Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Giants Rumors

Giants Select Jay Jackson

By | at

The Giants announced this afternoon they’re selecting the contract of reliever Jay Jackson. To create space on the 40-man roster, San Francisco transferred third baseman Evan Longoria from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list. To create active roster space, infielder Jason Vosler was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento.

Additionally, staff ace Kevin Gausman has been placed on the family medical emergency list. Righty Logan Webb was recalled to start tonight’s game against the Cardinals in his place.

Jackson returns to the majors for the first time since 2019. That year, he made 28 appearances out of the Brewers bullpen. Across 30 1/3 innings, the hard-throwing righty pitched to a 4.45 ERA/3.57 SIERA. Jackson showed legitimate swing-and-miss stuff, racking up whiffs on 17.7% of his offerings and striking out hitters at a fantastic 35.6% clip. He also had some obvious control issues, though, walking 13.6% of batters faced that season.

The 33-year-old spent part of the 2020 campaign with the Chiba Lotte Mariners of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball before returning to the U.S. last summer. He signed a minors deal with San Francisco in January and has earned his way back to the big leagues with a fantastic start to the season in Sacramento. Jackson has made eight appearances with the River Cats and tossed eleven scoreless innings, punching out a whopping 48.6% of opponents against a minuscule 2.7% walk rate.

Longoria landed on the IL on June 6 with a left shoulder sprain. He’s now ineligible to come back until 60 days have passed since that original placement — not today’s transfer date — so he can return during the first week of August. It seems there’s some chance he’ll do so, as manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle) that Longoria’s doing well in his recovery. It has been an incredible bounceback season for the 35-year-old, who is hitting .280/.376/.516 over 186 plate appearances.

Dodgers Claim Jimmie Sherfy, Designate Bobby Wahl

By | at

The Dodgers have claimed right-hander Jimmie Sherfy off waivers from the Giants, according to multiple reporters (including MLB.com’s Maria I. Guardado and Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times).  Righty Bobby Wahl was designated for assignment to create roster space.

San Francisco designated Sherfy for assignment last week.  After being released by the Diamondbacks last August, Sherfy caught on with the Giants on a minors contract during the winter and tossed 10 2/3 MLB innings this season (posting a 4.22 ERA and 19.6% strikeout rate).  Sherfy totaled 45 1/3 innings over parts of the 2017-19 seasons with Arizona but didn’t see any big league action in 2020.

The Dodgers will now give Sherfy a look in their organization and may be pretty quickly parting ways with Wahl, who was acquired on another waiver claim off the Brewers’ roster just two weeks ago.  Wahl’s tenure with the Dodgers has thus far consisted of just one total inning over two appearances with Triple-A Oklahoma City.

The right-hander has 15 1/3 total innings on his big league resume, with 13 of those frames coming with the A’s and Mets in 2017-18 and the other 2 1/3 innings coming with the Brewers in 2020.  Wahl didn’t pitch at all in 2019 due to a torn ACL, and he has a 3.90 ERA and some big strikeout numbers (31.29% strikeout rate) over 233 career innings in the minors.

Giants Recall Joey Bart, Option Logan Webb

By | at

The Giants have recalled top prospect Joey Bart and optioned starter Logan Webb to Triple-A, per MLB.com’s Maria I. Guardado (via Twitter).

With Buster Posey landing on the 10-day injured list, it certainly stands to reason that Bart could have the opportunity for some playing time. Actually, however, this move appears to be at least as much about getting Webb some work in Triple-A during the All-Star break as it is about replacing Posey on the roster. Both means are likely to be short-term placements, suggests Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).

As much as fans might want to get a look at Bart, the second overall pick of the 2018 draft, this isn’t likely to be the promotion that earns him regular playing time, though he is slated to start tonight’s ballgame. Only two games remain before the All-Star break, however, and Curt Casali offers a more than suitable short-term stand-in for Posey. They also have Chadwick Tromp on the roster.

Bart, 24, has one plate appearance this season to go with 111 trips during the 2020 campaign. He has hit .231/.286/.317 for his career up till now. He’s done more than enough to prove his worth with the Sacramento River Cats this year, however, slashing .338/.400/.581 in 150 plate appearances in Triple-A.

As for Webb, the 24-year-old right-hander has spent much of the year in the rotation, making 11 starts to a 3.63 ERA/3.15 FIP over 52 innings. Webb has been somewhat on the outside of the rotation picture for much of the season, but as much as the Giants have wanted to try him out in a multi-inning relief role, injuries have kept Webb in the rotation as long he he’s been healthy. It will be more than a week until the Giants need a fifth starter again, however, so Webb will be able to get some work in over the All-Star break while with Sacramento.

In other Giants news, outfielder Mike Tauchman will begin a rehab assignment in Triple-A today, notes Guardado. Tauchman has been out since June 30th with a sprained knee.

Giants Notes: Posey, Webb, La Stella, Sanchez, Rotation

By | at

The Giants activated right-hander Logan Webb from the 10-day injured list to start tonight’s game against the Nationals. In a corresponding move, Buster Posey was placed on the 10-day IL, retroactive to July 6, with a left thumb contusion.

Posey hasn’t played since leaving last Sunday’s game early after being struck by a foul tip. It doesn’t seem there’s huge cause for concern, as the star backstop told reporters (including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area and Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic) he’s hopeful he’ll return when first eligible next Friday. That’d be the Giants first game coming out of the All-Star Break, and it doesn’t seem there was any chance of Posey playing during this weekend’s series with Washington. The former MVP told reporters he’s currently unable to catch or swing the bat. Of course, that’ll also rule Posey out from participating in the All-Star Game, which he’d been slated to start as the National League’s representative at catcher.

In better health news for the Giants, infielder Tommy La Stella is set to begin a minor league rehab assignment, manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including Pavlovic). A significant hamstring strain sent La Stella to the injured list on May 4. He began a rehab assignment in late June but suffered a fracture in his right hand that halted his recovery. It’s been a disappointing season for La Stella, who has hit .235/.297/.353 over his first 75 plate appearances.

He’ll be joined on the rehab assignment by right-hander Aaron Sanchez (relayed by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). Like La Stella, Sanchez went on the IL in early May, began a rehab assignment last month, and then had to be shut down because of an unrelated setback. Sanchez’s initial injury was biceps inflammation, but his comeback was delayed by a blister. He’s apparently ready to return to game action, as he’ll start for Low-A San Jose tomorrow night.

Getting Webb and Sanchez back should help fortify a starting rotation that has been one of the league’s best. Nevertheless, San Francisco president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi suggested the club could be in the market for external rotation help before the July 30 trade deadline (via Maria Guardado of MLB.com). With Kevin Gausman, Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood, Johnny Cueto and Webb all having decent to stellar seasons, there seems to be little room on the surface for another starter, especially with Sanchez nearing a return.

That’s a group that (aside from Gausman) has traditionally had issues staying healthy, though, so it’s plenty sensible for the San Francisco front office to look to add some depth. At 54-32, the Giants are up a game on the Dodgers and four games up on the Padres in a tightly-contested NL West. There’s plenty of logic in safeguarding against potential injuries for the stretch run.

There’s also the matter of the Giants longer-term outlook to consider. Of their current starters, only Webb is a lock to be back in 2022. Gausman, DeSclafani and Wood are all slated to hit free agency, while Cueto’s $22MM club option is likely to be bought out for $5MM. Zaidi downplayed the importance of adding a multi-year player — instead suggesting the bigger priority is simply stockpiling depth for the second half of 2021 — but the front office figures to at least explore acquisitions of potential starters who could solidify the rotation beyond this season as well.

Giants Activate Tyler Beede, Designate Jimmie Sherfy

By | at

The Giants announced they’ve reinstated right-hander Tyler Beede from the 60-day injured list. Reliever Jimmie Sherfy has been designated for assignment to open active and 40-man roster space. Additionally, San Francisco placed outfielder Jaylin Davis on the 10-day IL with a left hamstring strain and recalled infielder Jason Vosler.

Beede is in line to make his first major league appearance since 2019. The former first-round pick underwent an ill-timed Tommy John surgery in March 2020. That cost him all of last season and almost the entire first half of 2021. Beede was a regular member of San Francisco’s starting five during his last healthy run. He made 24 appearances (22 starts) in 2019, tossing 117 innings of 5.08 ERA ball with average strikeout and walk rates (21.6% and 8.8%, respectively). There could be room for Beede to step back into the rotation; Logan Webb has been on the IL since last month due to a shoulder strain, and Sammy Long just hit the IL himself due to a low back strain.

Sherfy signed a minor league deal with the Giants over the offseason and earned a spot on the big league roster in early June. The 29-year-old pitched respectably over 10 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on nine hits and four walks with nine strikeouts. Sherfy has pitched in the majors in each of the past four years, combining for 56 innings of 3.21 ERA/3.99 SIERA ball. That solid track record could attract the interest of another club, although any acquiring team would have to keep the out-of-options Sherfy on the active roster or designate him for assignment themselves. The Giants will have a week to trade the right-hander or place him on waivers.

Buster Posey Exits Game Due To Thumb Contusion

By | at

11:17PM: Manager Gabe Kapler confirmed that Posey wouldn’t be starting Monday’s game, but told reporters (including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area) that Posey might be available off the bench.

11:01PM: Giants catcher Buster Posey left tonight’s game with a left thumb contusion after he was struck by a foul ball from the Diamondbacks’ Daulton Varsho.  Posey stayed in the game for the remainder of Varsho’s at-bat but was then replaced behind the plate by backup Curt Casali.

X-rays were negative on Posey’s thumb, as reported by The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly (Twitter links) and other journalists following the game.  This is undoubtedly a huge sign of relief for the team and San Francisco fans, given how a more severe injury could have threatened to derail both the Giants’ dream season and Posey’s big comeback year.  The veteran is hitting .328/.421/.547 with 12 home runs through 233 plate appearances, and is on pace for his best season since his MVP campaign in 2012.

Posey’s resurgence earned him a well-deserved starting slot on the NL All-Star team, though his participation in his seventh Midsummer Classic might now be up in the air if the Giants want him to take it easy in the wake of this injury.  An injured list visit might not be entirely out of the question, though Baggarly notes that Posey was already scheduled to sit during tomorrow’s game with the Cardinals.  The Giants also have an off-day on Thursday, so this rest might be enough for Posey to avoid the IL.

Casali has posted some decent numbers during his career but hasn’t produced much in 2021, hitting only .192/.298/.313 in 114 PA.  He could handle the starting duties in the event of a brief Posey IL stint, and Chadwick Tromp would likely be called up from Triple-A for backup duty.  Top prospect Joey Bart is demolishing pitching at Triple-A, though Bart is himself dealing with an injury after being hit by a pitch on his foot during Friday’s game.

Mets Acquire Anthony Banda From Giants

By | at

2:22 pm: The Mets have announced the trade.

2:06 pm: The Mets have agreed to a deal acquiring left-hander Anthony Banda from the Giants in exchange for minor league third baseman Will Toffey, reports Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).

Banda, 27, was once one of the game’s top pitching prospects but has battled injuries and begun to bounce around the league in journeyman fashion. He’s spent the 2021 season with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, where he’s struggled to a 6.86 ERA with a 22.2 percent strikeout rate, a 9.5 percent walk rate and a 50 percent ground-ball rate. Most of the damage done against Banda in 2021 has come in three outings (a pair of six-run drubbings and a particularly rough seven-run game).

It hasn’t been a great year for Banda, but the same can be said of the 26-year-old Toffey, who has posted just a .178/.317/.386 batting line with a sky-high 38 percent strikeout rate in 123 Double-A plate appearances. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked him 28th among Mets farmhands heading into the season, noting that he’s a solid defender at the hot corner with a plus arm but questioning his lack of power and bat speed.

In Banda, the Mets will get a lefty with some big league experience — 51 1/3 innings, 5.96 ERA, 3.67 FIP — to help shore up their depth after a staggering number of pitching injuries have taken their toll on the organization. The Giants, meanwhile, are buying low on a prospect of a bit of note. Toffey has batted just .220 and slugged .379 in parts of three Double-A seasons, but his keen eye at the plate has produced a .354 OBP at that generally pitcher-friendly level.

Giants Place Mike Tauchman On Injured List

By | at

The Giants announced they’ve placed outfielder Mike Tauchman on the 10-day injured list due to a right knee sprain. To replace him on the active roster, San Francisco reinstated fellow outfielder Jaylin Davis from the 60-day IL. A 40-man roster spot for Davis’ activation was opened when right-hander Gregory Santos was suspended for performance-enhancing drugs earlier this week.

Tauchman is only expected to miss 10-14 days, as his sprain is relatively minor, the team told reporters (including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). Upon his return, the 30-year-old will need to perform better than he has in recent weeks. The Giants acquired Tauchman from the Yankees in April, but the left-handed hitter has only managed a .180/.292/.295 line in 161 plate appearances in black and orange. Tauchman is out of minor league option years, so the Giants will need to continue to keep him on the active roster once he returns from the IL or make him available to other clubs.

The activation is a nice birthday present for Davis, who turns 27 years old today. He’ll be making his season debut once he gets into a game. Davis has been sidelined all year by right knee tendinitis. The powerful right-handed hitter hasn’t done much over 59 major league plate appearances to date, but he’s mashed at a .329/.412/.709 clip in 357 trips to the dish at Triple-A.

The Giants also provided an update on injured first baseman Brandon Belt. He’ll attempt to rehab from the right knee inflammation that sent him to the IL last week (via Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic). Surgery, which would’ve sidelined Belt for eight-to-twelve weeks, had been on the table, but there’s a realistic chance for the 33-year-old to return without going under the knife. There’s no timetable for his return, but Baggarly notes he’ll be “definitiely” be back in less than two months if all goes well.

Giants’ Gregory Santos Suspended For Performance-Enhancing Drug Use

By | at

Giants’ right-hander Gregory Santos has been suspended for eighty games after testing positive for the banned substance Stanozolol, Major League Baseball announced this afternoon. He has been on optional assignment to Triple-A Sacramento.

Santos, who entered the season as Baseball America’s #23 prospect in the Giants organization, made his MLB debut in April. He’s appeared in three big league games, tossing two innings of six-run ball. Santos has spent most of the year with Sacramento, where he’s worked to a 5.17 ERA with worse-than-average strikeout and walk rates (20.5% and 12.3%, respectively) across 15 2/3 relief innings.

The River Cats only have 74 games remaining this season, so today’s suspension will end Santos’ 2021 campaign. He’ll be placed on the restricted list, which will open up a spot on the Giants 40-man roster.

Giants Place Brandon Belt On 10-Day Injured List

By | at

JUNE 28: Belt has minimal structural damage in his knee, Kapler told reporters (including Guardado). The team is optimistic he’ll be able to rehab the injury without requiring surgery.

JUNE 26: Belt will miss more than 10 days in recovery, Kapler told MLB.com’s Maria Guardado and other reporters, and a possible knee surgery isn’t out of the question.  “I think as we evaluate it, everything could potentially be on the table.  I think the concerns are there, yeah,” Kapler said.

JUNE 25: The Giants placed Brandon Belt on the 10-day injured list with a knee injury today, recalling outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. in his place, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Belt, 33, is one of the many seemingly rejuvenated veterans dotting the Giants’ roster. Belt posted a career-low 98 wRC+ over 616 plate appearances in 2019, but he’s been nothing short of spectacular at the dish since. After slashing a wholly unsustainable .309/.425/.591 (172 wRC+) in 179 plate appearances last season, Belt has continued to trend in the right direction with a .253/.363/.512 line through 201 trips to the box. Time will tell whether this bout of knee inflammation is a short-term setback or something more serious.

Wade, an outfielder by trade, can share the first base duties with Darin Ruf while Belt is out. Offensively, the Giants believe Wade/Ruf can hold the line, but Belt’s defense is harder to replicate. Slusser provides this quote from manager Gabe Kapler, “…as good as LaMonte is and as good as Ruf is over there, Belt is like another level when it comes to footwork and putting himself in good positions to take care of the other infielders on the diamond. LaMonte is going to continue to improve over there with more reps, but we’re going to really miss Brandon as a defender.”

In looking for ways to upgrade as we approach the trade deadline, it’s natural to consider the position player side of the Giants’ roster given that three-quarters of their expected starting infield is currently on the injured list (Belt, Evan Longoria, Tommy La Stella). That said, the Athletic’s Grant Brisbee writes that the rotation, in fact, may be the first place the Giants look to upgrade.

To Brisbee’s point, the rotation certainly didn’t look like a significant strength heading into the season. Kevin Gausman looked the part of a frontline starter, though his track record wasn’t long enough to erase all doubts. Johnny Cueto used to be a star, but he hasn’t appeared as one since 2016. Alex Wood, Anthony DeSclafani, and Aaron Sanchez rounded out the five. That trio seemed to be a low-ceiling/high-floor group if healthy – though they came with significant health concerns. Logan Webb figured to be the primary understudy, and though he’s younger and therefore full of promise, he entered the year with a 5.36 ERA/4.15 FIP through 94 career innings.

As a group, they’ve exceeded expectations: 3.14 ERA/3.44 FIP, both ranking third-best in the Majors, with the fifth-most innings pitched at 401 2/3, and the sixth-most fWAR accumulated with 7.3 fWAR. They’ve induced groundballs at the third-best rate among rotations and allowed less walks per nine innings than every team save the rival Dodgers.

Still, Sanchez may still be bothered by his blister issues, per Slusser, and Webb is out with a strained shoulder. Gausman has been brilliant, and DeSclafani a pleasant surprise, but there’s certainly room to add the right guy if the Giants should find him. Identifying that arm will take some doing. Max Scherzer has been a popular target for speculation, but the latest reports suggest he’ll need an extension before accepting a deal. Besides, when the Nats are within earshot of contention – as they are right now – they aren’t typically inclined to sell.

To speculate on other potential rotation targets, look no further than our list of top-40 trade targets. Jon Gray, Matthew Boyd, Tyler Anderson, Kyle Gibson, Michael Pineda, Dylan Bundy, Andrew Heaney, Jose Urena, German Marquez, Spencer Turnbull, and John Means are some of the top names that may be available come July.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top