upton and out-of-options infielder Ryan Goins as of Tuesday. Notably, the Blue Jays signed utilityman Chris Coghlan to a minor league deal Saturday, so it’s possible he could factor into the mix.

The Blue Jays can’t option Upton to the minors without his consent. As such, whether via trade or release, it appears the 32-year-old’s short tenure with the organization is about to end. Upton joined the club prior to last July in a deal with the Padres, who ate all but $5MM of the remaining $22MM on his contract and acquired right-hander Hansel Rodriguez in return.

Upton is due $16.45MM this season, which will conclude the five-year, $75.5MM deal he signed with the Braves in 2012, and the right-handed-hitter seemed likely to spend the campaign as a platoon left fielder in Toronto with the lefty-swinging Ezequiel Carrera. But, statistically speaking, Upton made a poor impression down the stretch last year in Toronto, where he hit just .196/.261/.318 in 165 post-trade plate appearances. He followed that up with another weak line, .194/.216/.472, in 36 spring at-bats.

While Upton hasn’t performed well in Toronto, the once-valuable Ray revived his career to an extent in San Diego over the prior year and a half. Upton hit a decent .257/.313/.435 with 21 home runs and 29 steals in 602 plate appearances with the Padres, and he combined for nine Defensive Runs Saved and a 2.9 Ultimate Zone Rating in the field. Someone could take a flier on him, then, including the teams Heyman mentioned. Detroit’s only proven outfielders are Melvin’s brother, Justin Upton, and the injured J.D. Martinez; Baltimore tried to acquire Melvin Upton last summer; Tampa Bay, where Upton played from 2007-12, has been looking for outfield help (though the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin tweets the team won’t trade for Upton); and he could conceivably platoon in San Francisco with lefty-hitting left fielder Jarrett Parker.

Tim Federowicz Likely To Stay In Giants Organization

By charliewilmoth | April 1, 2017 at 4:32pm CDT

Catcher Tim Federowicz doesn’t plan to opt out of his minor-league deal with the Giants unless he receives a big-league contract, Carl Steward of the Bay Area News Group tweets. Federowicz has received interest from other clubs, but no big-league offers. The 29-year-old Federowicz played briefly over parts of four seasons with the Dodgers, then missed much of the 2015 season to a knee injury after heading to San Diego in the Matt Kemp/Yasmani Grandal trade. He briefly appeared in the big leagues with the Cubs last year.

Notable Roster Decisions: Friday

By Steve Adams | March 31, 2017 at 9:45pm CDT

As Spring Training draws to a close, the final determinations about each team’s roster will be continue to come into focus. Here are some of the day’s more notable roster decisions…

Prized righty Tyler Glasnow will take the final spot in the Pirates rotation, Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on Twitter. He had been competing with Trevor Williams, who’ll head to the bullpen, Adam Berry of MLB.com adds on Twitter. With southpaw Wade LeBlanc also taking a job, that seems to set the stage for Rule 5 pick Tyler Webb to hit the waiver wire.
The Giants have nailed down their bench and rotation, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. Aaron Hill and Chris Marrero will round out the bench. The veteran Hill figures to share the infield reserve duties with Conor Gillaspie, while Marrero will surprisingly open the season as a part of a left field platoon with the left-handed-hitting Jarrett Parker. Meanwhile, Matt Cain will keep a rotation spot, though Ty Blach will also make the club as a reliever — where he could often spell Cain in lengthier outings.
With injuries and young arms entering the picture, the Rockies’ pitching plans were interesting to watch this spring. As Nick Groke of the Denver Post tweets, the team will roll with lefty Kyle Freeland and righties Antonio Senzatela and German Marquez to fill out their starting staff. It seems likely that the former two will open the year in the rotation, with Marquez heading to the pen and staying on hand if a need arises.

Click to read earlier updates …

By optioning Ben Gamel and placing several relievers on the DL, the Mariners signaled their Opening Day Roster, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports (Twitter links). Guillermo Heredia will serve as a reserve outfielder, while both Dillon Overton and James Pazos are slated to take up spots in the bullpen.
Righty Oliver Drake has been named as the final member of the Orioles bullpen, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com reports on Twitter. It had been suggested yesterday that Drake was placed on waivers, but it seems that was premature. Though he had a rough spring, Drake has shown an ability to induce lots of swings and misses with his deceptive pitch mix. The 30-year-old is out of options, so Baltimore had to carry him on the active roster to maintain control rights.
The Rangers made the surprising decision to option righty Keone Kela, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. Indications are that the move was related to off-field issues rather than performance questions or a need for roster space. Indeed, Kela was — and, perhaps, still is — expected to fulfill an important role in the Rangers’ pen. Though he dealt with elbow issues and struggled in the earned-run department last year, the 23-year-old was dominant this spring and seemed a good bet to bounce back.
A groin injury will land Matt Garza on the 10-day disabled list to open the season, meaning that the Brewers’ rotation will now consist of right-handers Junior Guerra, Zach Davies, Wily Peralta, Chase Anderson and Jimmy Nelson, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Left-hander Tommy Milone, who inked a one-year deal after being non-tendered by the Twins, had been in the mix for a rotation spot but will instead pitch out of the bullpen, Haudricourt adds. The 30-year-old Milone, who has made only 11 career relief appearances, will be the lone southpaw in Milwaukee’s bullpen (and on its entire pitching staff, for that matter).
Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune reports that Trevor Cahill and Luis Perdomo have won spots in the Padres’ rotation, thereby pushing Jarred Cosart to the bullpen. Cahill and Perdomo will be joined by Jhoulys Chacin, Jered Weaver and Clayton Richard in a reconstructed San Diego rotation that was pieced together in cost-effective fashion but still carries myriad question marks. Manager Andy Green didn’t rule out a return to the rotation or an eventual late-inning role for Cosart, but for the time being it sounds as if he’s slotted for long relief. Given the uncertainty that permeates the San Diego starting corps, that role could lead to plenty of innings for the 26-year-old Cosart early in the year.
The Yankees announced last night that right-hander Chad Green has been optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 25-year-old Green had been in consideration for a rotation spot and turned in a strong 1.50 ERA in 12 spring innings, though that was accompanied by a less-encouraging 8-to-6 K/BB ratio. The Yankees aren’t planning to name a fifth starter before Opening Day and will utilize early off days to avoid needing a fifth starter for the early portion of April. Still, it’d be a surprise if Green didn’t at least enter the team’s rotation conversation at some point this season. For now, the team’s rotation will be comprised of Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia and Luis Severino.
Jandel Gustave has won the Astros’ final bullpen spot, beating out fellow righty James Hoyt, per Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). The 24-year-old bounced to three different teams after being taken in the 2014 Rule 5 Draft before ultimately returning to the ’Stros. Gustave averaged 97.1 mph on his fastball in his brief MLB debut last season and turned in a 16-to-4 K/BB ratio in 15 1/3 innings of work.
Right-hander Austin Pruitt has beat out Chase Whitley and Jaime Schultz to make the Rays’ roster, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Injuries to Shawn Tolleson and Brad Boxberger likely helped to pave the way for Pruitt, 27, to break camp with the team. The 2013 ninth-round pick turned in a solid 3.76 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 1.5 BB/9 in his first taste of Triple-A work last year. Manager Kevin Cash tells Topkin that delivering the news that Pruitt would make the Opening Day roster was “probably the best conversation all spring.” The manager also noted that a decision on the final bench slot may not come until Saturday (or even Sunday morning, Topkin adds via Twitter).

Giants Release Jimmy Rollins

By Jeff Todd | March 31, 2017 at 6:53pm CDT

The Giants have released veteran shortstop Jimmy Rollins, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link). The decision was reached after the organization consulted with the veteran, who had already been told he would not make the Opening Day roster.

It’s not clear what’ll be next for the 38-year-old, who struggled at the plate during camp. He will “take a little time” to weigh whether to continue playing, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link).

Rollins, a 17-year MLB veteran, had already posted two straight seasons with middling offensive production, and wasn’t able to find a home last year after being released in mid-season by the White Sox. That said, perhaps another organization will end up with a need at an opportune moment. Rollins would surely represent a respect veteran addition to any roster, having compiled over 10,000 career plate appearances and 49 fWAR/46 rWAR since he first cracked the bigs way back in 2000.

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