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NL West Notes: King, Waldron, Ohtani, Giants

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The Padres provided an update on the status of right-hander Michael King earlier today, as relayed by Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The good news is that King’s shoulder issue, which sent him to the injured list just last weekend, is not structural in nature. Rather, Sanders writes that the right-hander is dealing with a pinched nerve. Less fortunate, however, is that the Padres remain in the dark about what King’s timetable for a return to action will ultimately look like.

“Now that we’ve been able to locate what the issue is … just trying to get a handle on how to release that nerve a little bit that’s preventing that (scapula) from being able to fire appropriately,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said, as relayed by Sanders. “We’ve got some really smart people, including Michael himself, involved with that process that will get that going as soon as possible, and how soon that is is to the discretion of that nerve.”

The cause of the pinched nerve isn’t known, though King was initially scratched from his start last week due to discomfort in his shoulder after sleeping on it uncomfortably the night prior. Sanders adds that King sought a second opinion on the issue earlier this week and that, because he’s already started to improve, the Padres are not yet ruling out him resuming playing catch by the end of next week. That would potentially allow him to return to the rotation shortly after his minimum stint on the injured list expires without a rehab start, although ultimately King won’t be able to return until the nerve issue has completely resolved itself. Sanders suggests that right-hander Matt Waldron, who pitched 146 2/3 innings for San Diego last year but has been sidelined all season so far due to an oblique strain, could be ready to return from the injured list in the near future and take up King’s rotation spot while he’s on the shelf.

More from around the NL West…

  • The Dodgers watched as Shohei Ohtani continued his slow-going return to pitching earlier today, as Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times was among those to report that the superstar threw two innings of live BP against the Dodgers’ minor league hitters this afternoon. Harris notes that’s a slight uptick from last week’s 22 pitches, and that Ohtani recorded one strikeout and one walk along during the session. After the session, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including USA Today’s Bob Nightengale) that the outing was a “positive” one for Ohtani, though his command wasn’t quite as sharp as his last time out. That Ohtani is continuing to make progress in his rehab is encouraging, although he remains expected to not pitch until some point in the second half of the season. Fortunately, rehabbing hasn’t seemed to slow him down one bit at the plate, as he entered play today slashing .294/.394/.670 with a 187 wRC+, 22 homers and 11 steals.
  • The Giants could be looking to make a change at first base in the near future, even with top prospect Bryce Eldridge not yet at Triple-A. As Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reported on yesterday, the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento tabbed former top prospect Marco Luciano to serve as their first baseman in a game earlier this week. It’s a new position for the 23-year-old, who has already appeared at second base, shortstop, and in left field over the years, but Rubin notes that the River Cats are expected to continue using Luciano at first going forward as concern mounts about the club’s production at the position in the majors. LaMonte Wade Jr. is the club’s starter at the position, but after entering the year with a 115 wRC+ in a Giants uniform he’s slashed just .171/.278/.279 with a wRC+ of 60 across 48 games. Luciano has yet to hit in the majors himself, with a career 68 wRC+ in the majors, but even his meager production in 126 career plate appearances would be an improvement over Wade’s numbers this season. Plus, Luciano is a former consensus top-20 prospect in the sport who may be able to tap into that potential if offered regular reps at the big league level. While Luciano begins to learn the new position, the Giants will hope that Jerar Encarnación’s eventual return from the injured list is enough to help improve the club’s first base production going forward.

Giants Notes: Eldridge, Luciano, Villar, Rogers, Stroman

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The Giants announced a wave of cuts from camp this morning, with top prospect Bryce Eldridge and former top prospect Marco Luciano among the most notable names sent out to minor league camp. (Luciano is on the 40-man roster and was thus optioned, technically speaking; Eldridge was reassigned to minor league camp.) Right-hander Mason Black was also optioned to minor league camp.

Though some fans might’ve hoped the 20-year-old Eldridge would break camp this year, that was always an extreme long shot. The 2023 first-rounder has all of 17 games above A-ball under his belt: nine in Double-A (where he hit quite well) and eight in Triple-A (where he struggled in a small sample). Eldridge’s overall .289/.372/.513 slash across four minor league levels helped propel him to the No. 12 spot on Baseball America’s top-100 list and did nothing to dispel the notion that he’s San Francisco’s first baseman of the future. For now, however, he’ll open the season in the upper minors while veterans LaMonte Wade Jr. and Wilmer Flores platoon at first base.

Luciano’s path to the roster was similarly unlikely. The former shortstop is still learning the ropes in his new corner-outfield environs, and San Francisco’s outfield mix has little room to break in. Heliot Ramos will be in left field after a breakout 2024 season. Jung Hoo Lee will be back in center now that he’s recovered from last year’s shoulder surgery. Mike Yastrzemski is in right field for what will be his seventh straight season. With Luciano still adjusting to the outfield, it benefits him to be in a setting where he can play every day and further familiarize himself with the new position.

The starters for the Giants are largely set. Patrick Bailey is the primary catcher. Wade and Flores will split at first base. Tyler Fitzgerald moves from shortstop to second base in deference to free agent signee Willy Adames. Matt Chapman inked a six-year extension late last season. Ramos, Lee and Yastrzemski round out the outfield. There’s more competition for the bench spots, but one player who’s all but squeezed out barring injuries further up the depth chart is infielder David Villar.

Villar impressed with a .231/.331/.455 showing and nine homers in 181 plate appearances as a 25-year-old rookie back in 2022. He’s since hit .170/.243/.346 in the majors while turning in only slightly above-average offense in a hitter-friendly Triple-A setting. Villar is out of minor league options and has less defensive versatility than fellow infielders Casey Schmitt and Brett Wisely. Both Schmitt and Wisely have one minor league option remaining, and both can play shortstop. Villar has never played a professional inning at short.

As soon as Chapman and Adames were locked in on the left side of the infield, Villar looked to be an odd man out. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area wrote yesterday that for the former 11th-rounder, spring training this year is more about showcasing himself to 29 other clubs than earning a spot on the Giants’ roster.

Speculatively speaking, the front offices in Milwaukee and in the Bronx have been eyeing cost-effective third base options. Former Giants GM Scott Harris is now president of baseball operations in Detroit and has been looking for right-handed bats. His club just missed on Alex Bregman and lost one third base candidate (Matt Vierling) to a shoulder strain. Another, Jace Jung, has only 94 big league plate appearances and is out to a slow start this spring.

Villar is 28, out of minor league options and has a .200/.288/.400 slash in 358 big league plate appearances. There’s a chance he’d simply clear waivers and stick with the Giants as non-roster depth. But he’s a .268/.377/.511 hitter in three Triple-A seasons and can play both infield corners — in addition to more limited experience at second base. A club with a less-solidified infield mix could be interested in a small trade or waiver claim. It’ll be worth keeping an eye on how he performs for the remainder of the spring.

Shifting a bit away from the focus on what’s currently taking place in camp, Joel Sherman of the New York Post provides some context on earlier offseason trade talks between the Giants and Yankees. Per Sherman, the Yankees approached the Giants about a potential deal that would’ve sent righty Marcus Stroman to San Francisco in exchange for lefty Taylor Rogers. The Giants weren’t interested in that framework, it seems, preferring to move forward with a rotation including Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Justin Verlander, Jordan Hicks and one of Kyle Harrison, Hayden Birdsong or Landen Roupp. (Harrison seems like the strong favorite.)

The Giants eventually traded Rogers and $6MM to the Reds, ducking out from half the money they still owed to the veteran lefty and adding minor league righty Braxton Roxby to their system in the process. The Yankees spent much of the offseason trying to move Stroman but now might be glad to have hung onto him; Luis Gil is dealing with a shoulder injury that’s thrust Stroman back into the rotation outlook in the Bronx.

Giants To Get LaMonte Wade, Marco Luciano More Time In Outfield

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LaMonte Wade Jr. has been the Giants’ primary first baseman in each of the past two seasons, leading the team in innings at the position. Wade’s 1631 innings at first base since 2023 more than double the 801 innings from Wilmer Flores, who’s been at first most days when Wade is out of the lineup or on the injured list. Together, Wade and Flores have accounted for nearly 85% of the team’s innings at first base.

The Giants could change that arrangement a bit this year. While Wade will still surely see plenty of time at first base, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Wade focused heavily on running and conditioning this offseason, because the Giants could use him in the outfield more frequently than in recent years. Wade isn’t the only Giant potentially moving from the infield dirt to the outfield grass. Justice de los Santos of the San Jose Mercury News writes that former top shortstop prospect Marco Luciano is headed to camp strictly as a corner outfielder.

When the Giants originally acquired Wade from the Twins, Brandon Belt was entrenched at first base in San Francisco. That led to considerable outfield time for Wade, who played 824 innings on the grass in 2021-22. Since Belt’s departure, he’s played just 154 innings in the outfield.

Moving Wade to the outfield more frequently could create some extra rest for Jung Hoo Lee as he returns from shoulder surgery or perhaps give young Heliot Ramos a day off against tough right-handed pitchers; Ramos hit .370/.439/.750 against lefties last year but just .240/.286/.387 versus fellow right-handers. Wade batted .253/.374/.377 against righties and is a career .251/.359/.431 hitter in those situations.

However, the larger motivation for getting Wade some renewed comfort in the outfield is surely the looming presence of top prospect Bryce Eldridge. The 2023 No. 16 overall draft pick is on a fast track through the Giants’ minor league system and may not be far from MLB readiness — despite only having turned 20 back in October. The towering 6’7″ Eldridge blitzed through four minor league levels in 2024, spending the bulk of his time in High-A, where he posted a comical .335/.442/.618 batting line in 215 plate appearances. Overall, he tallied 519 turns at the plate across his four minor league stops and batted .289/.372/.513 with 23 home runs, an 11.4% walk rate and a 25.3% strikeout rate.

Despite being limited to first base, Eldridge ranks 12th among all prospects on Baseball America’s top-100 ranking for the upcoming season. With just 17 games above A-ball under his belt, Eldridge doesn’t seem likely to make the jump right to the majors, though he’s a non-roster invitee in major league camp, so it’s at least possible he could mash his way into consideration.

With regard to Luciano’s move, the impetus is even more straightforward. The Giants signed Willy Adames to a club-record contract this offseason, guaranteeing him $182MM over seven years. With Matt Chapman also signed long term at third base and Tyler Fitzgerald lined up to handle second base after his 2024 breakout, there’s no real room in the infield for Luciano.

Of course, he’ll need to prove with his performance that he’s deserving of a big league spot at any position. The 23-year-old has batted just .217/.286/.304 in 126 major league plate appearances to this point in his career. He hit .250/.380/.380 in his second run at Triple-A last year but did so with an ugly 26.8% strikeout rate. That’s an improvement from the prior season’s 31.3% mark, but it’s still concerning to see so many punchouts in the upper minors.

Luciano candidly told de los Santos and other reporters that he felt “totally lost” at the plate in 2024. He’s spent the offseason working to identify and correct bad habits in his swing. Luciano conceded that he’s “a little bit uncomfortable” with the move to the outfield but took a team-first approach in embracing the position switch. He’s entering his final option year, so while this isn’t necessarily a make-or-break spring for him, he’ll need to show both strides at the plate and prove himself capable of handling the outfield in some capacity if he’s to carve out a long-term spot with the club.

Posey: Giants Pursuing Shortstops

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With the 2024 baseball season now complete and the offseason kicking off, the industry is currently buzzing at the general managers meetings in San Antonio. New Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey spoke with members of the media and said the club is looking for a shortstop, per Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle on X. Posey mentioned that Tyler Fitzgerald performed well in 2024 but can play other positions. Prospect Marco Luciano is seemingly ticketed for an outfield role for now, with the club hoping that can help him focus on taking a step forward at the plate.

It’s a bit surprising to see Posey be so frank in discussing a club need, as club executives are normally more cagy and vague in their statements, but it’s not a shock that he has identified this part of the roster as a target.

Brandon Crawford was a fixture at shortstop for the Giants from 2010 to through 2023, but his performance tailed off at the end of that stretch and the Giants didn’t bring him back for 2024. While Crawford got a bench job with the Cardinals this year, the Giants didn’t find an immediate replacement for him.

The aforementioned Fitzgerald got most of the playing time there this year and performed well at the plate. His 31.7% strikeout rate was on the high side but he hit 15 home runs in just 341 plate appearances, leading to a .280/.334/.497 batting line and 132 wRC+.

His defense was another story, however, as the advanced metrics weren’t keen on his work at short. Outs Above Average gave him a grade of -4 for his 594 innings at the spot while Defensive Runs Saved had him at -6. As Posey mentioned, Fitzgerald played other positions, spending some time in the outfield as well as at the three non-shortstop infield spots. Both OAA and DRS were more fond of his work at those other positions, so there’s logic in having him get bumped into a regular gig somewhere else or a super utility role.

As for Luciano, he has been considered a potential long-term solution at short for a while now but hasn’t cemented himself at the big league level. He has hit just .217/.286/.304 in the majors so far, in a small sample of just 126 plate appearances. His Triple-A performance hasn’t been great either, with a .243/.370/.386 line and 95 wRC+ at that level over the past two seasons.

His glovework has also been an issue and this isn’t the first time that the club has talked about moving him off shortstop. In September, manager Bob Melvin talked about Luciano getting more work at second base to finish the season, which was followed by then-president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi talking about Luciano getting some work in the outfield.

It seems the organization now plans to stick with that latter path. Luciano doesn’t yet have any official game action in the outfield, majors or minors, so there may be a learning curve for a while. But given how demanding the shortstop position can be, it’s possible that lining up on the grass could help him unlock his offensive potential at some point.

He hit well through the lower levels of the minors and up through Double-A, spending plenty of time on top prospect lists during that rise. Baseball America considered him the #12 prospect in the whole league as recently as 2021, giving him a 60 grade for his hitting and a 70 for his power on the 20-80 scouting scale. Getting Luciano back on track in the batter’s box is understandably a priority for the Giants, even if he won’t be in the shortstop position.

With the club viewing both Fitzgerald and Luciano as ticketed for other spots, pursuing an external shortstop candidate is a logical offseason goal. The free agent market has one clear top candidate in Willy Adames. There’s also Ha-Seong Kim, but he recently underwent shoulder surgery and has an uncertain return timeline. Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller recently gave a vague “May, June, July” answer about Kim getting back on the field.

The Giants could sign Kim and then keep Fitzgerald at short until the shoulder issue is resolved, but signing Adames is a more straightforward solution. Playing for the Rays and Brewers, Adames already has 150 career home runs, a .248/.322/.444 batting line and 109 wRC+. He just finished a season wherein he stole 21 bases, hit 32 long balls and slashed .251/.331/.462 for a 119 wRC+.

Defensively, Adames has received strong reviews in his career but is coming off a down year. He was credited with 10 fielding errors in 2024, despite having only seven over 2022 and 2023 combined. His -16 DRS for the year was dreadful but he’s still at +4 in his career, even when factoring that in. OAA had him at exactly league average this year but had him at +16 in 2023 and +10 the year before that.

It would be odd for Adames to suddenly experience a steep drop in his fielding abilities at the age of 28, so perhaps clubs will view his 2024 glovework as an odd aberration. Either way, Adames is the clear top shortstop available and MLBTR recently predicted him for a six-year, $160MM contract as part of our annual Top 50 Free Agents post. All four contributors to that post predicted Adames would indeed sign with the Giants, which doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a slam dunk to happen. However, it does reflect that Adames and the Giants are a logical pairing, for the reasons laid out above.

The Giants have made more recent headlines for the top free agents they didn’t sign as opposed to the ones they did. They’ve been connected to big names like Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa and Bryce Harper in past offseasons and reportedly made some strong offers. Most notably, the club and Correa agreed to a 13-year, $350MM deal two years ago, which would have solved their shortstop situation at that time. But the deal got scuttled by the medicals and Correa eventually signed with the Twins.

As such, the largest free agent contract the Giants have given out in the past five years was to Jung Hoo Lee. He got a $113MM guarantee over six years but was an exceptional case as he was coming over to North America at the young age of 25. Apart from that, in the same five-year window, the Giants haven’t given a free agent more than the four years they gave Jordan Hicks and haven’t given a guarantee larger than the $62MM to Blake Snell. The latter deal didn’t even play out in full as Snell opted out after one year.

But perhaps Posey has a goal of flipping that narrative. He recently spoke about getting the Giants back into the “memory-making business” and was reportedly instrumental in getting third baseman Matt Chapman to sign a six-year, $151MM extension, a fairly similar pact to the deal projected for Adames.

RosterResource projects the Giants for a payroll of $155MM next year, more than $50MM south of the 2024 spending. Assuming they are willing to run a similar payroll next year, there’s plenty of room to sign Adames and pursue other goals as well.

There’s also the trade market for Posey to explore, though it’s unclear if there’s a better option than Adames available. Bo Bichette of the Blue Jays has been in plenty of rumors but that club’s general manager Ross Atkins recently threw cold water on the possibility and Bichette is coming off the worst season of his career anyway. He missed time due to injury and hit just .225/.277/.322 for a wRC+ of 71, after hitting .299/.340/.487 for a 126 wRC+ in previous seasons. A deal now would be a big sell-low move for the Jays while the Giants would be taking a big gamble on a bounceback. Bichette is also just one year away from free agency and would only be a short-term solution, unless the Giants wanted to pursue a trade-and-extend path, though that would only add to the downside if Bichette can’t quite get back on track. Bichette also has mediocre defensive grades for his career, making it fair to wonder how much longer he can stick at short. Nico Hoerner was another theoretical trade possibility but he recently underwent flexor tendon surgery and has an uncertain path forward.

Posey is only just beginning his first offseason as a top front office executive, so perhaps he will take some time exploring his options before making a decision. But for now, he has shown some refreshing candor in laying out one clear priority for the winter ahead.

Farhan Zaidi Discusses Job Security, Snell, Middle Infield

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Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi met with reporters this evening. San Francisco pulled back to .500 with a win over the Diamondbacks tonight, but they missed the playoffs for the fifth time in Zaidi’s six-season tenure. That has led to speculation about his job security — which only ratcheted up in recent weeks amidst conflicting reports about ownership’s role in handling negotiations on Matt Chapman’s $151MM extension.

Zaidi declined to speculate about his job status but acknowledged that ownership is considering its options. “Anytime you have a disappointing season, it’s my job to evaluate everything in my purview, and it’s their job to evaluate everything in my purview, plus me,” the baseball ops leader said (link via Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic). “And so I think that process is happening, and I understand it.”

The Giants and Zaidi agreed to an extension last winter that coincided with Bob Melvin’s hiring as manager. Both the manager and baseball operations leader are on guaranteed contracts for next year with options for the 2026 season. That certainly doesn’t ensure job security — teams regularly dismiss coaches or executives before the end of their deals — but it kept Zaidi from operating on a lame duck basis in 2024.

Any doubt about his status with the organization can’t stop Zaidi from planning the team’s approach to the upcoming offseason. That starts with Blake Snell, who has pitched at a Cy Young level for the better part of four months. The star left-hander is set to decline his $30MM player option and take another shot at a long-term contract.

Zaidi admitted the Giants expect Snell to opt out. He said the Giants will remain in the market but conceded they’ll face stiff competition. “I think it’s going to be a priority for everybody. He’s been the best pitcher in baseball the second half of the season,” Zaidi said of Snell’s market (relayed by Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle). “And I think he’s going into free agency the same way he did last offseason. He wants to keep an open mind. We’re encouraged about what he said about how much he likes being here, how much he likes San Francisco and playing for Bob. We’ll be pretty high on his list, but we’re respecting the fact that he’s going to want to play out free agency.”

Snell turns 32 in December. He’ll probably take aim at a six-plus year deal that approaches $200MM. That kind of investment in starting pitching would be out of character for Zaidi. As shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, the Giants haven’t gone beyond the $90MM Logan Webb extension for a starting pitcher. The $62MM guarantee they awarded Snell late last winter is their biggest free agent rotation investment.

The Giants have been much more comfortable with short-term upside plays for starting pitchers who want to retest the market than they are with lengthy commitments. That operating procedure made them a strong fit when Snell’s market didn’t materialize the way he’d envisioned last winter, but it’ll present a challenge to keeping him around. San Francisco was content to let Kevin Gausman and Carlos Rodón walk after striking gold on short-term plays for both pitchers.

If Snell were to depart, Webb would retake his spot as the unquestioned staff ace. He’ll be followed in the rotation by Kyle Harrison and Robbie Ray (who is unlikely to opt out of the $50MM remaining on his contract). The Giants could try to stretch Jordan Hicks back out as a starter while giving opportunities to younger arms like Hayden Birdsong, Landen Roupp and Keaton Winn. They’d surely add to that group in some capacity after dealing with a number of rotation injuries this season.

Zaidi also addressed the position player mix, specifically saying the Giants will “definitely be in the middle-infield market” (via Rubin). Tyler Fitzgerald has had a fantastic rookie season since taking over at shortstop. The Louisville product connected on his 15th homer tonight and is up to a .287/.338/.510 batting line through 325 plate appearances. His 31.1% strikeout rate is cause for some concern, but Fitzgerald’s power and defensive flexibility have earned him a role somewhere on the diamond.

That could come on the other side of the second base bag. The Giants waived Thairo Estrada last month after he hit .217/.247/.343 in 96 games. Estrada will be a minor league free agent at season’s end. Zaidi lauded Estrada’s professionalism and expressed some confidence that the infielder could rebound in another setting, but he indicated the Giants will go in a different direction.

Moving Fitzgerald to second base while bringing in an established shortstop is an option. Willy Adames and Ha-Seong Kim are the potential regulars in the free agent class. Zaidi expressed a desire to add “an established, plus defender in the middle infield” via free agency or trade. Adames and Kim would each fit the bill (although the former has had an uncharacteristic spike in errors this season). Both players are going to decline qualifying offers from their current teams and would require draft pick forfeiture. Adames might command a guarantee north of $150MM, while Kim’s deal could land in the $75-100MM range.

Bo Bichette has been the top speculative shortstop trade target. The Blue Jays didn’t seem inclined to move him even before he went on the injured list just before the deadline. Unless the Toronto front office reverses course, they probably won’t sell low during the winter.

There aren’t a ton of obvious middle infield trade candidates. The Reds may listen on Jonathan India, but he’s not the caliber of defender to which Zaidi alluded. That’s also the case with Tampa Bay second baseman Brandon Lowe. The Pirates would probably listen on Isiah Kiner-Falefa, whose offensive production has cratered since a deadline trade with Toronto. There’s a chance the Mariners could move on from J.P. Crawford as they try to reshape their offense.

A free agent pursuit of Adames or Kim, though, would be more straightforward. That’d allow the Giants to use Casey Schmitt in a utility capacity and potentially free them to play Marco Luciano in the outfield. Zaidi said tonight that they’re not closing the door on Luciano winning the second base job, but they’ll need to see improvement (especially defensively) next spring for that to happen.

One area where the Giants don’t seem inclined to make a long-term play: first base. Zaidi indicated the team was reluctant to make an investment that would impede the path for top prospect Bryce Eldridge, their 2023 first-round pick. Eldridge is still a month shy of his 20th birthday, but he mashed at a .335/.442/.619 clip in High-A. He has made cameos at the top two minor league levels, and while he’s unlikely to break camp next year, Zaidi suggested there’s a path for him to debut at some point in 2025.

“Once a guy is in Double-A, Triple-A, they’re in the picture,” Zaidi said (relayed by Baggarly). “I think it behooves us to have a roster that’s flexible enough that if he’s ready next year, even early in the year, there’s a spot for him. So that’s going to be really important for us. I don’t anticipate us really locking up the first base and DH spot.” There’s a solid group of free agent first basemen, headlined by Pete Alonso and Christian Walker, but that doesn’t appear to be a priority for San Francisco.

Of course, these preliminary plans could go in any number of directions if ownership decides to make a front office change. That should be determined within the next few weeks. Giants fans will want to check out both The Athletic and The Chronicle columns in full for more quotes from Zaidi about his vision for the winter.

Giants Playing Marco Luciano At Second Base

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The Giants recalled Marco Luciano and Luis Matos from Triple-A Sacramento this afternoon. San Francisco optioned Blake Sabol and Casey Schmitt in corresponding moves. Luciano is in tonight’s lineup at second base against Arizona’s Ryne Nelson. It seems that’ll be a frequent occurrence this month.

Manager Bob Melvin told reporters this evening that the Giants will play Luciano regularly at the keystone for the season’s final few weeks (relayed on X by Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area). Tonight’s start there will be the 22-year-old’s first second base action in the big leagues.

Luciano is no stranger to the middle infield. He has started 19 MLB games at shortstop over the last two years. He has nearly 2500 shortstop innings in the minors. Luciano has made 27 appearances at second base in his minor league career, all but six of which have come this season with Sacramento.

Despite his ample shortstop experience, the rookie infielder struggled at the position earlier in the year. He was charged with five errors in only 60 innings. Luciano’s fielding percentage sat at a dismal .865, and while that almost certainly would’ve risen in a larger sample, the frequency of the mistakes led the Giants to quickly decide that he wasn’t ready for everyday shortstop work. San Francisco flirted with playing him at designated hitter after the Jorge Soler deadline trade. That didn’t last long either, and he has all of 48 plate appearances over 17 MLB games this year.

The Giants’ playoff hopes have been all but officially ended, so the next few weeks are primarily about evaluation. Luciano’s development is one of the organization’s key storylines. Scouting reports have long touted his raw power, but that has yet to translate against upper level pitching. Luciano has four extra-base hits (three doubles and a triple) in 31 career big league contests. He only has 10 homers with a .250/.380/.380 batting line over 384 plate appearances in the Pacific Coast League this year. A near-17% walk rate has driven a huge on-base mark, but he’s striking out 27% of the time without making much of a power impact.

Luciano is a few days shy of his 23rd birthday, so there’s still plenty of time for him to figure things out. The Giants haven’t given him any kind of consistent run against MLB pitching before now. That said, his pedestrian upper minors production and the ongoing questions about his long-term defensive home leave a lot unsettled.

Acclimating well to second base could at least address the latter question. The Giants are going to need a long-term solution at the position. Thairo Estrada has held the job for the past three-plus years. He has had a very poor ’24 campaign, though, and the Giants outrighted him off the roster last week. Estrada remains in the organization for now, but the Giants will almost certainly move on during the upcoming offseason: either by allowing him to elect minor league free agency or declining to tender him an arbitration contract.

Luciano will need to tighten things up defensively if he’s to stick on the infield at all. Scouts’ questions about his chances of playing shortstop have been more about his hands and lateral mobility than any issues with his arm strength. Four of his five errors at the position were of the fielding variety. That’d be problematic no matter where he is on the dirt, though perhaps moving off the infield’s most demanding spot would allow him to be more comfortable.

Giants Select Grant McCray

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The Giants announced they’ve selected outfielder Grant McCray onto the major league roster. San Francisco optioned Marco Luciano back to Triple-A Sacramento in a corresponding move. The Giants already had an opening on the 40-man roster.

They’ll use it to take their first look at McCray, whom they drafted out of a Florida high school in 2019. The former third-round pick is starting in center field tonight against Braves righty Grant Holmes. McCray can play all three outfield positions and has spent the vast majority of his minor league time up the middle.

That defensive acumen is McCray’s biggest appeal. Prospect evaluators credit him with plus or better speed and an excellent arm. He has the tools to be a plus defender in center field. Outfield defense has been an issue for the Giants for a few seasons. That’s particularly true in center, where Heliot Ramos has been the starter lately. Ramos has had a breakout year offensively but is clearly stretched playing up the middle. Most scouting reports have long pegged him as a corner outfield fit. Both Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast’s Outs Above Average have graded him harshly in his 493 innings of center field work this year.

Ramos moves to left field tonight, pushing Michael Conforto to designated hitter. If McCray is up as an everyday center fielder, that’ll probably have the biggest impact on Jerar Encarnacion’s playing time. The Giants have given him five starts apiece at DH and in the corner outfield since they selected his contract on August 2. He’s hitting .237/.293/.395 over 41 plate appearances. McCray playing center field would leave the corner outfield/designated hitter roles to some combination of Ramos, Conforto and Mike Yastrzemski on most days.

The long-term viability of that plan probably depends on how well McCray acclimates to big league pitching. Scouting reports at Baseball America and FanGraphs credit him with nascent raw power but have never been bullish on his pure hitting ability. McCray has turned in decent results between the top two levels of the minors this year, combining to hit .242/.330/.446 in 97 games. He has 12 homers, seven triples and 26 doubles through 421 plate appearances.

McCray is drawing walks at a strong 10.7% clip but has fanned in nearly 29% of his trips. Strikeouts have been a problem throughout his minor league tenure. It’ll be a challenge for him to make contact in his first look at big league pitching, but his combination of power and athleticism present some upside if he can put the ball in play somewhat regularly.

Strikeouts have also been a question for Luciano, who has long been one of the Giants’ top prospects. San Francisco initially planned to give him everyday run at designated hitter after the Jorge Soler deadline trade. They backed off on that fairly quickly, perhaps because of trepidation about his elevated strikeout tallies in the upper minors and his limited look (31 games over two seasons) against MLB pitching. Luciano scuffled defensively at shortstop and has yet to really find a position at the MLB level. He’s still just 22, so the Giants will get him consistent reps in Triple-A to continue his development on both sides of the ball.

The Giants have dropped three straight to fall back to .500, though they’re only 3.5 games behind Atlanta in the Wild Card race. They’re playing the Braves tonight and tomorrow in what could be pivotal games.

Latest On Giants’ Deadline Plans

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The Giants surprised many with tonight’s stunning trade that sent Jorge Soler and Luke Jackson to the Braves, yet the move doesn’t appear to be signalling a larger trend towards a selloff in the Bay Area.  Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via X) writes that “it doesn’t sound as if the Giants have plans to make any more significant subtractions, especially from the rotation.”  That latter specification implies that Blake Snell probably isn’t going to be on the move, despite increased speculation in the last few days that teams have been inquiring about the left-hander’s availability.

Whether the Giants make any noteworthy additions also still seems to be in question, as Slusser feels the team could bring in a new outfielder “if they add.”  The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly writes that the Giants are looking for a good defender to play center field, and Heliot Ramos would then be moved into a corner outfield slot.  Star prospect Marco Luciano will be recalled for another crack at the big leagues, and Luciano will factor into the DH picture with Michael Conforto and (when healthy) Wilmer Flores now that Soler is gone.

Naturally plans could still change as things develop leading up to the deadline, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal recently suggested that the Giants feel they could move Conforto to a team that would take on the rest of the roughly $6MM remaining of his $18MM salary.  It could be that the Soler trade already provides enough financial relief that the Giants wouldn’t feel compelled to move Conforto as well, though if payroll isn’t a primary concern, the Giants could be freeing up some money to be flexible enough for a larger splash if an pricier option becomes available.

This type of measured approach to the trade deadline isn’t likely to please the San Francisco fanbase, yet it speaks to the team’s uncertain position in the standings.  The Giants are 53-55 with a -16 run differential, but a four-game winning streak has brought them within four games of an NL wild card berth.  With a number of lesser opponents (i.e. the A’s, White Sox, Marlins) all coming up on the schedule in the next five weeks, the ingredients might be there for the Giants to make a run…..or the front office could see the hill as too tall to climb.

In regards to Snell in particular, Baggarly says San Francisco would “have to be overwhelmed” to trade the southpaw, and the team is “not expecting something to materialize” between now and 5pm CT on Tuesday.  For comparison’s sake, Baggarly said the Giants would want more for Snell than the Blue Jays got from the Astros in the Yusei Kikuchi trade earlier tonight. 

The New York Post’s Jon Heyman also reported that the Giants weren’t willing to include any money in a Snell trade to cover the significant remaining cost of his contract.  The two-year, $62MM deal Snell signed last offseason breaks down as a $17MM signing bonus that has already been paid, a $15MM salary for 2024 (so roughly $5MM remains owed), and then $30MM in 2025.  While Snell can opt out of that second year and return to free agency, rival teams are understandably wary about taking on that possible hefty cost, considering that Snell has a checkered injury history.

An opt-out didn’t appear to on the cards whatsoever for Snell just a few weeks ago, yet he has revived his trade value with some exceptional pitching since his return from the injured list.  Snell has an 0.75 ERA and a 35.7% strikeout rate over 24 innings in his last four starts, suddenly once again looking like the dominant ace who won the NL Cy Young Award last year.

The Cubs, Orioles, Padres, and Yankees are all known to have expressed some level of interest about Snell, and SNY’s Andy Martino reports that the Mets have also “checked in” with the Giants, with “no traction” yet on any possible deal.  Martino implies that this might have been something of a due diligence call from the Mets, as naturally any contender would want to at least touch base with San Francisco about what it would take to pry Snell away.

Giants Outright Three Players

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The Giants made a few moves before tonight’s series opener against the Yankees. San Francisco placed rookie infielder Marco Luciano on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 30, with a right hamstring strain. Casey Schmitt was recalled to take his place on the active roster.

The team also informed reporters (including Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic) that outfielder Ryan McKenna, catcher Jakson Reetz and lefty reliever Drew Pomeranz each cleared outright waivers after being designated for assignment in recent days. Pomeranz has already elected free agency; McKenna and Reetz have that right as well, though it’s not clear if they’ll do so.

Luciano came up to the MLB roster two weeks ago. With Nick Ahmed shelved by a wrist sprain, Luciano got an opportunity as the starting shortstop. He hit well, picking up nine knocks (including two doubles and a triple) in 24 at-bats. The 22-year-old struggled on the defensive side, though. He committed five errors in 60 innings, most notably a booted grounder against the Pirates on May 21 that should have been a game-ending double play. Pittsburgh eventually tied the game and prevailed in extra innings.

Brett Wisely is starting at shortstop against Marcus Stroman tonight. Wisely isn’t a natural shortstop, but he probably offers a higher offensive ceiling than Schmitt provides. The 25-year-old Wisely has hit .311/.403/.487 in Triple-A this season; he has 10 hits in 25 big league at-bats in 2024. He has been a second baseman for the majority of his professional career. Bob Melvin has given him 48 1/3 innings at shortstop this year.

Beyond the infield shakeup, the Giants got DFA resolutions on Reetz, McKenna and Pomeranz. All three players had brief stints on the MLB roster. Reetz, a 28-year-old catcher, appeared in five games with three starts behind the dish. The Giants subsequently welcomed Patrick Bailey back from the concussion list and signed Curt Casali. Reetz is fourth on the catching depth chart behind that duo and Blake Sabol, to say nothing of the injured Tom Murphy.

That pushed him off the 40-man roster one week ago — ironically, to make room for Pomeranz. The Giants signed the former All-Star to a $1MM contract after he opted out of a minor league deal with the Dodgers. Pomeranz didn’t pitch over four days and was DFA on Tuesday. While San Francisco would presumably be interested in bringing him back on a non-roster deal, he’ll head to the open market for now.

McKenna was also DFA as part of Tuesday’s roster shuffle. The 27-year-old played in four games after the Giants claimed him from the Orioles two weeks ago. A career .221/.298/.328 hitter, McKenna is a glove-first depth outfielder. He has a .261/.359/.556 batting line over 274 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

The Giants also signed outfielder Allan Cerda to a minor league deal earlier this week (h/t to Matt Eddy of Baseball America). They assigned the 24-year-old to Double-A Richmond. Cerda was once a prospect of some regard in the Cincinnati farm system. The Reds carried him on their 40-man roster for the 2022 season, but his bat stalled at the Double-A level. He has a .188/.336/.370 line over 541 Double-A plate appearances. Cerda will hope for a breakthrough with the second organization of his career.

Giants Place Keaton Winn On Injured List, Activate Jorge Soler

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The Giants placed starter Keaton Winn on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 15, due to a forearm strain. San Francisco also optioned infielder Casey Schmitt to Triple-A Sacramento. They reinstated DH Jorge Soler from the 10-day injured list and recalled righty Mason Black in corresponding moves.

Winn has held a spot in the rotation all season. The rookie righty has taken nine starts, tallying 42 1/3 innings of 6.17 ERA ball. Winn pitched well through his first six appearances before surrendering at least five runs in each of his three most recent outings. While a forearm strain is sometimes an ominous precursor to a significant injury, the Giants don’t seem concerned. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi told reporters that imaging didn’t reveal any structural damage and the team doesn’t anticipate Winn missing much time (link via Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic).

Black will take the ball tonight against the Rockies opposite Ryan Feltner. Blake Snell is on a rehab stint and could step back into the rotation next week alongside Logan Webb, Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison. Black could hold the final spot until Winn returns.

Soler will lead off tonight in his first action since May 4. He missed just under two weeks with a shoulder strain. One of the team’s biggest offseason acquisitions, Soler is out to a modest .202/.294/.361 start to his Giants tenure. Wilmer Flores had taken the majority of the DH at-bats while Soler was sidelined.

Marco Luciano is starting at shortstop tonight and hitting ninth. It’s the first start of the season for the 22-year-old top prospect. With Schmitt headed back to Sacramento, manager Bob Melvin suggested Luciano is going to play regularly (X link via The Athletic’s Eno Sarris). For much of the offseason, it looked as if Luciano would be San Francisco’s first choice at the position. The Giants added veteran defensive specialist Nick Ahmed late in the winter on a minor league deal and wound up carrying him on the MLB roster.

Ahmed hit .236/.274/.291 through his first 36 games. He went on the injured list with a sprained left wrist last week. While the injury isn’t expected to keep him out for too long, Luciano could get a chance to hit his way into the permanent shortstop job. He had a .266/.399/.344 slash line in 158 plate appearances with Sacramento. Luciano has walked at a massive 18.4% rate in Triple-A, but he’s also striking out at an elevated 27.8% clip. He struck out 17 times in 45 plate appearances last year in his first taste of major league action.

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