Mets Release Jared Oliva
The Mets have released outfielder Jared Oliva, according to his transactions page at MLB.com. The club designated him for assignment a few days ago. Oliva was on the minor league injured list at the time and therefore was not eligible to be placed on outright waivers. That left the Mets to either trade him or release him. He wasn’t going to have much trade value, so the release is an unsurprising result.
Oliva was initially claimed by the Mets on June 23rd following his designation by the Giants. New York then optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse. Oliva only got into four games there, recording three singles in 17 plate appearances, although he showed off his speed by stealing four bases. Adding in his time at Triple-A with the Giants, Oliva is batting .232/.289/.290 over 77 plate appearances in the minors this year. He broke camp with San Francisco and appeared in seven big league games early in the season before going on the injured list with a left wrist hamate fracture. He did not appear in the Majors with the Mets, and the team designated him for assignment on Thursday.
Oliva, now 30, was a seventh-round pick by the Pirates in 2017 and debuted with them in 2020. That said, he has a wRC+ of 8 in just 66 plate appearances at the game’s highest level, with 59 of those coming with Pittsburgh from 2020-21. He did not appear in the Majors from 2022-25, instead bouncing around on minor league deals. Oliva put up decent numbers with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate last year. In 398 plate appearances, he stole 57 bases and batted .252/.335/.413 with a 102 wRC+. He’s stolen 120 bases in just over 1,000 plate appearances in the upper minors dating back to 2023.
Despite his speed and production at Triple-A, Oliva hasn’t been able to earn meaningful big league playing time. He now heads to the open market in search of a new opportunity. Clubs with a need for right-handed bats and outfield defense could view him as a low-risk depth option, depending on his health. Oliva also comes with roster flexibility, having one option year remaining beyond this season.
Mets Designate Jared Oliva For Assignment
The Mets designated outfielder Jared Oliva for assignment Thursday morning, per a team announcement. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to reliever Dan Hammer, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Syracuse (as was reported last night). Righty Tobias Myers has been optioned to Syracuse to open an active roster spot.
Oliva, 30, was picked up off waivers from the Giants last month. The Mets optioned him to Syracuse upon claiming him. He’s yet to appear in a major league game with them and will now head back to DFA limbo.
Oliva took seven plate appearances with the Giants early this season before hitting the injured list — his first big league work since a 2020-21 stint with the Pirates. He’s batted .175/.212/.206 in a tiny sample of 66 big league plate appearances. Oliva is a plus runner and versatile outfielder defender who swiped 57 bags in only 95 games with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate last year. He also has a minor league option year remaining beyond the current season.
In 77 Triple-A plate appearances this season, Oliva has just a .232/.289/.290 batting line. He posted a solid .252/.335/.413 slash with the Brewers’ Nashville club last year. Clubs in need of a right-handed bat with speed and a glove that can handle all three outfield spots could look to Oliva as a depth option, but there’s a decent chance he’ll clear waivers, too. He’d have the right to reject an outright assignment if he indeed goes unclaimed.
Mets Claim Jared Oliva
4:40pm: Oliva has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
3:35pm: The Mets have claimed outfielder Jared Oliva off waivers from the Giants, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. San Francisco designated him for assignment a few days ago. The Mets have an open 40-man roster spot, so Oliva can take that. As for the active roster, Oliva has options, so they could send him to Triple-A if they so choose.
Oliva, 30, is an outfielder known for his speed. He is good for 30-plus steals in a minor league season, whenever he gets enough playing time to do so. Last year, he got that all the way up to 57 swipes in just 95 Triple-A games in the Brewers’ system.
He isn’t as impressive from the batter’s box, but he’s not bad either. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has a combined line of .262/.338/.415, which leads to a 102 wRC+. That’s only barely above average but that could be valuable if he’s running down balls in the outfield and stealing bases at a high rate.
Despite his attributes, he has only received minimal time in the big leagues. He got into 26 games with the Pirates in 2020 and 2021 but then was stuck in the minors for all of 2022 through 2025. The Giants signed him to a minor league deal this winter and decided to break camp with him in a bench role. Unfortunately, he suffered a hamate fracture just a few weeks into the season. Once he got healthy, the Giants decided not to add him back to the roster, designating him for assignment instead.
The Mets, as mentioned, had an open 40-man spot to work with. They could add Oliva to their bench as a potential late-game difference-maker. Though as also mentioned, Oliva is still optionable, so they could also send him to Syracuse for the time being.
Photo courtesy of Albert Cesare, Imagn Images
Giants Designate Jared Oliva For Assignment
The Giants activated Jared Oliva from the 60-day injured list and then designated the outfielder for assignment. (The San Francisco Chronicle’s Shayna Rubin was among the beat writers to report the news.)
Oliva signed a minor league contract with San Francisco in February and then made the team’s Opening Day roster. After playing in 26 games with the Pirates in 2020-21, Oliva didn’t appear again in the big leagues until his seven games with the Giants this year, but his return to the Show was cut short by a hamate fracture in mid-April.
Such injuries usually lead to absences of 4-8 weeks, and Oliva has now logged 14 games of action during a minor league rehab assignment. As noted by Evan Webeck of the California Post, Oliva had reached the end of his 20-day rehab period, and the Giants chose to just designate the outfielder rather than activate Olivia and option him to the minors.
Oliva had one hit and one stolen base over seven plate appearances for San Francisco, and his career slash line is .175/.212/.206 over 66 PA with the Pirates and Giants. His career Triple-A numbers (.257/.331/.406 over 1377 PA) are better, but Oliva didn’t distinguish himself by hitting only .241/.288/.315 in 60 Triple-A plate appearances this year.
Stealing bases is Oliva’s calling card, as the 30-year-old has swiped 231 bags (out of 276 attempts) during his nine minor league seasons, highlighted by a 57-steal campaign with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in 2025. Despite this ability on the basepaths and Oliva’s ability to play all three outfield positions, he hasn’t shown enough at the plate to merit much of a look at the MLB level.
Since Oliva doesn’t have the ability to reject an outright assignment, he’ll have to stick with the Giants if he clears waivers and is then outrighted to Triple-A. It is possible another team in need of outfield depth might have some interest on a waiver claim, and Oliva has two minor league option years remaining.
Giants Select Gregory Santos
2:07pm: The Giants announced that Santos has indeed had his contract selected from Sacramento. Oliva was transferred to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster. He’s now out until mid-June at the earliest. San Francisco optioned righty Blade Tidwell to Triple-A to clear a spot on the active roster. Tidwell would’ve been unavailable for several days after tossing 47 pitches in long relief yesterday.
9:21am: The Giants will select the contract of right-handed reliever Gregory Santos from Triple-A Sacramento today, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com. San Francisco has a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding transaction.
Santos won’t turn 27 until August but already has experience in parts of five major league seasons — including two seasons with the Giants. He originally signed with the Red Sox as a teenager out of his native Dominican Republic but wound up going to the Giants organization alongside righty Shaun Anderson in the 2017 trade that sent utilityman Eduardo Nunez to Boston. Santos made his big league debut with the Giants in 2021 and briefly appeared again in 2022, though he totaled only 5 2/3 innings in orange and black before being designated for assignment and flipped to the White Sox in a cash swap.
Santos had a breakout showing in the South Side bullpen, tossing 66 1/3 frames with a 3.39 ERA, five saves, six holds, a 22.8% strikeout rate, a 5.9% walk rate and a hefty 52.5% grounder rate. Those results, coupled with a sinker that averaged 98.9 mph and a sharp slider averaging 91.3 mph, made Santos look like a potential long-term piece in the bullpen for the White Sox … or for the Mariners, who pounced on that breakout and traded outfielder Zach DeLoach, righty Prelander Berroa and a Competitive Balance Round B pick to the Sox to acquire Santos in February of 2024.
Unfortunately for both the Mariners and Santos, injuries ruined his time with the Seattle organization. Santos suffered a lat strain during spring training just six weeks after the trade and was on the injured list into mid-July. He returned to throw 5 1/3 innings before a biceps injury put him back on the shelf for another eight weeks. Santos did make it back to close out the 2024 season with a pair of scoreless frames, at least giving some hope that he could be on track for a healthier, productive season in 2025.
That didn’t prove to be the case.
Santos opened the 2025 season with diminished velocity and yielded four runs in seven innings (5.14 ERA). He walked eight batters and didn’t strike anyone out. In late April, he underwent surgery to repair some cartilage in his right knee. That procedure effectively ended his season. Santos made it back to a minor league mound in mid-September but issued nine walks against five strikeouts in five rehab innings. He didn’t return to the majors. The Mariners non-tendered him in November.
Now back in the organization for which he made his major league debut, Santos has posted nice results in Triple-A. His sinker and slider are both down a bit more than a mile per hour from their peak, but he’s tossed 11 innings and held opponents to three runs (2.45 ERA) on nine hits and three walks. He’s only fanned six of his 44 opponents (13.6%) and has just a 7% swinging-strike rate, which are both cause for some concern, but he does have three strikeouts in his past 2 2/3 frames (12 batters faced). Given all the recent injuries, some early rust would only be natural.
Time will tell whether this is a a quick cup of coffee or an opportunity to grab a lasting job in the relief corps. Santos has a minor league option remaining, so now that he’s being added to the 40-man, he can be sent down again without needing to pass through waivers. If he can get back to his pre-injury form, he still has at least two seasons of club control remaining beyond the current season.
The Giants don’t have any surefire 60-day IL candidates to open a 40-man spot. Relievers Sam Hentges and Joel Peguero have spent the whole season on the IL but are both on minor league rehab assignments; Peguero is approaching the end of his rehab window. Outfielder Jared Oliva is a candidate after suffering a hamate fracture earlier this month, but while some hitters take eight or more weeks to return from that injury, there are plenty of cases of players returning after only four to five weeks.
Giants Place Harrison Bader, Jared Oliva On Injured List
The Giants have placed outfielders Harrison Bader and Jared Oliva on the 10-day injured list, per a club announcement. The former is dealing with a hamstring strain, while the latter was diagnosed with a hamate fracture, likely pointing to a somewhat notable absence. Bader’s IL placement is retroactive to April 12. Fellow outfielders Will Brennan and Drew Gilbert have been recalled from Triple-A in their place.
Bader, 31, has gotten out to a dismal start in his new environs. Signed to a two-year, $20.5MM contract in free agency, he’s started his Giants tenure with a .115/.145/.192 batting line and a glaring 30.9% strikeout rate in 55 turns at the plate. The longtime defensive standout had one of his best seasons at the plate in 2025, slashing a combined .277/.347/.449 with a career-best 17 homers in 501 plate appearances between Minnesota and Philadelphia.
It’s obviously a bit early to sound the alarm, but it’s a brutal stretch of 15 games for Bader, who hasn’t experienced strikeout troubles of this magnitude since 2018 with the Cardinals. Bader’s chase rate on balls off the plate is up six percentage points this year, while his contact rate on balls within the strike zone is down more than three percentage points. He’s been extremely aggressive early in his plate appearances and has too often found himself behind in the count as a result.
The Giants haven’t provided a firm timetable, but Bader will be down for the next week-plus at the very least. If it’s a lengthy enough stay on the IL, he could require a minor league rehab stint. For the time being, San Francisco can either slide Jung Hoo Lee back to center field or give some of that workload to Gilbert and Brennan. Lee hasn’t graded out well in his time as a center fielder in the majors — which was surely part of the Giants’ motivation in signing Bader, who perennially ranks as one of the game’s top outfield defenders. Gilbert has played all three outfield slots in Triple-A this season, spending the bulk of his time in center. Brennan has played the corners only in 2026 but has nearly 1800 professional innings in center.
As for the 30-year-old Oliva, this is his first big league action since 2021 with the Pirates. He’s appeared in seven games but been primarily a defensive replacement and pinch-runner. He’s had seven at-bats and tallied one single in that time.
Oliva impressed the Giants with plus speed and outfield range in camp this spring. In 20 games/46 plate appearances, he swiped a ludicrous 14 bags while also turning in a robust .375/.444/.550 batting line. That was more than enough for Oliva to earn a spot on the roster, even pushing out-of-options former top prospect Luis Matos out the door in the process.
Hamate fractures typically require surgery and come with a recovery period between four and eight weeks. Every instance is different, of course, but that general framework is at least worth noting. It’s doubtful Oliva will be back any earlier than mid-May, and his absence could push into early-to-mid June. Assuming Bader returns to the fold before Oliva, Gilbert stands as a natural option to fill the backup outfield role that Oliva has held throughout the season.
Giants Likely To Designate Luis Matos For Assignment
The Giants are planning to designate outfielder Luis Matos for assignment, reports Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle. She adds that minor league signee Jared Oliva is expected to break camp in a bench role, so he’ll take Matos’ spot on the active and 40-man rosters.
Matos is out of minor league options. Formerly one of the organization’s top position player prospects, he was one of the most intriguing players fighting to hold his 40-man spot this spring. The Giants gave him a look long in camp, as he led the team with 23 games and 55 plate appearances.
After a quick start, Matos’ bat cooled in the middle of March. He finished the spring with a .260/.327/.440 line with two home runs. Matos only struck out three times but also took just one walk, as his on-base percentage was propped up by getting plunked by four pitches.
That aggressiveness has undercut Matos’ production in meaningful games. He’s a .231/.281/.369 hitter over parts of three MLB seasons. Matos has taken just under 600 plate appearances, the rough equivalent to one full season of playing time. He has hit 15 homers with strong contact rates but has worked walks at a modest 6.1% clip.
The Giants can wait until tomorrow morning to officially designate Matos for assignment. They’ll then have five days to try to trade him. If nothing comes together, they’d need to place him on waivers. There’s a decent chance he’ll be claimed, as he’s a 24-year-old former notable prospect who owns a .287/.345/.505 line over three Triple-A seasons. If another team acquires him via trade or waivers, they’d need to carry him on the big league roster.
Matos’ exclusion means the Giants will probably carry Jerar Encarnacion. He’s also an out-of-options outfielder who fits best in a corner or at designated hitter. He can get regular playing time at DH with Bryce Eldridge opening the season in the minors. San Francisco optioned depth outfielders Will Brennan and Drew Gilbert to Triple-A Sacramento this evening.
Rule 5 pick Daniel Susac is expected to win the backup catcher job. Casey Schmitt and Christian Koss seem ticketed for utility infield roles. That’ll very likely leave Oliva as a fifth outfielder and backup center fielder behind Harrison Bader. Assuming he’s officially selected onto the roster tomorrow, it’ll be his first MLB work in five years.
Oliva played in 26 big league games with the Pirates between 2020-21. He has bounced around the upper minors for the past few seasons without returning to the big league level. Oliva had a league average .252/.335/.413 batting line with 57 stolen bases in Triple-A with the Milwaukee organization last year. He signed a minor league deal with San Francisco over the winter and seized a job with his continued aggressiveness on the bases.
The righty-hitting outfielder stole 14 bags in 15 attempts. His .375 average over 20 games is unlikely to be a precursor to much of an impact at the plate, but the Giants are opting for more speed and defense in the final bench spot than Matos would have provided.
Giants Sign Michael Fulmer To Minor League Deal
The Giants announced a number of non-roster invitees to spring training today, with Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle among those to pass them along. Most of the players were already in the organization or their signings had been previously reported but right-hander Michael Fulmer and outfielder Jared Oliva were new names. Fulmer is represented by BBI Sports Group and Oliva the Beverly Hills Sports Council.
Fulmer, 33 in March, has had periods of major league success but also lengthy injury interruptions. He was a rotation staple for the Tigers from 2016 to 2018, winning American League Rookie of the Year in the first of those seasons, but then Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2019. When he returned, he struggled and got moved to the bullpen. He was a fairly effective reliever from 2021 to 2023 but then required a revision surgery on his ulnar collateral ligament, wiping out his 2024.
He was back on the mound in 2025 but was mostly stuck in the minors. He briefly got called up to the big leagues by the Red Sox and the Cubs but only made three appearances between those two teams. He pitched in Triple-A for those two clubs as well as the Mariners and Royals last year, throwing a total of 66 1/3 innings with a combined 3.39 earned run average. His 10.5% walk rate was a bit high but he struck out 31% of batters faced.
The San Francisco bullpen looks notably weaker than it did just a few months ago. They traded away Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval at the trade deadline, then Randy Rodríguez required Tommy John surgery in September. They haven’t really made any moves to strengthen the group apart from making buy-low investments in injury reclamation projects like Sam Hentges and Jason Foley.
Fulmer joins Gregory Santos as experienced non-roster depth and will try to pitch his way into a return to a regular big league role. From 2021 to 2023, Fulmer made 177 appearances with a 3.55 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and 40% ground ball rate.
Oliva, 30, has a major league track record consisting of 26 games for the Pirates over the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He stepped to the plate 59 times and produced a .179/.220/.214 line. He spent last year with the Brewers on a minor league deal and hit .252/.335/.413. He’s generally been good for double-digit steals throughout his minor league career and swiped 57 bags last year.
The Giants project to have a regular outfield consisting of Harrison Bader, Jung Hoo Lee and Heliot Ramos, with Jerar Encarnación, Drew Gilbert, Luis Matos, Grant McCray and others in the mix for bench/depth roles. If some playing time opens up, perhaps Oliva’s base running skills can help him earn a bench job. If he eventually gets a roster spot, he still has options.
Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images
Players Entering Minor League Free Agency
Major League free agents became eligible to sign with other teams on Thursday, but the minor league free agent market has technically been open since season’s end. MLBTR has published several posts detailing players who had already elected to become minor free agents, but Baseball America’s Matt Eddy (multiple links) has the full account of all the minor league free agents that officially joined their big league counterparts on the open market on Thursday.
This list details only players who have played in the Major Leagues, and whose minor league free agency hasn’t already been covered on MLBTR in the last month.
Athletics: Aaron Brooks, Carlos Duran, CD Pelham, Bryan Lavastida, Nick Martini, Alejo Lopez
Braves: Ian Anderson, Davis Daniel, Enoli Paredes, Amos Willingham, Brian Moran, Jonathan Ornelas, Chandler Seagle, Matthew Batten, Conner Capel
Orioles: Jakson Reetz, Livan Soto, Thaddeus Ward
Red Sox: John Brebbia, Isaiah Campbell, Mark Kolozsvary, Chadwick Tromp, Seby Zavala, Trayce Thompson
Cubs: Yency Almonte, Zach Pop, Caleb Kilian, Austin Gomber, Forrest Wall, Billy Hamilton, Joe Ross, Tommy Romero, Antonio Santos, Tom Cosgrove, Dixon Machado, Nicky Lopez, Carlos Perez
White Sox: Elvis Peguero, Kyle Tyler, Vinny Capra, Chris Rodriguez, Caleb Freeman, Joe Perez, Owen White, Andre Lipcius
Reds: Tejay Antone, Alan Busenitz, Buck Farmer, Josh Staumont, P.J. Higgins, Eric Yang, Levi Jordan, Edwin Rios, Davis Wendzel, Evan Kravetz, Adam Plutko, Charlie Barnes, Alex Young
Guardians: Riley Pint, Tyler Naquin, Parker Mushinski
Rockies: Xzavion Curry, Sean Bouchard, Owen Miller, Karl Kauffmann,
Tigers: Kevin Newman, Brian Serven, Jordan Balazovic, Nick Margevicius, Blair Calvo
Astros: Jon Singleton, Joe Hudson, Kenedy Corona, Greg Jones, Matt Bowman, Luis Contreras, Tyler Ivey, John Rooney
Royals: John Gant, Spencer Turnbull, Bobby Dalbec, Diego Castillo, Geoff Hartlieb, Jordan Groshans, Nick Pratto, Isan Diaz, Stephen Nogosek, Nick Robertson, Joey Krehbiel, Noah Murdock, Ryan Hendrix
Angels: Shaun Anderson, Brandon Drury, Yolmer Sanchez, Ben Gamel, Evan White, Cavan Biggio, Logan Davidson, Travis Blankenhorn, Oscar Colas, Kelvin Caceres, Dakota Hudson, Chad Stevens, Angel Felipe, Jordan Holloway, Victor Gonzalez
Dodgers: Michael Grove, Luken Baker, Giovanny Gallegos, Kyle Funkhouser, Chris Okey, CJ Alexander, Zach Penrod
Marlins: Jack Winkler, Lane Ramsey
Brewers: Luis Urias, Oliver Dunn, Julian Merryweather, Daz Cameron, Drew Avans, Josh Maciejewski, Jared Oliva
Twins: Jose Miranda, Anthony Misiewicz, Jonah Bride, Thomas Hatch, Daniel Duarte, Connor Gillispie
Mets: Joey Meneses, Jose Azocar, Joe La Sorsa, Gilberto Celestino, Ty Adcock, Bryce Montes de Oca, Yacksel Rios, Oliver Ortega, Luis De Los Santos
Yankees: Kenta Maeda, Jeimer Candelario, Rob Brantly, Andrew Velazquez, Jose Rojas, Joel Kuhnel, Wilking Rodriguez
Phillies: Matt Manning, Adonis Medina, Lucas Sims, Jacob Waguespack, Phil Bickford, Rodolfo Castro, Oscar Mercado, Brewer Hicklen, Christian Arroyo, Payton Henry
Pirates: Brett Sullivan, Nick Solak, Nelson Velazquez, Beau Burrows, Ryder Ryan
Cardinals: Zach Plesac, Anthony Veneziano, Tyler Matzek, Zack Weiss, Drew Rom, Aaron Wilkerson
Padres: Eguy Rosario, Tim Locastro, Reiss Knehr, Nate Mondou
Giants: Sean Hjelle, Miguel Diaz, Max Stassi, Sam Huff, Cole Waites, Drew Ellis, Ethan Small
Mariners: Michael Fulmer, Casey Lawrence, Collin Snider, Jesse Hahn, Nick Anderson, Josh Fleming, Austin Shenton, Jacob Nottingham, Beau Taylor, Cade Marlowe, Jack Lopez, Michael Mariot, Hagen Danner
Rays: Cooper Hummel, Jonathan Hernandez, Jamie Westbrook, Tres Barrera
Rangers: Omar Narvaez, Cal Quantrill, Ty Blach, Alan Trejo, Joe Barlow, Cory Abbott, Michael Plassmeyer, Alex De Goti
Blue Jays: Eloy Jimenez, Buddy Kennedy, Joe Mantiply, Elieser Hernandez, Rene Pinto, Adam Kloffenstein
Nationals: Francisco Mejia, Juan Yepez, Joan Adon, CJ Stubbs, Parker Dunshee, Erick Mejia, Adrian Sampson, Delino DeShields
Brewers Sign Jared Oliva, Jon Duplantier To Minor League Deals
The Brewers are signing outfielder Jared Oliva and right-hander Jon Duplantier to minor league contracts, tweets Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Both players will get non-roster invitations to big league camp.
Oliva, who turns 29 tomorrow, got a brief big league look with the Pirates. The Arizona product appeared in 26 games for the Bucs between 2020-21. He hit .179/.220/.214 in that minimal sample. He spent the ’23 season in Triple-A with the Angels, struggling to a .261/.348/.423 slash in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Oliva dropped back a level this year, as he spent the season in Double-A after signing a minor league contract with the Mariners.
The righty-swinging Oliva posted good numbers in the Texas League. He turned in a robust .294/.378/.463 slash while going 37-40 in stolen base attempts. He’s quite a bit older than the average Double-A player, but he showed enough to earn a camp invite from Milwaukee. Oliva can play all three outfield positions and could open next season with Triple-A Nashville.
Duplantier has also been out of the majors for a few years. He earned some Top 100 fanfare during his prospect days in the Diamondbacks’ system. Duplantier has yet to find any major league success, however. The 6’4″ hurler owns a 6.70 earned run average across 49 2/3 big league innings. He last suited up at the MLB level in 2021.
The Rice product split the ’24 campaign between the Mets’ and Dodgers’ systems, along with four starts in the independent American Association. He started seven of 23 appearances in the upper minors, turning in a 4.20 ERA with a strong 27.4% strikeout rate but a massive 16.1% walk percentage over 55 2/3 innings.