Giants Activate Mitch Haniger, Austin Slater
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.
Giants Select Bryce Johnson, Option Brett Wisely
The Giants announced a series of roster moves today, selecting outfielder Bryce Johnson to the active roster and optioning Brett Wisely to Triple-A. The team transferred Luke Jackson to the 60-day IL to make room for Johnson on the 40-man roster.
Johnson, a sixth round pick back in 2017, appeared in a handful of games for the Giants last year, tallying 19 plate appearances and picking up two hits. He was outrighted off the roster but remained with the organization into 2023. At Triple-A, Johnson put together a solid .290/.369/.401 slashline across 352 plate appearances, adding in five home runs and 31 stolen bases. He’ll provide some speed off the bench for the Giants.
Wisely was acquired from the Rays in a trade this winter for Tristan Peters. A 15th round pick by the Rays in 2019, Wisely’s bounced around the diamond a fair bit, earning reps in the infield and outfield. He slashed an impressive .274/.371/.460 with 15 home runs at Double-A last year but was traded just prior to the Rule 5 draft, as the Rays would’ve needed to add him to their 40-man roster or risk losing him in the draft had they not found a trade partner. Wisely did get in to the Giants opener for his first taste of big league action, playing two innings of center field, but the Giants evidently decided to send him back to the minors to continue his development.
Jackson underwent Tommy John surgery in April last year, so is still rehabbing from that. The Giants signed him to a two-year deal knowing he’d likely miss the first few months of the season, so this decision to shift him to the 60-day IL is not overly surprising. It does mean the earliest he’ll return is May 31. Jackson had a breakout year in 2021, working to a 1.98 ERA over 63 2/3 innings of relief for Atlanta.
NL West Notes: Hudson, Nelson, Slater
Dodgers reliever Daniel Hudson will begin the year on the injured list, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. The right-hander hasn’t pitched since June of last year, when a torn ACL ended his 2022 season early. It was reported a few weeks ago that he had also developed some ankle tendinitis over the winter. It seems he still has some work to do before getting back to health.
“There have been days where it’s just, I feel like a baby giraffe sometimes,” Hudson tells Ardaya. “Just trying to get my body — it just feels different — trying to get my body used to moving the way it did. Sometimes it just doesn’t feel like it’s moving the right way.”
Even after that torn ACL, the Dodgers had enough faith in Hudson to sign him to an extension late last year. That new deal effectively triggered their $6.5MM club option for 2023 but also added a $6.5MM club option for 2024, with incentives that could take the value up to $7.3MM. He made 25 appearances before the injury last year, posting a 2.22 ERA with a 30.9% strikeout rate, 5.2% walk rate and 53.4% ground ball rate. While the Dodgers would surely love to get that level of production back in their bullpen, it seems they will have to be patient. In the meantime, the high leverage innings will likely to go pitchers like Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia and Brusdar Graterol.
Some more notes from the National League West…
- The Dodgers took a gamble on right-hander Jimmy Nelson by signing him to a $1.2MM major league deal recently. Over the past five years, he has generally been either injured or ineffective, but he did have one flash of brilliance in that time. In 29 innings in the 2021 season, he posted a 1.86 ERA while striking out 37.9% of batters faced. The control was definitely a concern, as he walked 11.2% of batters faced, but he was incredibly effective nonetheless. Unfortunately, Tommy John surgery in August wiped out the latter parts of that year and all of 2022. In ramping up for 2023, the control seems to be a problem once again, as he’s issued 11 walks in just five spring outings. Ardaya reports that the Dodgers are considering putting Nelson on the injured list to start the season in order to give him more time to get into a groove. Nelson has well over five years of service time and can’t be optioned without his consent, so an IL stint and rehab assignment could be a way to allow that to happen. It’s unclear whether Nelson is experiencing any kind of injury or soreness after the lost season, but he clearly needs to refine his command and the Dodgers would hardly be the first team to cite a vague injury in order to get a player on the injured list.
- Giants outfielder Austin Slater was diagnosed with a strained hamstring on the weekend. While the club didn’t provide an estimated recovery timeline, Evan Webeck of The Mercury News reports that Slater was given a timeline of three-to-four weeks before he can return to play. With Opening Day now just over a week away, Slater will undoubtedly start the season on the injured list. This means the club will have at least two outfielders on the IL when the season begins, as Luis González will miss roughly the first half of the season due to back surgery. Mitch Haniger could make for a third outfielder on the shelf since he has an oblique strain, but it’s still unclear if he’ll be ready for Opening Day. This will test the club’s depth behind the likely front three of Mike Yastrzemski, Michael Conforto and Joc Pederson. In order to potentially address the issue, catcher Blake Sabol and infielder Brett Wisely have been getting more outfield reps of late. Webeck also mentions that Bryce Johnson is in the running. He’s a natural outfielder but isn’t currently on the roster, though he could potentially take the spot of Gonzalez, who is sure to be transferred to the 60-day IL at some point.
Giants Announce Several Roster Moves
The Giants announced a huge batch of roster moves prior to today’s Rule 5 protection deadline. One of them was the previously reported acquisition of infielder Brett Wisely from the Rays. He was selected to the club’s 40-man roster along with righties Tristan Beck, Jose Cruz and Keaton Winn, infielder Marco Luciano and outfielder Luis Matos. In corresponding moves, seven players were designated for assignment: righties Sam Delaplane and Drew Strotman, lefty Jarlin Garcia, catchers Dom Nunez and Meibrys Viloria, as well as infielders Jason Vosler and Colton Welker.
Beck, a 26-year-old righty, was drafted out of Stanford in the fourth round in 2018 by the Braves and was sent to San Francisco in the Mark Melancon deal at the following year’s trade deadline. He made only 12 appearances in 2021 due to a herniated disc in his back. Coupled with the lost 2020 season, he had a large period with minimal minor league work. Beck spent most of the season starting at the Triple-A level, posting decent peripherals. However, a .333 batting average on balls in play contributed to an unsightly 5.64 ERA for the Flying Squirrels. If Beck can get off to a solid start back at Triple-A to begin the 2023 campaign, he stands a good chance of seeing time at the Major League level.
Cruz, 22, spent the season in Low A-ball, whiffing an impressive 42.6% of batters faced out of the San Jose Giants’ bullpen. Last week, he was named a California League All-Star. Baseball America named him the best reliever in his league, and also considered his changeup the best in the circuit. Cruz closed out his season with 16 1/3 scoreless innings, and seems ready to take on High-A with the Eugene Emeralds next year.
Winn, a 24-year-old righty starter, pitched at three levels this year as he ascended from Low-A to Double A. A former fifth round pick of the Giants in 2018, Winn had Tommy John surgery prior to the 2021 season. It was a strong comeback season, and Winn reportedly picked up velocity post-TJ. He was able to miss a lot of bats in A-ball and could find his way to the big leagues at some point in ’23.
Luciano, 21, continues to rate as the Giants’ top prospect despite missing two months this year due to a back injury. He was rated as the 17th best prospect in baseball by Baseball America heading into the season, and around his injury managed a 121 wRC+ this year in High-A. Luciano is not necessarily expected to stay at shortstop, but may wind up at third base and should be carried by his impressive power. Luciano is making up for lost time playing in the Dominican Winter League and should open 2023 at Double-A.
Matos, a 20-year-old center fielder, rates as the Giants third prospect according to MLB.com. Signed in the same international class as Luciano, Matos is a well-rounded player who excelled in Low-A last year, leading to a rating of 73rd in the game by Baseball America heading into the season. However, Matos limped to a 73 wRC+ in High-A in 2022, so he picked up some extra at-bats in the Arizona Fall League.
As for the club’s seven DFAs, Delaplane is a 27-year-old righty reliever who was drafted by the Mariners in the 23rd round in 2017. The Mariners booted him off their 40-man roster in May 2021 after he required Tommy John surgery. At that point he was dealt to the Giants for cash considerations. Delaplane dealt with a setback in his recovery this summer, and finds his way off the 40-man once again. Back in 2019, Delaplane capped off his season by dominating Double-A hitters for 37 innings, posting a 36.6 K-BB%.
Strotman, a 26-year-old righty reliever, was a fourth round pick by the Rays back in 2017. He went to the Twins in the 2021 trade deadline deal for Nelson Cruz. Strotman was claimed off waivers by the Rangers in September of this year, and then by the Giants five days ago. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams wrote at that time, Strotman has struggled with walks and was no lock to survive the winter on the Giants’ 40-man.
The Giants claimed Viloria, a 25-year-old catcher, last Thursday from the Rangers along with Strotman. As Adams wrote at the time, Viloria hasn’t hit much in parts of four big league seasons but he’s done better at Triple-A and is “touted as a plus defensive backstop, boasting a 34% caught-stealing rate between the big leagues and the minors, and drawing plus reviews for his framing.”
Nunez, 27, was drafted out of high school by the Rockies in the sixth round back in 2013. Nunez got a decent chunk of playing time in 2021, but managed just a 68 wRC+. Spending his entire season at Triple-A this year, he didn’t fare any better offensively. The Giants picked him up via a waiver claim six days ago and are apparently aiming to pass him and Viloria through waivers and keep them around as catching depth. They’re now back to just Joey Bart and Austin Wynns as catchers on the 40-man, so an addition is likely this winter.
Garcia, 30 in January, joined the Giants via a February 2020 waiver claim from the Marlins. Since then he’s worked 152 innings out of San Francisco’s bullpen with a fine 2.84 ERA, although his 15.5 K-BB% doesn’t catch the eye. While Garcia generally exhibits solid control and was a fairly notable part of the club’s 2021 bullpen, he was entrusted with lower-leverage work out of this year’s pen. With over five years of big league service, Garcia projected for a $2.4MM salary through arbitration. Since Garcia was apparently unlikely to last through Friday’s non-tender deadline with the Giants, they decided to open up the 40-man spot today to give a spot to a prospect.
Welker, a 25-year-old corner infielder, was drafted in the fourth round by the Rockies back in 2016. After giving him a brief big league taste last year, the Rockies let Welker go to the Giants in a July waiver claim this year. Welker, who was suspended for 80 games in 2021 for PED use, was limited to ten games this year due to season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum. After carrying him on their 40-man for part of that recovery process, the Giants have sacrificed his spot due to the Rule 5 deadline.
Vosler, a third baseman, was drafted in the 16th round by the Cubs back in 2014. He was sent to the Padres for Rowan Wick in November 2018. Two years ago he became a minor league free agent and the Giants inked him to a Major League deal. Now 29, Vosler was productive at Triple-A in 2019 and ’21 but managed just an 82 wRC+ this year. He bounced up and down with the Giants this year and did all he could, posting a fine 126 wRC+ in 111 scattered plate appearances that included a home run off Pablo Lopez in June.
After Evan Longoria, the Giants split third base time fairly evenly among Vosler, Wilmer Flores, and David Villar this year at over 200 innings apiece. Flores and Villar remain with the Giants, who preferred Longoria’s $5MM buyout to his $13MM club option. According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale back in October, the Giants are one of three clubs Longoria would consider in ’23, which will apparently be his final season.
Giants Acquire Brett Wisely From Rays
The Giants are acquiring infielder Brett Wisely from the Rays, reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com (on Twitter). Minor league outfielder Tristan Peters is headed back to Tampa Bay, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link).
Wisely, 23, was selected by Tampa Bay out of a Florida junior college in the 15th round of the 2019 draft. A left-handed hitter, he’s played mostly second base but has some experience at each of third base, shortstop and in left field. Regarded more as a bat-first player, he’s indeed hit well against minor league pitching. Wisely put up a .274/.371/.460 line with 15 home runs over 500 plate appearances with Double-A Montgomery this year. He walked at a strong 12.4% clip, struck out in a manageable 20.8% of his trips, and stole 31 bases (albeit in 42 attempts).
The Rays would’ve had to add Wisely to the 40-man roster this evening to keep him from being taken in the Rule 5 draft. Facing a strong roster squeeze, they’ve made three trades to deal players already on the 40-man or Rule 5 eligible for further away talent. San Francisco has already selected Wisely’s contract, so he won’t be eligible for the Rule 5.
Peters was a 7th-round pick of the Brewers in 2021. Dealt from Milwaukee to San Francisco for Trevor Rosenthal at this past trade deadline, he had a tail of two halves season. After hitting .308/.386/.485 in 90 High-A games before the swap, he managed only a .212/.302/.303 line in Double-A after the deal. A left-handed batter, he played primarily left field.