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Thairo Estrada

The Giants Need A Right-Handed Bat

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While nothing about baseball’s future can be set in stone, the scuttlebutt coming out of San Francisco suggests pretty strongly that Kris Bryant will not be returning in black and orange. Concerns about his defensive efficiency and contract demands have the Giants looking elsewhere. If the price for Bryant drops, however, he still very much fits a need. Bryant and the retired Buster Posey brought the right-handed thump to balance a left-leaning lineup in 2021. Evan Longoria contributed as well, but the veteran third baseman is far from a sure thing, health-wise.

The hallmark of this Giants’ regime is discipline, so despite their need for a right-handed bat, they aren’t likely to overpay to bring Bryant back, writes Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports. The Giants appear most comfortable looking for match-up-based value adds, a department where they have succeeded recently with players like Darin Ruf, LaMonte Wade Jr, and Wilmer Flores.

There is one higher-profile free agent they could pursue. The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly wrote back in mid-December that the Giants are interested in Japanese import Seiya Suzuki, who should command a contract in a range wherein the Giants feel comfortable. There are many suitors chasing Suzuki, however.

Donovan Solano has been another one of those part-time players for the Giants, but Pavlovic notes that he’s probably “gone for good.” Solano had a productive three seasons with the Giants, even winning a silver slugger award in 2020.

His departure should make room to give Thairo Estrada a real opportunity. After slashing .273/.333/.479 across 132 plate appearances in 2021, there’s certainly reason to think that the 25-year-old Estrada can be a younger, cheaper version of the 34-year-old Solano.

Depth is key in the modern landscape, however. Since Estrada is out of options, the Giants need to be relatively certain about whether or not he can be the guy they need to fill out their bench. The Giants need a right-handed complement to Tommy La Stella at second and someone who can spell Evan Longoria at third. If Estrada is that guy, then the Giants can focus their post-lockout roster-building on adding potential rotation arms to fill out their depth on that end.

Giants Activate Jake McGee, Option Thairo Estrada

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The Giants will activate southpaw Jake McGee today, bringing their nominal closer back to the roster in time for a tune-up before the postseason begins next week.  To make room on the roster, infielder Thairo Estrada has been optioned to Triple-A, per Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com (via Twitter).

McGee returns after two lost weeks due to a right oblique strain. Fortunately for McGee and the Giants, it was on the milder side of oblique problems, so McGee is able to return even before the regular season is out, let alone the playoffs.  After being part of the Dodgers’ World Series team last year, McGee is looking to capture his second ring in as many years, and the veteran lefty has been a major part of the Giants’ success.

McGee has a 2.72 ERA/3.45 SIERA over 59 2/3 innings out of San Francisco’s bullpen, with a 4.2% walk rate that ranks among the league’s best.  That excellent control has helped McGee overcome some hard contact, and with a .228 BABIP, it’s fair to say McGee that had some good fortune behind his 2021 numbers.

Though the Giants are pretty flexible with their late-game relief alignment, McGee has gotten the bulk of save chances this year, with 31 saves in 36 opportunities.  Seven other pitchers have also gotten saves for the Giants this year, with Tyler Rogers leading the second-choice pack with 13 saves, and rookie Camilo Doval stepping up in recent days with three saves.  In short, manager Gabe Kapler will have plenty of bullpen arms to work with as the Giants head into October, as the club is more apt to roll with the hot hand or play matchups rather than deploy McGee in a traditional closer role.

Giants Reinstate Anthony DeSclafani, Designate Tyler Chatwood For Assignment

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The Giants announced several roster moves today, reinstating right-hander Anthony DeSclafani from the injured list and first baseman Brandon Belt from the paternity list. To make room for those two, infielder Thairo Estrada was optioned to Triple-A and right-hander Tyler Chatwood was designated for assignment.

It’s a quick turnaround for DeSclafani, who went on the IL on August 19th. That’s great news for the Giants, as the righty has been tremendous for them this season. Over 132 2/3 innings, he has an ERA of 3.26, producing 2.1 fWAR already on the year. With Johnny Cueto also having recently returned from the IL, the Giants rotation is in great shape for the stretch run, as they try to hold off the Dodgers in the NL West. The Giants are currently atop the pennant race by 2 1/2 games.

It’s potentially the end of a very short tenure in San Francisco for Chatwood. He was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays in July after struggling with command issues. In 28 innings out of Toronto’s bullpen, he had an ERA of 5.46, thanks in large part to a bloated walk rate of 16%. (League average for all pitchers is 8.7%.) The Giants then signed him to a minors deal April 7th and added him to the big league roster 10 days later. In two games for the Giants, Chatwood racked up four innings with six strikeouts but also allowed five runs (three earned) with one walk and one hit-by-pitch. The 31-year-old will now go on waivers and, if unclaimed, will be able to elect free agency. If he joins a new organization before the end of the month, even if it’s a minors deal, he will be eligible to play in the postseason for that club.

West Notes: Giants, Diamondbacks, A’s

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The Giants made a number of roster moves tonight, including placing Brandon Belt on the bereavement list following the passing of his grandmother, per The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly (via Twitter). Donovan Solano also went on the injured list today, with no reason specified. He has tested positive for COVID-19 and is likely to miss 7-10 days, tweets the San Francisco Chronicle’s John Shea.

To replace them on the roster, the Giants added Chadwick Tromp and Thairo Estrada, per MLB.com’s Maria I. Guardado (via Twitter). Tromp will provide some coverage for the banged-up Buster Posey, though it doesn’t look like Posey will spent any time on the injured list. Elsewhere out west…

  • Jordan Lawlar, the Diamondbacks’ top pick in the 2021 amateur draft, will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The sixth overall pick suffered a posterior labrum tear in his left shoulder that will likely take around seven months of recovery time. Arizona hopes to have him ready by the beginning of next season.
  • Stephen Piscotty will undergo surgery on his wrist tomorrow, per Martin Gallegos of MLB.com (via Twitter). Piscotty had been bothered by his wrist for much of the year, attempting to play through the injury. The Athletics outfielder struggled to a 79 OPS+ through 188 plate appearances.

Giants Reinstate Evan Longoria From 60-Day Injured List

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Evan Longoria is back with the Giants, as the team announced that the veteran third baseman has been activated off of the 60-day injured list.  The Giants also placed righty Jay Jackson on the COVID-related injured list and optioned Thairo Estrada to Triple-A, while calling up left-hander Sammy Long from Triple-A to start tonight’s game.

Longoria suffered a sprained shoulder in early June, which halted a major comeback year for the 35-year-old.  After posting a below-average 94 wRC+ from 2017-2020, Longoria exploded for a 140 wRC+, nine home runs, and a .280/.376/.516 slash line over his first 186 plate appearances of the 2021 season.  Small sample size notwithstanding, the advanced numbers backed up Longoria’s improvement, as he had a whopping 61.3% hard-hit rate (per Statcast) at the time of his injury.  There were some earlier hints of a breakout, as Longoria greatly underperformed his xwOBA in both 2019 and 2020, though his underperformance this season (.380 wOBA to a .401 xwOBA) is at least a fairer representation of how well he has been hitting.

The Giants have kept on winning in Longoria’s absence, and his return as the regular third baseman will create some shuffling around the roster.  Wilmer Flores and, most recently, Kris Bryant have been seeing action at the hot corner, and it’s safe to assume that those two and Tommy La Stella could get the odd start at third base to spell Longoria.  Bryant will be playing everyday in some capacity around the diamond and will likely see more time in the outfield with Longoria back, while Flores, La Stella, and Donovan Solano will jostle for playing time at second base.

This surplus of talent falls into the “good problem to have” category for the first-place Giants, and Estrada is going to Triple-A despite hitting .300/.371/.438 over 89 PA this season.  Estrada, however, still has minor league options remaining, which makes him the unlucky odd man out on the rather stacked San Francisco roster.

Jackson’s absence is due to vaccine side effects, according to Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link).  That should mean a very brief absence for the 33-year-old, who has a 3.77 ERA and 37.5% strikeout rate over 14 1/3 relief innings this season.

Giants Designate Aaron Sanchez For Assignment

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The Giants have designated Aaron Sanchez for assignment, per Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle. Additionally, John Brebbia was recalled, Kevin Gausman was reinstated from the paternity list and Thairo Estrada was optioned to Triple-A.

Signed to a one-year deal in the offseason, Sanchez’s season got off to a nice enough start. After six starts, he had an ERA of 3.18. But he struggled to pitch deep into games, never going longer than five innings. On May 8th, he was placed on the IL with biceps tightness and then struggled to return because of blister issues during his rehab, something that has plagued him over the course of his career. He was eventually reinstated from the IL July 29th and has made three appearances since then, but evidently not showing enough promise to hold onto a roster spot. Overall, he’s thrown 35 1/3 innings this season with an ERA of 3.06, with his typical mix of low strikeouts but lots of ground balls.

Sanchez is playing on a $4MM salary, of which about $1.2MM remains to be paid out. If some pitching-needy team were to grab him off waivers, they could do so with a modest increase to the payroll and luxury tax ledger. Though it’s also possible that teams will just wait for him to clear waivers, at which point they could pay him the prorated league minimum with the Giants on the hook for the rest of that money. The contract signed between Sanchez and the Giants also came with incentives based on games started, beginning once he reached his 16th of the season. Since he’s currently sitting at seven starts on the year, it seems unlikely any of those incentives will be reached.

Brebbia pitched very well for the Cardinals from 2017 to 2019, throwing 175 innings with an ERA of 3.14, a strikeout rate of 27.4% and walk rate of 7.5%. Unfortunately, Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2020 season, leading to the Cardinals non-tendering him, before he signed with the Giants. In 15 innings thus far for San Fran, he has a 6.60 ERA, though advanced metrics are much more bullish.

Giants Acquire Thairo Estrada

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The Giants have acquired infielder Thairo Estrada in a trade with the Yankees in exchange for cash considerations, the two teams announced.  Estrada will head to the Giants’ alternate training site and be added to the 40-man roster.  Outfielder Jaylin Davis (left knee tendinitis) was placed on the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move to open up a 40-man roster space.

New York designated Estrada for assignment earlier this week to free up roster space for the newly-acquired Rougned Odor.  Estrada has spent his entire professional career in the Yankees organization, hitting .280/.337/.389 with 26 home runs over 1949 minor league plate appearances from 2013-19 and .214/.267/.348 over 121 PA at the Major League level in 2019-20.  Rather than his bat, Estrada’s value came from his defensive versatility, as he logged a lot of playing time at shortstop, second base, and third base in the minors, and also made a few appearances as a corner outfielder in 2019.

Estrada may have a tough time breaking into a Giants depth chart that is already full of multi-positional infielders, but he might be a better depth option behind Brandon Crawford at shortstop than Donovan Solano or Mauricio Dubon, particularly since Dubon has been increasingly deployed as an outfielder.

Davis was already expected to be sidelined for four-to-six weeks due to his knee issue, so the 60-day placement will allow Davis some time to fully ramp up in the minors before the Giants consider finding a spot for him on the active roster.  The 26-year-old has seen action with San Francisco in each of the last two seasons, appearing in 21 total games with a .515 OPS over 59 PA.

Yankees Designate Thairo Estrada For Assignment

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The Yankees announced that they have designated infielder Thairo Estrada for assignment and optioned right-hander Michael King to their alternate site. They made those moves to clear space for newly acquired infielder Rougned Odor.

This could bring an end to a long run in the Yankees organization for Estrada, who first joined the club as an international free agent from Venezuela in 2012. Estrada eventually became a prospect of note with the Yankees, topping out as Baseball America’s No. 8 farmhand for the team in 2018, but he hasn’t been a particularly productive hitter during his time in the pros. The 25-year-old has put together a .280/.337/.389 line with 26 home runs and 52 steals on 81 attempts in 1,949 plate appearances in the minors, and he batted .214/.267/.348 over 121 PA as a Yankee from 2019-20. Still, with another minor league option remaining, it’s not that far-fetched to think another team could take a chance on him in the next week.

King could return to the Yankees’ pitching staff sometime soon. However, after he threw six shutout innings in relief against the Blue Jays on Sunday, it was logical for the Yankees to send him down on at least a temporary basis and use fresher arms in the meantime.

AL Notes: Odorizzi, Yankees, Twins, Red Sox

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The latest on a few American League clubs…

  • The Astros’ regular season will begin on the road from April 1-6, and recently signed right-hander Jake Odorizzi told reporters (including Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle) that it’s “reasonable to expect” he won’t be available during that stretch. However, Odorizzi could make his debut with the team sometime in its April 8-14 homestand. Odorizzi inked a two-year, $23.5MM guarantee with the Astros, but he’s a bit behind schedule after sitting on the free-agent market until earlier this month.
  • First baseman Mike Ford and infielder Thairo Estrada were among the players the Yankees optioned Friday. The Ford move could be good news for first baseman/outfielder Jay Bruce, a minor league signing who looks more and more likely to earn a season-opening roster spot. Ford’s career began auspiciously in 2019, during which he showed off serious power while limiting strikeouts, but he stumbled to a horrendous .135/.226/.270 line with just two home runs in 84 plate appearances last year. Estrada, who also debuted in 2019, has spent time in both the infield and outfield. He batted a weak .167/.231/.229 over 52 PA in 2020.
  • The Twins optioned southpaw Devin Smeltzer and righty Shaun Anderson, ruling them out for the Opening Day roster, Phil Miller of the Star Tribune relays. Both pitchers had been competing to earn spots in Minnesota’s staff. Smeltzer made 18 appearances (seven starts) with the Twins from 2019-20 and registered a 4.57 ERA with a below-average strikeout rate (19.3 percent) and an above-average walk rate (6.2 percent) in 65 innings. Anderson, whom the Twins acquired in a trade with the Giants during the offseason, could only muster a 5.17 ERA/5.26 SIERA over 111 1/3 frames in the previous two years.
  • Righty Garrett Whitlock has emerged as a lock to make the Red Sox bullpen, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Whitlock – whom the Red Sox took from the Yankees in last December’s Rule 5 Draft – has starred so far this spring, having allowed one earned run while striking out 12 over nine innings. The 24-year-old has also put up stellar numbers in the minors, where he owns a 2.41 ERA in 205 1/3 innings, but hasn’t pitched professionally since he underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2019. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked Whitley as Boston’s No. 30 prospect in January.

Yankees Place Giancarlo Stanton On 10-Day Injured List

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The Yankees have placed Giancarlo Stanton on their 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain, the team announced.  Thairo Estrada has been recalled to take Stanton’s place on the active roster.

Stanton was removed from last night’s 5-3 loss to the Rays, as manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) that the slugger suffered the injury while running the bases in the fourth inning.  Stanton was was able to remain on the field and even advance to both third and home later in the inning to score a run, though Mike Ford replaced Stanton during the next DH at-bat in the sixth inning.

Yet another trip to the IL is ominous news for Stanton and Yankees fans in the wake of the slugger’s oft-injured status over the last two seasons, and several leg-related issues (knee, quad, calf) were among Stanton’s long list of maladies.  Stanton was limited to only 18 games in 2019 and he would have missed time at the start of a normally-scheduled 2020 season had the league not been shut down.

Though the first 14 games of the season, Stanton seemed to be in prime form, hitting .293/.453/.585 with three homers over his first 54 plate appearances.  Albeit in a small sample size, this performance continues to indicate that Stanton is one of the sport’s most impactful bats when healthy, though remaining on the field is becoming an ever-increasing difficulty.

The Yankees played Stanton exclusively as a designated hitter this season in order to keep him as fresh as possible, and with the position now open, the club could cycle several players through DH duty.  Of those on the active roster, Ford and Mike Tauchman are the likeliest candidates for more playing time, plus Miguel Andujar and Clint Frazier loom as potential call-ups from the minor league camp.

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