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Giants Select Casey Schmitt, Designate Darin Ruf For Assignment

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11:02am: The Giants announced that they’ve selected Schmitt’s contract. In a corresponding move, they reinstated first baseman/outfielder Darin Ruf from the injured list and designated him for assignment. Outfielder Cal Stevenson was also optioned to Sacramento.

11:00am: The Giants will select the contract of infield prospect Casey Schmitt prior to tonight’s game, reports Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. The 2020 second-round pick will be making his Major League debut.

Schmitt, 24, has gotten out to a .313/.352/.410 start in Triple-A Sacrmento, striking out at a 19.3% clip against a more tepid 5.5% walk rate. For the season’s first few weeks, Schmitt was hitting for average but doing little else, walking at only a 3.6% clip with just a .367 slugging percentage. He’s picked up the pace of late, however, hitting .327/.393/.473 with a homer, five doubles, three stolen bases, an 8.2% walk rate and just a 13.1% strikeout rate over his past 14 games and 55 plate appearances.

While Schmitt has played primarily shortstop so far in 2023, the bulk of his minor league work has come at third base. In all, he has 512 career innings at shortstop and 1223 innings at the hot corner. The Giants have also played him at second base three times this month — the first three appearances of his career at that position — likely in an effort to increase his versatility and his utility on the big league roster.

The Giants have received outstanding production from infielders Thairo Estrada (.344/.394/.534) and J.D. Davis (.287/.360/.515), but with Brandon Crawford shelved by a calf strain (and struggling even when healthy), the infield has been thinned out. Brett Wisely and David Villar have both gotten looks at second base, with Estrada sliding over to shortstop in place of Crawford, but neither has hit well at all in 2023. Schmitt can give the Giants an option at either middle-infield slot, with Estrada handling the other, and hopefully provide a spark to the lineup in the process.

Scouting reports on Schmitt peg him as a plus defender on the left side of the infield, so it stands to reason that he can handle whichever of shortstop, second base or third base the Giants ask of him on a given day. What remains to be seen is whether this proves to be a short-term call-up until Crawford returns or whether Schmitt will get the chance to play his way into a more permanent role with the club. Given the team’s 15-19 start, it’s sensible to take a look at Schmitt and adjust the roster around him if he adapts well at the big league level. If he’s indeed in the Majors for good, he’d be on track to reach arbitration as a likely Super Two player following the 2025 season and reach free agency following the 2029 season — though future optional assignments can of course alter both trajectories.

As for Ruf, the 36-year-old’s return to the Giants will prove quite brief. Released by the Mets earlier this year, he quickly re-signed with the Giants and appeared in nine games before landing on the injured list due to a wrist injury. In 27 plate appearances prior to that IL stint, Ruf posted a solid .261/.370/.348 batting line.

The veteran Ruf was an outstanding find for the Giants in his return from a productive three-year run in the KBO, batting .248/.358/.455 in 726 plate appearances with San Francisco from 2020 through the 2022 trade deadline, when he was traded to the Mets in exchange for the aforementioned Davis and three others. It proved to be a disastrous trade for the Mets, as Davis immediately began hitting in San Francisco, while Ruf’s bat cratered in Queens; he hit just .152/.216/.197 in 74 plate appearances with the Mets last year and didn’t appear in a single game in 2023 before being cut loose.

The Giants will  have a week to trade Ruf, place him on outright waiver or place him on release waivers. He has enough service time to reject an outright assignment and still retain his full $3MM salary. The Mets are on the hook for that sum as part of last summer’s trade, so any team that picks Ruf up will only be required to pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the MLB roster. That’d be subtracted from what the Mets owe to him. In 727 career plate appearances against left-handed pitching, Ruf is a .271/.368/.519 hitter (142 wRC+).

Vida Blue Passes Away

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Former MVP left-hander Vida Blue passed away at the age of 73, per an announcement by the Athletics.

“There are few players with a more decorated career than Vida Blue.” the A’s said in a statement, “Vida will always be a franchise legend and a friend. We send our deepest condolences to his family and friends during this arduous time.”

A six-time All Star and three-time World Series champion, Blue played seventeen seasons in the major leagues, with fifteen of them being played in the Bay Area. Blue debuted as a 19-year-old for the Athletics in 1969, their second season in Oakland after moving there from Kansas City after the 1967 season. Blue pitched just 80 2/3 innings over his first two seasons in the majors, but upon shifting into a full time role as a 21-year-old during the 1971 season, Blue would turn in an incredible performance.

Blue pitched 312 innings for the A’s over 39 starts in 1971, posting a microscopic 1.82 ERA that was 83% better than league average by measure of ERA+ and a 2.20 FIP that largely backed up Blue’s dazzling run prevention numbers. Blue’s phenomenal season saw him lead the league with eight shutouts while also posting league-best marks in ERA, FIP, strikeout rate, WHIP. Naturally, Blue’s performance earned him not only the first All Star appearance of his career, but a Cy Young award and the AL MVP award as well.

Blue would go on to pitch six more seasons in Oakland, posting a 3.10 ERA and 3.25 FIP while averaging over 250 innings of work per season. He would make two more All Star appearances, finish top 7 in AL Cy Young award voting three times, and receive MVP votes twice during that time before moving on to San Francisco in 1978 at the age of 28. Most notably, Blue was integral to the A’s three consecutive World Series championships from 1972-1974.

Blue’s first season in San Francisco was another remarkable one, as he posted a 2.79 ERA and 2.68 FIP en route to a fourth All Star appearance, a top three finish in Cy Young award voting, and a 12th place finish in NL MVP voting. He would pitch in San Francisco for three more seasons, picking up another two All Star appearances along the way, before pitching for the Kansas City Royals for two seasons. Blue returned to San Francisco in 1985, posting a 3.82 ERA in 287 2/3 innings between the 1985 and 1986 seasons before retiring at the end of the 1986 campaign.

Overall, Blue finished his playing career with a 209 wins, a 3.27 ERA, and 2,175 strikeouts in 3,343 1/3 innings. Following his playing career, Blue remained a fixture of Bay Area baseball thanks to his charitable efforts and dedication to promoting the sport, both in the US and abroad. We at MLB Trade Rumors offer our condolences to Blue’s family, friends, and all those mourning him today.

Pitching Notes: Suarez, Sanmartin, Wood, Fried

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Jose Suarez will receive an MRI after leaving today’s game in the third inning due to discomfort in his left shoulder.  The Angels starter was rocked for seven runs over 2 2/3 innings, with Suarez telling reporters (including MLB.com’s Brian Wright) that he first started feeling the shoulder soreness during the second inning but he tried to keep going.

Between the Angels’ six-man rotation and an off-day on May 11, Suarez could get over a week of recuperation time before he is next needed to pitch, so it’s possible he might avoid the injured list if the MRI comes back clean.  However, it seems more likely that the IL might be in order to get Suarez feeling better, and to perhaps act as a reset button on the left-hander’s season.  After posting decent results as a swingman for Anaheim in 2021-22, Suarez has a 9.62 ERA over 24 1/3 innings in 2023.

More on other pitchers around baseball…

  • Reds southpaw Reiver Sanmartin left today’s game due to elbow soreness, and he told reporters (including Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that a trip to the 15-day injured list is likely in order.  Sanmartin said his elbow issue has been bothering him “for a couple of weeks now.  I’ve tried to pitch through it….I don’t feel like I have full control of where I want to put it in the zone.”  The lingering injury probably explains Sanmartin’s lack of results, as he has an ungainly 7.07 ERA over 14 appearances and 14 innings for the Reds this season.  Sanmartin is in his third MLB season, and had very strong numbers as a reliever in 2022 (despite a 6.35 ERA over 57 innings that was inflated by four disastrous starts).  Assuming Sanmartin hits the IL, Alex Young will be the only left-hander in the Reds’ bullpen.
  • Alex Wood began a Triple-A rehab assignment today, allowing two runs (one earned) over 3 2/3 innings of work.  It’s probably safe to assume that Wood will make one more rehab outing before returning to the Giants’ rotation, unless the club wanted to bring him back in a limited capacity or perhaps in piggyback situation with Ross Stripling.  Either Stripling or Sean Manaea seems like the odd man out when Wood does return at full health, and it already seems like Wood will beat the much longer initial timeline given when he first went on the IL with a hamstring strain on April 18.  Wood was off to a nice start, posting a 1.80 ERA of his first three games and 10 innings this season.
  • While not exactly an injury update, Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Bowman) that “we’re just going through some things right now” in regards to when staff ace Max Fried might make his next start.  Fried won’t pitch against the Red Sox as initially scheduled on Wednesday, and Snitker also didn’t say whether or not Fried might be available to face the Blue Jays on Friday.  Since Atlanta has off-days on both Monday and Thursday this week, it’s possible the Braves are figuring out how to align its rotation, especially since Kyle Wright’s injury has left the club with just four starters.  That said, Snitker’s rather vague comment created some doubt about Fried’s status.  While nothing was reported health-wise following Fried’s last start on Friday, he did have a rough outing in allowing seven runs (five earned) over six-plus innings against the Orioles.

Gary Sánchez Opts Out Of Giants Deal

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The Giants are not adding catcher Gary Sánchez to their roster and he is exercising the opt-out in his contract, per Andrew Baggarly and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Sánchez, 30, became a free agent for the first time this winter but lingered on the open market all the way through the end of March. At that point, he signed a minor league deal with the Giants which came with a $4MM salary if selected and an opt-out on May 1 if he wasn’t. Sánchez joined the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats for the past month but has hit just .164/.319/.182 in his 69 plate appearances there.

The Giants aren’t exactly loaded at catcher, as they’ve lost Roberto Pérez to season-ending shoulder surgery. That’s left them with Blake Sabol and Joey Bart as the only backstops on the 40-man roster, the latter of whom has been dealing with a groin injury of late. Sabol is performing well on the year but is a Rule 5 pick who has just 21 games of major league experience under his belt so far.

They could probably use some extra help behind the plate but it’s fairly understandable that they didn’t want to pay that notable salary to Sánchez, given his struggles thus far this year and in past seasons as well. Though he once seemed like the top offensive catcher in the league, he’s hit just .195/.287/.394 since the end of the 2019 season, striking out in 29.5% of his plate appearances.

That being said, it seems likely Sánchez will find opportunities elsewhere, perhaps even a major league deal but certainly another minor league deal in a worst-case scenario. There are plenty of clubs around the league that are dealing with catcher injuries who would likely take a shot on him. Though he hasn’t been considered a strong defender in his career, he showed positive developments in that department last year. Though his offense hasn’t been as strong in recent years, he can still add some power from the position. In that 2020-2022 stretch when he wasn’t hitting so well, he still launched 49 home runs in three years, one of them being only 60 games long.

Giants Place Brandon Crawford, Mike Yastrzemski On IL

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4:50pm: Crawford provided a few more details to members of the media, including Slusser (Twitter links). He said his own MRI showed his strain to be worse than he thought but he still expects to return after a minimum stint on the IL. He also says that Yastrzemski’s strain is of the Grade 1 variety, or the least severe.

4:30pm: The Giants announced a few roster moves prior to tonight’s game, with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle among those to relay them on Twitter. Outfielder Cal Stevenson and infielder Brett Wisely were recalled from Triple-A to take the spots of shortstop Brandon Crawford and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, who have both been placed on the 10-day injured list. Crawford’s move, which is retroactive to April 30, is due to a right calf strain whereas Yastrzemski is dealing with a left hamstring strain.

The club hasn’t provided timelines for either player, but these moves will mean the Giants will play at least the next little while without two of their lineup regulars. Crawford, 36, has been the club’s shortstop for over a decade now, having taking over the job back in 2011. He’s long been considered a strong defender and has had seasons where he’s been an above-average performer on both sides of the ball. The most recent of those was 2021, where he hit .298/.373/.522 for a wRC+ of 138. Towards the end of that season, with Crawford headed for the open market, he and the club agreed on a two-year, $32MM extension to keep him around.

Though the Giants eventually won 107 games that year, things haven’t gone as well since, both for the club or for Crawford personally. He hit .231/.308/.344 last year for a wRC+ of 87 while making multiple trips to the injured list, with the Giants eventually finishing 81-81. This year, he’s hitting just .169/.244/.352 for a wRC+ of 63 as the club is out to a rough 11-16 start in the early going. He experienced some calf tightness on Saturday and didn’t play in yesterday’s game.

As for Yastrzemski, he departed yesterday’s game with the hamstring strain and was reported to be undergoing an MRI, so it’s not surprising to see he’ll be taking a bit of a breather here. He had a bit of a down year at the plate in 2022, hitting .214/.305/.392 for a wRC+ of 99, but he he’d been off to a great start here in 2023. His current batting line is .292/.333/.521, which translated to a wRC+ of 131. That strong stretch of play will now but put on hold for an undetermined amount of time.

Taking their place will be Wisely and Stevenson. The former has been up and down for the Giants a few times already this season, but Stevenson will be making his debut with the club whenever he gets into a game. He was acquired from the Athletics a couple of weeks ago but has been kept in Triple-A since then. He made his major league debut with the A’s last year but hit just .167/.261/.217 in 23 games. He has a much nicer batting line of .288/.392/.415 in Triple-A dating back to the start of 2022.

With Crawford sitting out yesterday’s game, the club used Thairo Estrada at short and will likely keep him there for the time being. He’s off to a torrid start this year, hitting .346/.393/.529 while playing a lot of second base. His move should leave the keystone open for someone like David Villar, though he’s sitting on a line of .156/.258/.351 at the moment. A .174 batting average on balls in play suggests positive regression is forthcoming, but they could look to other options. There’s also Wilmer Flores, who has been primarily at the corners this year but has plenty of second base experience in previous seasons. Wisely is primarily an infielder and could be in the mix to help out there, but he also might be needed in center field, helping to cover for Yastrzemski alongside Austin Slater.

Mike Yastrzemski To Undergo MRI For Hamstring Strain

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Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski suffered a left hamstring strain while diving for a fly ball in the eighth inning of today’s game with the Padres.  Matt Carpenter’s fly to shallow center field fell in for what ended up as the game-winning two-run double in San Diego’s 6-4 victory, as Yastrzemski made a long run for the ball and fell just short of a highlight-reel catch.  After the play was over, Yastrzemski left the game after a visit from team trainers.

Speaking with the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser and other reporters after the game, Yastrzemski said the injury occurred on the second step of his run towards the ball.  The outfielder will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the extent of the strain, but a trip to the 10-day injured list certainly seems likely.

After seemingly breaking out with the Giants in 2019-20, Yastrzemski was roughly a league-average hitter (102 wRC+) over his next two seasons, batting .219/.308/.424 with 42 homers over 1090 plate appearances in 2021-22.  Teams increasingly played the shift against the left-handed hitting Yastrzemski in those two seasons, so it isn’t surprising that he has been off to a much more promising start in 2023, given the new rules limiting defensive shifts.  Yaz has hit .292/.333/.521 with five home runs in his first 102 PA, and while below-average strikeout and walk rates and a notable gap in his wOBA (.364) to his xwOBA (.327) indicate he is somewhat outperforming his peripherals, Yastrzemski is still making plenty of hard contact.

Since Bryce Johnson is still on the seven-day concussion IL, Slusser figures that Brett Wisely (just called up as the Giants’ extra player for their two-game series in Mexico City) will probably stick with the team to get a chunk of the center field work with Yastrzemski sidelined.  Austin Slater also just recently returned from the injured list, making a Slater/Wisely platoon the likeliest answer in center field until Yastrzemski or Johnson are back.

The two games in Mexico City provided plenty of injury drama for the Giants, as Brandon Crawford and Sean Manaea each picked up knocks on Saturday.  Crawford left the game in the fourth inning due to some right calf tightness and didn’t play today, but told Slusser and other reporters that hopes to be back in action for Monday’s date with the Astros.  Manaea was hit on the leg by a Nelson Cruz line drive on Saturday and lasted only 2 2/3 innings, but appeared to be okay today.

14 Veterans With Upcoming Opportunity To Opt Out Of Minor League Deals

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As part of last year’s collective bargaining agreement, MLB and the Players Association agreed to a few automatic opt-out dates for some veteran players on minor league contracts. Article XX(B) free agents — players with over six years of MLB service who finished the preceding season on a big league roster — who sign minor league contracts more than ten days before Opening Day now receive three uniform chances to retest free agency if they’re not added to the majors.

The first comes five days before the start of the season. For players who pass on that initial opt-out, they have additional windows to explore the open market on both May 1 and June 1 if they’ve yet to secure a spot on the 40-man roster. As that second opt-out date nears, it’s worth checking in on a few players with opt-outs under the CBA. We’ll also look at a few players who don’t meet those criteria but reportedly negotiated forthcoming opt-out dates into their own non-roster deals.

Anderson was an Article XX(B) player who passed on his first opt-out chance. The 35-year-old finished last season with nine outings (seven starts) for the Reds, allowing a 6.38 ERA in 24 innings. He returned to the organization and has started five games for their top affiliate in Louisville. He carries a 4.30 ERA over 23 frames with a modest 19% strikeout rate while walking 13% of opposing hitters. It’s not a great first few weeks but the Reds don’t have much certainty behind their top three starters. Connor Overton is on the injured list, while Luis Cessa has been rocked for 20 runs in 16 2/3 innings.

Devenski also forewent his Spring Training opt-out. The 32-year-old accepted a season-opening assignment to Triple-A Salt Lake, where he’s made seven relief outings. In nine innings, he’s allowed four runs with nine strikeouts and three walks. It’s a decent if not overwhelming performance. Devenski was an elite multi-inning relief option for the Astros between 2016-17 but he’s battled injuries and performance fluctuations since then. He threw 14 2/3 MLB innings between the Diamondbacks and Phillies last year, allowing an 8.59 ERA with a modest 17.5% strikeout rate but only walking one of the 67 hitters he faced. The Angels have a number of relievers who can’t be optioned to the minor leagues, perhaps reducing their flexibility to add another player of that ilk in Devenski.

Doolittle bypassed an opt-out chance in Spring Training after returning to Washington over the winter. He’s spent the year on the injured list as he continues to work back from last summer’s internal brace UCL surgery. The veteran threw a live batting practice session this week and could see game action in the not too distant future (via MLB.com injury tracker). It stands to reason he’ll stick with the Nats.

Duffy has spent the season on the injured list. He’s working back from forearm issues that have prevented him from throwing a major league pitch since July 2021. He already passed on a Spring Training opt-out and seems likely to do so again.

Ortega built an April 29 opt-out date into the minor league deal he signed with the Rangers earlier this month. He’d spent the spring in camp with the Yankees but didn’t crack New York’s roster and retested the market. Since signing with Texas, he’s played 17 games for Triple-A Round Rock. He carries a middling .219/.324/.313 line with one homer through 74 plate appearances. He’s drawing plenty of walks but not hitting for power and striking out a little more often than he has in recent seasons.

The lefty-hitting outfielder is coming off a reasonable .241/.331/.358 showing for the Cubs in 2022. He’s capable of playing all three outfield spots but is probably best suited for a corner. Texas has gotten strong early-season work from minor league signee Travis Jankowski and has Adolis García and Leody Taveras penciled into starting roles. The Rangers haven’t gotten much production from any of their left field options aside from Jankowski, though, and it’s questionable how long the journeyman can keep up anything approaching his current .340/.415/.447 pace.

Gamel, 31 next month, has been a decent left-handed platoon outfielder in recent seasons. He typically hits around a league average level, including a .232/.324/.369 line over 115 games with the Pirates last year. After signing with the Rays, he’s off to a .217/.316/.406 start in 79 plate appearances at Triple-A Durham. He’s walking at a customarily strong 12.7% clip but has gone down on strikes in more than 30% of his trips. Left-handed hitting outfielders Josh Lowe and Luke Raley have had excellent starts for Tampa Bay, which could make it hard for Gamel to play his way into the MLB mix anytime soon.

Hamilton, 32, returned for a second stint with the White Sox over the winter. He’s appeared in 14 games with Triple-A Charlotte but hasn’t produced, stumbling to a .150/.292/.175 batting line. The speedster has been successful on all three of his stolen base attempts but likely needs to show a little more at the plate to earn the pinch-running/defensive specialist role he’s played for a number of teams over the past four-plus seasons. The White Sox recently selected Adam Haseley onto the MLB roster to serve as a glove-first fourth outfielder.

Hoffman didn’t sign early enough to receive the automatic opt-out for Article XX(B) free agents. He negotiated opt-out chances on both May 1 and July 1 into his April deal with the Phils. The righty has pitched seven times for their top affiliate in Lehigh Valley, allowing eight runs across 7 2/3 innings. He’s punched out 13 hitters but handed out five free passes. Hoffman had a reasonable 3.83 ERA through 44 2/3 frames for the Reds last season, missing bats at a league average rate but walking nearly 12% of his opponents. The Phils only have three out of eight relievers who can’t be optioned to the minors, giving them some room to add the veteran if they’re intrigued by Hoffman’s swing-and-miss capabilities.

Naquin was an Article XX(B) free agent who didn’t break camp with the big league club. He split the 2022 campaign between the Reds and Mets, combining to hit .229/.282/.423 over 334 trips to the plate. The left-handed hitting outfielder has played in 12 games for Triple-A Nashville, hitting .273/.319/.409. He’s not hitting for much power in the early going and has never been one to take too many walks. Naquin spent a bit of time on the injured list this month but was reinstated earlier in the week.

Milwaukee lost center fielder Garrett Mitchell to a season-threatening shoulder procedure and has gotten middling offensive production from rookie outfielder Joey Wiemer. They’re soon to welcome Tyrone Taylor back from the injured list, though, and Naquin’s serviceable but unexceptional Triple-A production may not force the front office’s hand.

Rosenthal has had his last couple seasons washed away by injury. He lost 2021 to thoracic outlet syndrome and hip surgery, while his ’22 campaign was wiped out by hamstring and lat strains. The Tigers took a look at the one-time star closer in Spring Training and kept him in the organization with their highest affiliate in Toledo. Rosenthal pitched twice in the season’s first week before being placed on the minor league IL with a sprained throwing elbow. Jason Beck of MLB.com tweeted yesterday that Rosenthal is headed for physical therapy, suggesting he won’t be ready for game action in the near future.

Ross is recovering from last June’s Tommy John surgery and will spend most of the year on the injured list. He bypassed his first opt-out chance in March and seems likely to do the same next week.

Sánchez’s May 1 opt-out was built into his contract, as he didn’t sign early enough to receive the automatic opt-out under the CBA. The general expectation was that the veteran backstop would play his way onto the big league roster. That was particularly true once San Francisco lost Roberto Pérez to a season-ending shoulder injury. Sánchez hasn’t done anything to force the issue with Triple-A Sacramento, though.

He’s hitting a woeful .191/.350/.213 without a home run and a 25% strikeout rate over 13 games. Sánchez connected on 16 longballs in the majors for the Twins last year but only reached base at a .282 clip. There’s a path to playing time behind the dish at Oracle Park. Still, Sánchez’s early performance hasn’t been what the organization envisioned. Promoting him would lock in the prorated portion of a $4MM salary for this season, which could prove a disincentive for the club.

Sanchez served a depth role for Minnesota last season, logging 60 innings over 15 outings (ten starts). He was tagged for a 6.60 ERA at the MLB level but performed well enough in Triple-A the organization brought him back. He’s started five games with St. Paul this season, logging 22 1/3 innings. While his 2.42 ERA is excellent, it belies a middling 19.2% strikeout percentage and a huge 17.2% walk rate. Minnesota has quite a bit more rotation depth than they did last summer and would probably look to players already on the 40-man roster (i.e. Simeon Woods Richardson and Louie Varland) before tabbing Sanchez if injuries necessitate.

Stammen suffered a capsule tear in his shoulder in Spring Training. The 39-year-old has spent the year on the injured list and has admitted the injury might unfortunately end his career.

Dick Groat Passes Away

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Former National League MVP and eight-time All-Star Dick Groat has passed away at the age of 92, the Pirates announced this morning.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of such a beloved member of the Pirates family and Pittsburgh community,” Pirates owner Bob Nutting said in a statement announcing the news. “The National League MVP and World Series Champion in 1960, Dick remained a very active and cherished member of our Alumni Association. We were honored to have just recently informed Dick and his family that he had been selected to the Pirates Hall of Fame. He was a great player and an even better person. Our thoughts go out to his three daughters, eleven grandchildren and the entire Groat family. His was a life well lived. He will be missed.”

A Pittsburgh-area native and one of the best two-sport athletes ever, Groat not only played in MLB but also had a brief stint in the NBA on the heels of a historic basketball career at Duke University, where his number is retired. Groat was the third overall pick in the 1952 NBA draft but wound up playing in just one season after enlisting in the Army and focusing on his baseball career following his discharge.

Groat jumped right from his career at Duke into Major League Baseball, bypassing the minor leagues entirely. He batted .284/.319/.313 and finished third in 1952 NL Rookie of the Year voting before the previously mentioned two years of military service. Upon returning in 1955, he posted similar numbers for his next two seasons and took a step forward in 1957, the first of four seasons in which Groat would receive MVP votes.

From 1957-64, Groat batted a combined .299/.340/.393, regularly making the All-Star team along the way and four times garnering some level of MVP consideration. That includes a 1960 season in which he won a batting title and batted .325/.371/.394 on his way to being named the National League MVP. He also finished as the MVP runner-up to Sandy Koufax in 1963 — Groat’s first season with the Cardinals after being sent to St. Louis in a trade that brought pitcher Don Cardwell and infielder Julio Gotay back to Pittsburgh.

In all, Groat played in parts of 14 Major League seasons: nine with the Pirates, three with the Cardinals, two with the Phillies and one partial season with the Giants. He retired as a lifetime .286/.330/.366 batter with 2138 hits, 39 home runs, 352 doubles, 67 triples, 829 runs scored and 707 runs batted in. He won World Series rings with the Pirates in 1960 and with the Cardinals in 1964, helping both clubs topple the Yankees in the Fall Classic.

Following his playing days, Groat spent 40 years as a broadcaster for the University of Pittsburgh’s men’s basketball team, further endearing himself to hometown fans and further establishing his legacy in his native city’s sporting lore.

Groat will be remembered as one of the greatest two-sport talents we’ve ever seen, a World Series champion in both Pittsburgh and St. Louis, and a beloved broadcaster in his hometown. We at MLBTR extend our condolences to his family, friends, loved ones and the countless fans he accumulated over the course of a remarkable career.

Giants Activate Mitch Haniger, Austin Slater

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The Giants are welcoming back a pair of outfield reinforcements. San Francisco reinstated both Mitch Haniger and Austin Slater from the 10-day injured list prior to tonight’s matchup with the Cardinals. To clear spots on the active roster, the Giants optioned infielder/outfielder Brett Wisely to Triple-A Sacramento and placed first baseman/corner outfielder Darin Ruf on the 10-day IL with inflammation in his right wrist.

Haniger’s return is the biggest development. He’s now in position to make his club debut. Signed to a three-year, $43.5MM guarantee over the offseason, the longtime Mariner went down with a Grade 1 oblique strain in Spring Training. That cost him the first three weeks of the regular season but didn’t prove a serious long-term concern. He’s in left field tonight and hitting third against St. Louis southpaw Jordan Montgomery.

The 32-year-old outfielder appeared in four rehab games for Sacramento. He picked up four hits in 13 at-bats, clearing the fences twice. Haniger is coming off a .246/.308/.429 showing over 57 games during his final season in Seattle.

Slater also opened the year on the IL, in his case due to a hamstring strain. The role-playing outfielder had a quality .264/.366/.408 line over 325 plate appearances last season. He spent the bulk of his defensive time in center field, garnering mixed reviews for his glovework. He eases into action as the designated hitter in his first MLB game of the year after picking up six hits in 18 at-bats on a rehab stint for Sacramento. Slater will lead off tonight.

The pair of right-handed hitters add some balance to a lineup that is off to a dreadful start against left-handed pitching. Only the Tigers (.264) have a lower on-base percentage against southpaws than San Francisco’s .271 mark, while their .337 slugging ranks 27th in the majors. Those struggles were part of the reason the Giants reunited with Ruf, who has a .261/.370/.348 line in nine games this season.

Athletics Acquire Sam Long From Giants

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The A’s announced that left-hander Sam Long has been acquired in a trade with the Giants, with cash considerations heading San Francisco’s way.  Long was designated for assignment by the Giants earlier this week after the club acquired Cal Stevenson (another DFA’ed player) from the Athletics for money, essentially making the pair of transactions into a Stevenson-for-Long swap.

Long made his MLB debut in 2021, and the Giants shuttled him back and forth from Triple-A several times over the course of the last two seasons, with Long amassing 83 big league innings in total.  The lack of stability probably didn’t help Long get too comfortable in the Show, but after posting a 5.53 ERA over 40 2/3 frames in 2021, he improved to a 3.61 ERA in 42 1/3 innings last year.

Fielding-independent metrics indicated Long was pretty similar in both seasons, and his career 4.55 ERA came close to the midpoint between his 4.80 xFIP and 4.35 SIERA.  Long has done a good job of limiting walks but he hasn’t missed many bats, and he has been tagged for 13 home runs in his 83 MLB innings.  The results haven’t been there in the minors this season, however, as Long has a 9.90 ERA over 10 innings with Triple-A Sacramento.

This was enough for the Giants to part ways, and the A’s will now see if Long can provide any relief depth either in the minors or in their Major League bullpen.  The Athletics have been struggling in all facets of the game and the relief corps is no exception, so Long might find some opportunity on a club desperate for any help.  Sam Moll and Richard Lovelady are the current left-handed options in Oakland’s pen.

Two transactions within a week counts as a huge flurry of activity in the limited trade history between the A’s and Giants.  The two Bay Area rivals last connected on an actual player-for-player trade in December 1990, with five player-for-cash swaps happening in the interim.

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