Giants Rumors

Giants Designate Corban Joseph For Assignment

By George Miller | September 14, 2019 at 4:54pm CDT

The Giants made a number of roster moves today, with Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group reporting that the club has designated infielder Corban Joseph for assignment. Taking his spot on the 40-man roster will be Cristhian Adames, who had his contract selected. He’ll be joined on the Major League roster by Mike Gerber, who was also promoted.

After the Giants claimed him off waivers from the crosstown Athletics, Joseph only made 17 plate appearances with San Francisco, mustering lackluster numbers. He tallied a .180 OPS—albeit in just eight games—with the fourth organization of his career.

There’s a chance that number will grow to five, as rival teams will have a chance to claim Joseph on waivers, though he may be traded, released, or assigned outright if he goes unclaimed. He hasn’t yet gotten a real extended chance in the big leagues, as he hasn’t earned more than 57 plate appearances in a single season.

Pirates Claim Williams Jerez

By Jeff Todd | September 13, 2019 at 3:10pm CDT

The Pirates have claimed southpaw Williams Jerez off waivers from the Giants, per a club announcement. Righty Kyle Crick — another former Giant who was injured recently in memorable fashion — was moved to the 60-day injured list to create roster space.

Jerez had been designated for assignment after a brief MLB showing with the San Francisco club, during which he walked six hitters over six innings. He had earned the promotion with a promising showing at the Triple-A level. In 56 innings on the year, Jerez carried a 3.86 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9. He limited left-handed hitters to a paltry .174/.260/.314 collective batting line.

The Bucs will utilize Jerez in the majors late in 2019, the team has announced. He’ll have an opportunity to stake a claim to holding a 40-man spot throughout the winter. Ironically, he’ll also join Chris Stratton in Pittsburgh after being dealt for him late in Spring Training, as Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group notes on Twitter.

Giants Sign Andrew Triggs To Minors Contract

By Mark Polishuk | September 12, 2019 at 5:22pm CDT

In a transaction that flew under the radar back on August 30, the Giants signed righty Andrew Triggs to a minor league deal, as per Roster Roundup (Twitter link).

Triggs hasn’t pitched since an April 10 appearance for Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate. It was almost a full year ago that Triggs underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, and he pitched in just three games for Triple-A Las Vegas before going on the injured list for the remainder of the season. The A’s released Triggs in early August.

It stands to reason that Triggs’ Giants deal could be a two-year contract, as the team didn’t get an opportunity to see him in any sort of competitive environment in their system, and a deal that covers the 2020 season would allow the Giants to more fully evaluate the 30-year-old’s health and readiness to possibly contribute next season.

Prior to his TOS surgery, Triggs posted a 4.53 ERA, 8.17 K/9, 49.6% grounder rate, and 2.96 K/BB rate over 163 innings for the Athletics from 2016-18, starting 27 of his 45 career Major League games. He also went under the knife in 2017, as his season was cut short by hip surgery in July of that year.

Reyes Moronta Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

By Jeff Todd | September 12, 2019 at 1:47pm CDT

TODAY: Moronta’s recovery period is expected to last roughly 11 months, Bruce Bochy told Crowley and other reporters.

Sept. 11: Moronta’s surgery actually went a bit better than expected, tweets Kerry Crowley of the San Jose Mercury News. While Moronta’s labrum was damaged and repaired, his shoulder capsule did not need repair.

Sept. 9: Giants reliever Reyes Moronta is slated to undergo surgery on his right shoulder labrum, the club informed reporters including MLB.com’s Maria Guardado (Twitter link). The procedure will end his 2019 season and send him on a lengthy rehabilitation process that will surely extend well into the ensuing campaign.

Shoulder procedures are laden with risk for pitchers, so this is rather concerning news. That said, plenty have made their way back to being quality major-leaguers after going under the knife. The details of the injury, the work that’ll ultimately be done, and the course of rehab will all play into the odds in ways we can’t accurately gauge given what’s known at present.

Moronta has been a major part of the San Francisco relief corps since first reaching the bigs late in 2017. Through 128 1/3 total innings, he owns a 2.66 ERA with 11.2 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9. While that walk rate obviously isn’t optimal, Moronta has limited the damage by tamping down on long balls (0.63 HR/9, 7.0 HR/FB%) to this point in his career.

This injury represents a blow not only to the Giants’ 2019 bullpen, but also to Moronta’s earnings outlook. He’ll be a 2+ service-class player next year and will earn service time while sidelined. Barring a stunningly quick return to action, he will not have much of a chance (if any) to compile a platform season in advance of arbitration after the 2020 campaign.

Giants Could Hire General Manager

By Connor Byrne | September 11, 2019 at 12:22am CDT

Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi continues reshaping the team’s front office in his image. The Zaidi-led club fired eight of its 20 pro scouts Tuesday, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle details. More changes are likely, per Schulman, and it’s possible the Giants will add a general manager to their baseball department. Zaidi on Tuesday said he’s likely to interview candidates for a GM opening, though he’s not guaranteed to fill the position, according to Maria Guardado of MLB.com

Whether or not Zaidi does find someone for the job, the team’s baseball operations will essentially continue to go through him. He’s in his first year at the helm, having taken the reins last November after the Giants stripped Bobby Evans of GM duties and moved executive VP Brian Sabean into a different role.

Zaidi, of course, joined the Giants after several years serving as a prominent member of other teams’ front offices. He was the right-hand man for longtime Athletics executive Billy Beane before serving as the GM under Dodgers president of baseball ops Andrew Friedman. It’s now possible Zaidi will go with a similar setup for the Giants, who do happen to have a notable ex-GM on hand in senior advisor J.P. Ricciardi. Zaidi hired Ricciardi, who was once Toronto’s GM, shortly after taking over in San Francisco. However, it’s unknown whether Ricciardi will be among those Zaidi interviews for the GM post.

Giants Designate Williams Jerez

By Jeff Todd | September 10, 2019 at 5:19pm CDT

The Giants have designated lefty Williams Jerez, per a club announcement. That opens a roster space for the return of veteran hurler Johnny Cueto, who’ll start tonight after working back from Tommy John surgery.

The San Francisco organization carried Jerez on the 40-man all year long after picking him up in a late-spring trade. The 27-year-old permitted only a pair of earned runs in his six MLB innings, but allowed six free passes while striking out four.

Otherwise, Jerez turned in solid numbers at Triple-A this year, working to a 3.86 ERA with 9.8 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 over 56 frames. He was especially effective against opposing lefties, holding them to a .574 OPS.

NL Notes: Thor, Mattingly, Panda, Padres

By Jeff Todd | September 10, 2019 at 12:08am CDT

Though he has remained adamant about his desire to remain with the Mets, that doesn’t mean Noah Syndergaard is content with every aspect of his relationship with the team. Joel Sherman and Kevin Kernan of the New York Post reported today that the big righty has been displeased all season with throwing to primary catcher Wilson Ramos, preferring instead reserve Tomas Nido (or perhaps third-stringer Rene Rivera). Thor’s wrath has spawned a full-blown BatteryMateGate involving lengthy internal meetings and multiple engagements with the media. Ultimately, Mets manager Mickey Callaway and GM Brodie Van Wagenen explained that the club has to take into account more than the preferences of a given pitcher. In addition to being highly compensated and well-respected, Ramos is one of the team’s best hitters. While none of the organizational leaders cracked the whip on the star hurler, they didn’t indicate any inclination to bend on the topic. Callaway put it in particularly blunt terms: “You can’t make everybody happy and it’s not about making guys happy. It’s about winning at this point.” Whether this matter will carry over into the future, if not even impact Syndergaard’s long-term status in New York, remains to be seen.

Tony Watson Diagnosed With Fractured Wrist

By Jeff Todd | September 9, 2019 at 9:00pm CDT

Giants southpaw Tony Watson has been diagnosed with a slight fracture in the wrist of his pitching hand, per a club announcement (via MLB.com’s Maria Guardado, on Twitter). He’ll be sidelined for at least ten days, with the remainder of his season in jeopardy.

With the San Francisco organization falling precipitously in the standings, it’s no big deal to go without Watson the rest of the way. That said, it’s still a suboptimal development — particularly given that it’s the latest in a run of changes to what was once a high-quality relief unit.

Watson, 34, has thrown 54 innings of 4.33 ERA ball this year, with 6.8 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9. His 12.7% swinging-strike rate is right in the same range it usually is, as is his 93.5 mph average heater.

If there’s an oddity to Watson’s season statistics, it’s his struggles against lefties. While he has never been a pure LOOGY, Watson has historically performed better when facing same-handed hitters. This year, opposing southpaw swingers have tuned him up for a .359/.414/.500 slash — though that’s only a 71-batter sample.

The injury will not have an impact on earnings, at least directly. Watson’s unusually structured contract included loads of bonuses, topping out at his 55th appearance. Having already reached that mark, he’s slated to take home an extra $4MM on top of his $6.5MM base salary (itself boosted by his effort in 2018).

Ending the campaign on the injured list could conceivably increase the allure of the $2.5MM player option that Watson holds, though it still seems reasonably likely he’ll instead take a $500K buyout and re-test free agency. He might have boosted his open-market stock with a strong final month, though Watson does have a long track record to stand on.

Johnny Cueto Scheduled To Start On Tuesday

By Mark Polishuk | September 8, 2019 at 12:07am CDT

After over a year of rehabilitating from Tommy John surgery, Johnny Cueto is set to return to the Giants. Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group was among those to report the news that Cueto is scheduled to start Tuesday’s game against the Pirates, which will mark Cueto’s first Major League outing since July 28, 2018.

The usual 12-15 month timeline associated with Tommy John recovery created doubt that Cueto would be back before the 2020 season, and despite a minor back injury that it now seems will delay his return by a few days, Cueto will now get a chance to work off the rust over at least a few outings in September. If all goes well, Cueto (who turns 34 in February) should be ready to hit the ground running come Opening Day.

After signing a six-year, $130MM deal with San Francisco in the 2015-16 offseason, Cueto delivered an outstanding 2016 campaign before blisters and a flexor strain contributed to a disappointing 2017. It seemed as if Cueto was back on track in nine 2018 starts prior to his surgery, though it remains to be seen if Cueto can truly regain his past form — it isn’t surprising to see any pitcher decline in his age-34 season, even if that pitcher isn’t coming off a major arm surgery.

The Giants could potentially lose Madison Bumgarner in free agency this offseason, leaving Cueto and Jeff Samardzija as the prohibitive top two in San Francisco’s rotation. Even if Samardzija isn’t traded, there is still a lot of uncertainty within the starting five, as younger arms like Shaun Anderson, Dereck Rodriguez, Tyler Beede, and Logan Webb have all struggled this year. A healthy Cueto provides at least some stability as the club will have to decide what they have with their internal options, and weigh how to much to spend on veteran starters over the winter.

NL West Injury Notes: Muncy, Ray, Padres, Dickerson

By Mark Polishuk | September 7, 2019 at 8:29pm CDT

Max Muncy’s wrist fracture wasn’t thought to be an overly serious injury, and the Dodgers infielder is now aiming to be back on the field on Friday when Los Angeles begins a series against the Mets. As Muncy told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (Twitter links) and other reporters, he felt “better than I expected” after taking regular swings in the batting cage today. Needless to say, the Dodgers will be careful with their slugger’s progress, as there’s no urgency to get Muncy back in immediate fashion since the team is running away with the NL West. Still, it’s an excellent sign that Muncy has seemingly avoided what initially looked like a season-threatening injury.

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