Giants skipper Bruce Bochy has announced several notable roster decisions to reporters, including Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group (links to Twitter). Of particular note, out-of-options players Alen Hanson and Tom Murphy will not be carried on the active roster, meaning they’ll either need to be traded or exposed to waivers.
Recently acquired, right-handed-hitting outfielders Michael Reed and Connor Joe (who also has infield experience) are both slated to have MLB jobs, per Bochy. And the same holds for veteran third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who’s said to be in the club’s plans for the time being.
Hanson, 26, played a big role for the Giants last year. He was excellent in the first half of the season but faded down the stretch, ending the year with a .252/.274/.425 slash. While it’s rarely wise to read too much into spring stats, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Hanson racked up twenty strikeouts in his 54 plate appearances in camp.
As for Murphy, he was only just plucked off waivers from the division-rival Rockies. Evidently, the plan was to nab him in hopes of slipping him to Triple-A through the wire. Whether that works out remains to be seen.
It seemingly remains a fluid situation in San Francisco, with late-spring decisions from other teams potentially still intervening. As Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic notes on Twitter, the evening’s announcements appear to indicate that either Sandoval or out-of-options outfielder Mac Williamson will ultimately need to be bumped from the roster. If the latter is sent packing, that’d seem to leave Joe and Redd (with an assist from Yangervis Solarte) responsible for manning one corner spot while also filling in at times for left-handed-hitting outfielders Steven Duggar and Gerardo Parra.
