Giants Select Mike Yastrzemski, Designate Mac Williamson
The Giants have selected the contract of OF Mike Yastrzemski and designated OF Mac Williamson for assignment, mlb.com’s Maria Guardado was among those to report.
Yastrzemski, 28, is famously the grandson of hall-of-fame Red Sox outfielder Carl Yastrzemski, and will make his major league debut tonight after parts of seven seasons in the minors. With AAA-Sacramento this season, the Vanderbilt product slashed a hefty .316/.414/.676, a line perhaps slightly more impressive than some of his PCL peers, given the relative lowlands of his home environs as compared to the moon-landing surfaces of certain division rivals. Still, as with all new arrivals from Triple-A in the dawn of a new, juiced-ball era, caution should reign: a startling 17 players still boast an OPS north of 1.000 in the Coast League, and one must scroll assiduously to finally stumble upon a group that doesn’t check in above the .800 mark.
This’ll be the second DFA this season for the 28-year-old Williamson, who was recalled earlier this month after a brief AAA bash fest of his own. Mac slumped badly in SF, striking out in nearly 32% of his plate appearances on the way to a .118/.211/.196 line in 57 plate appearances for the orange and black. His presence wasn’t the salve for the outfield woes that have plagued the Giants for the better part of three seasons now, though new president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi remains aggressive in the search for a cure.
Orioles, Giants Swap Mike Yastrzemski, Tyler Herb
Per team releases, the Orioles and Giants have swung a minor deal, with righty Tyler Herb headed to Baltimore and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski going to San Francisco.
Yastrzemski, 28, is the grandson of Hall-of-Famer Carl Yastrzemski. He’s made a six-year lap through the Oriole farm, with early highs eventually offset by upper-minors woes. His 2018 season was arguably his best, at least at the AAA level, with the lefty slashing a solid .265/.359/.441 in 374 plate appearances for Norfolk. He’ll provide depth at all three outfield spots for a Giants club starving for warm bodies at each of them.
Herb, 27 next month, began his professional career with Seattle before being sent south as the player to be named later in the Chris Heston deal. 2018 was a struggle for Herb: 13 starts made up his first AAA taste, and it quickly went sour, with the righty posting a 5.35 ERA/5.05 FIP in 70 2/3 innings for Sacramento. Herb has always had issue missing bats, though his repertoire could safely be counted on to induce a high number of grounders. It didn’t last season, though, as the righty posted a career-low 38.1% grounder rate.
Quick Hits: White Sox, Dodgers, Twins, Yankees, Orioles
The White Sox are willing to listen to offers for just about all of their players, and industry sources regard them and the Dodgers as perfect trading partners, according to Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan (Twitter links). Ace Chris Sale, third baseman Todd Frazier and closer David Robertson are among the players Chicago could move, and all of them fit the Dodgers’ needs, notes Passan. Meanwhile, the White Sox like several Dodgers – outfielder Yasiel Puig and prospects Cody Bellinger, Alex Verdugo, Jose DeLeon and Willie Calhoun – so it seems the two sides could line up for some sort of deal this offseason.
Now for some American League notes:
- Former Twins reliever LaTroy Hawkins has joined the team’s revamped front office as a special assistant, reports Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press. And longtime outfielder Torii Hunter, one of the greatest Twins ever, could be next. Hunter told Berardino he has had “several conversations about” taking on a role with the Twins, adding that he and the club “will talk here in the near future.” Hawkins and Hunter, both of whom retired after the 2015 campaign, spent a combined 21 major league seasons with the Twins. Minnesota chose Hawkins in Round 7 of the 1991 draft and Hunter in the first round in 1993.
- Although the Yankees are on the hunt for starting pitching, they could take advantage of a weak market and shop contract-year right-hander Michael Pineda, Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggests. Even if New York opts against that and only adds to its rotation, Sherman doesn’t see the team going to three years for free agency’s best option, onetime Yankee Rich Hill. New York has shown interest in Hill, Jason Hammel and Derek Holland this week.
- The Orioles did not add outfielder Mike Yastrzemski or catcher Audry Perez to their 40-man roster Friday, meaning both minor leaguers could end up leaving the organization in December’s Rule 5 draft. Baltimore is at least hoping to retain Yastrzemski, the grandson of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Mike Yastrzemski hit just .221/.312/.369 in 385 plate appearances at Triple-A Norfolk in 2016, though injuries negatively affected him. “He had a labrum problem and he also had a core injury that he had to have surgery on, so he’s got a little work to do to be ready for the spring,” said general manager Dan Duquette. Scouts regard Yastrzemski as a potential fourth outfielder in the majors and Garcia as a possible reserve backstop, and Kubatko expects someone to draft the latter.
- Along with the previously reported Roger McDowell and Frank Viola, Orioles Double-A pitching coach Alan Mills, Cardinals minor league pitching coordinator Tim Leveque and Rangers minor league pitching coordinator Danny Clark are vying to replace the departed Dave Wallace as Baltimore’s pitching coach, per Kubatko. The club is looking to make a hire soon, perhaps as early as this weekend.