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Giants Acquire Tyler Austin

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The Giants announced Monday that they’ve acquired first baseman/outfielder Tyler Austin from the Twins in exchange for minor league outfielder Malique Ziegler. To open a spot on the roster, they’ve designated fellow first baseman/outfielder Connor Joe for assignment.

Austin, 27, will add a powerful but strikeout-prone bat to the Giants’ outfield mix while providing some insurance should Brandon Belt incur an injury. The former Yankees prospect was at one point looked at as a potential pairing with Greg Bird in the Bronx, but the Yankees flipped him to the Twins last July in the trade that sent Lance Lynn to New York. The Twins, cognizant of the potential retirement of Joe Mauer, viewed Austin as a possible option at first base until they managed to land C.J. Cron on waivers when the Rays dumped his salary. Both Cron and Austin are right-handed hitters, and Minnesota’s signing of Nelson Cruz to man the DH spot in the lineup made Austin, who is out of minor league options, somewhat redundant.

Last season in 268 plate appearances between the Twins and Yankees, Austin batted a combined .230/.287/.480 with 17 home runs and 10 doubles. Seventeen long balls in just 268 PAs and a .250 isolated power (slugging minus batting average) speak to Austin’s ability to make loud contact, but Austin also punched out in a whopping 35.4 percent of his trips to the plate.

Austin has been more of a first baseman than an outfielder throughout his career and, in fact, has only seen 36 frames of action on the outfield grass in the Majors. He’s logged over 2600 innings of time in right field across parts of seven minor league seasons, however, so despite a lack of recent experience, he’s no stranger to the position. That said, Austin does not run well, and his lack of range is a tough fit in the spacious Oracle Park.

Joe, 26, made his big league debut with the Giants this season but managed just one hit and a walk in 16 plate appearances before being jettisoned from the roster. The Reds selected Joe out of the Dodgers organization in December’s Rule 5 Draft but traded him to San Francisco late last month. He’s still carrying Rule 5 status, so any team that acquires Joe would need to carry him on the MLB roster. The Giants will have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers, and if he goes unclaimed, they’d be required to offer him back to the Dodgers for $50K. Considering Joe’s outstanding .299/.408/.527 batting line between Double-A and Triple-A last season, it’s possible that another organization will want to speculate on his potential.

The Twins, in return for Austin, will add another athletic outfielder to the lower levels of their minor league system. The 22-year-old Ziegler was a 22nd-round pick by the Giants in 2016 and split last year between the Rookie-level Arizona League and the Class-A South Atlantic League, batting a combined .237/.340/.370 with four homers, 12 doubles, a pair of triples and eight steals in 250 plate appearances. He’s not considered a top prospect in a thin Giants farm, though Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen did make mention of him in his pre-2018 overview of the Giants’ system: “Ziegler is a lithe, athletic outfielder who was a late pick out of an Iowa Juco in 2016. He makes explosive use of his lower half during his swing but his barrel control and raw strength are questionable.”

Quick Hits: Extensions, Boras, Acuna, Dodgers, Pujols, Cards, Giants

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Agent Scott Boras, who brought you the term “swellopt,” has now concocted a phrase to describe team-friendly extensions young major leaguers sign, per Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times. “Great young players are getting what I call ‘snuff contracts,’” Boras told McCullough. “And a snuff contract is that they’re trying to snuff out the market. They know the player is a great player, and he’s exhibited very little performance. So they’re coming to him at 20 and 21, and I’m going to snuff out your ability to move, to go anywhere, to do anything, and your value. And I’m going to pay you maybe 40 cents on the dollar to do it. What’s my risk?” In Boras’ estimation, the eight-year, $100MM guarantee Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr., 21, signed this week is “the king of the snuff contracts,” as it hampers the outfielder’s career earning power while giving Atlanta what looks like a sweetheart deal for a franchise player in the making.

Acuna’s accord is one of a whopping 27 multiyear extensions doled out across the majors since Jan. 21, though the Dodgers haven’t joined the party, McCullough observes. Extensions have been almost nonexistent in Los Angeles under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who has only given out one (Clayton Kershaw’s three-year, $93MM deal after last season) since taking the reins in 2014. But Friedman told McCullough he “wouldn’t be surprised if within the next 12 months we do some.” McCullough points to Cody Bellinger, Walker Buehler, Corey Seager, Enrique Hernandez, Max Muncy, Joc Pederson and Chris Taylor as potential extension candidates for Friedman & Co.

  • Speaking of Kershaw, the ace left-hander appears to be nearing his 2019 debut. Kershaw will make a minor league rehab start Tuesday, which could set him up for a Dodgers return Sunday, Jorge Castillo of the LA Times tweets. The three-time NL Cy Young winner, 31, has been shelved on account of shoulder troubles since late February. Consequently, this will be the fourth straight injury-shortened campaign for Kershaw, whose 162 innings-per-season average from 2016-18 fell well shy of the 215-frame mean he put up over the previous seven years.
  • First baseman Albert Pujols dominated headlines in 2011 when he elected to leave St. Louis, where he spent the first 11 seasons of his Hall of Fame career, for the Angels’ 10-year, $254MM offer. Pujols’ decision came after the Cardinals and Marlins also proposed decade-long contracts worth upward of $200MM. Now 39 years old and with $87MM remaining on his deal, Pujols recently reflected on his choice to leave the Cardinals, telling Graham Bensinger (via ESPN.com): “I felt that the approach that they took wasn’t showing me that they wanted me to be a longtime Cardinal. I believe I made the right decision.” If his rapid deterioration in Anaheim is any indication, St. Louis dodged a bullet in losing Pujols, even though he won three NL MVPs and two World Series as a Cardinal. Pujols slashed an incredible .328/.420/.617, averaged more than seven fWAR per year and never appeared in fewer than 143 games in a season while with the Redbirds. On the other hand, the Anaheim version’s a .260/.315/.452 hitter who has been worth one win above replacement a year and has twice missed at least 45 games in a season.
  • As is often the case with minor league contracts, catcher Stephen Vogt’s agreement with the Giants includes a June 1 opt-out chance, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. The Giants already have three backstops – Buster Posey, Erik Kratz and Aramis Garcia – occupying 40-man roster spots, which seems to decrease the 34-year-old Vogt’s odds of earning a promotion from Triple-A Sacramento. However, San Francisco’s a fan of the two-time All-Star’s bat and could summon him at some point, Schulman suggests. The former Ray, Athletic and Brewer hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2017, having missed all of last season because of shoulder surgery.

Giants Re-Sign Michael Reed

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7:19pm: Reed elected free agency and then signed a minor-league deal with the Giants, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports on Twitter.

11:56am: Giants outfielder Michael Reed has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Sacramento, as first reflected on the Pacific Coast League’s transactions page. Because he’s been outrighted once in the past, Reed will have the option of declaring free agency and seeking a different opportunity.

Reed, 26, went 0-for-8 in a brief four-game stint with San Francisco to open the season. The Giants picked him up near the end of Spring Training in a minor trade that sent fellow outfielder John Andreoli to the Twins, but Reed is out of minor league options and became a roster casualty following this week’s Kevin Pillar trade.

Reed spent the 2018 season with the Braves organization and had a monster season split between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting a combined .342/.423/.520 over 404 plate appearances. Despite that ridiculous stat line, he only tallied seven plate appearances at the MLB level. Atlanta placed him on outright waivers at season’s end, and the Twins not only claimed him but carried him on the 40-man roster for the entire offseason.

The 2019 season marks the fourth time Reed has seen action in the big leagues, but he’s totaled just 26 games and 45 plate appearances between Milwaukee, Atlanta and San Francisco. He’s a career .278/.388/.414 hitter through 869 plate appearances at the Triple-A level and can play all three outfield spots. A team with a less-defined outfield arrangement may show interest, but the Giants are currently committed to the trio of Pillar, Steven Duggar and Gerardo Parra, with Austin Slater, Mac Williamson and Chris Shaw all still in the organization as alternative options should a need arise.

Mac Williamson Clears Waivers

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Giants outfielder Mac Williamson went unclaimed on outright waivers after being designated for assignment and will report to the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (via Twitter).

The 28-year-old Williamson was long viewed as a potential regular by the previous Giants front office but has struggled to remain healthy and regularly been blocked at the MLB level by more established veterans (e.g. Hunter Pence, Andrew McCutchen). When healthy, Williamson has generally performed well in Triple-A (.269/.327/.533 last season), and he showed brief flashes of his power potential early in the 2018 season. A concussion last May cost him some playing time, though, and he ultimately landed back in Sacramento for much of the year. Williamson finished out the season with a meager .213/.295/.383 slash through 105 trips to the plate as a big leaguer.

It’s not terribly difficult to envision Williamson earning another look with the Giants down the road this season. Although San Francisco acquired Kevin Pillar from the Blue Jays earlier this week, their starting trio of Pillar, Steven Duggar and Gerardo Parra isn’t exactly an iron-clad collection of established producers. Parra has struggled in recent seasons and had to settle for a minor league pact this winter, while Pillar has generally provided premium defense but an inability to keep his OBP north of .300. Duggar has yet to log a full season in the Majors. Each of the three figures to have a reasonably long leash, but Williamson will at least have the opportunity to force the issue of a return to San Francisco now that he’s remaining in the organization.

Giants Acquire Kevin Pillar From Blue Jays In Four-Player Swap

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The Giants and Blue Jays have announced a trade that will send outfielder Kevin Pillar to San Francisco. Heading back to Toronto in return are righty Derek Law, recently designated infielder Alen Hanson, and righty Juan De Paula.

The Giants designated outfielder Michael Reed to create roster space. He joins both Law and Hanson as recent 40-man roster casualties. Law had already been outrighted prior to this move, while Hanson was still in DFA limbo.

It’s not immediately clear how the Giants will line up in the outfield. Youngster Steven Duggar is likely in line for most of the time in center, but Pillar would offer a platoon match there — the former hits from the left side, the latter from the right — and could also spend time in the corners. He was obviously preferred to the untested Reed, who was added to the mix via late in camp.

Pillar, 30, has some pop but struggles in the on-base department. He’s a lifetime .260/.297/.396 hitter, but has been better (100 wRC+) against left-handed pitching. Pillar’s appeal lies in his glovework and baserunning. While metrics dimmed on his overall defensive work last year, Pillar has a history of outstanding work up the middle and has one of the game’s most impressive highlight reels on the outfield grass. He could end up being moved at the deadline, kept as a one-year fill-in piece, or kept for 2020 via arbitration (his final season of control).

For the Jays, Pillar simply wasn’t part of the long-term plans. This transaction is the latest that clears out roster space and sheds some payroll. The club could have held onto Pillar in hopes that he’d turn in a quality first half and become a mid-season trade chip, but will instead drop his $5.8MM salary and open the door for Anthony Alford to get a shot at the majors.

The Toronto organization does pick up a few potentially helpful roster assets in Law and Hanson. The former had a nice 2016 debut but has struggled since. Law will be available as a depth relief piece if a need arises. Hanson, 26, was a major contributor least year in San Francisco but faded down the stretch. He could take up a utility role, though the Jays have several such players on the roster already.

But the only player with notable potential future value is De Paula, a 21-year-old who has had some success in the minors. He reached the Class A level last year, making one start there. Over 233 innings in parts of four seasons in the low minors, he carries a 2.47 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.

De Paula originally came to the Giants last year in the swap that sent Andrew McCutchen to the Yankees. As JJ Cooper of Baseball America notes on Twitter, he has now been swapped three times already in his still-nascent career.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Giants, Blue Jays Discussing Potential Kevin Pillar Swap

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10:49am: The clubs are close on some kind of trade, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Twitter.

It’s frankly possible to imagine a variety of scenarios. Speculatively, the Giants could send some veteran pitching to Toronto, or the potential transaction could involve prospects or even other teams.

10:45am: The Giants are engaged with the Blue Jays in trade talks regarding Toronto outfielder Kevin Pillar, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). It’s not clear how likely a deal is at this point.

This is hardly a typical time of year for swaps to come together, except in cases of 40-man roster casualties. But there may yet be some unfinished business around the league. These two organizations are among several that could conceivably allow the offseason to drag into the 2019 campaign. Neither figures to contend this year, but both have significant resources and are surely interested in finding creative ways to improve their outlook for the near future.

Pillar has been on the Giants’ radar for some time now. He’s a defensive standout who hasn’t managed to produce consistently at the plate. With a $5.8MM salary, Pillar isn’t cheap but is also a rather affordable asset for teams in these tax brackets. He’s controllable via arbitration for one more season to come.

 

Rosenthal’s Latest: Kimbrel, Keuchel, Eloy, Pillar, Joyce

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There isn’t much indication that Craig Kimbrel or Dallas Keuchel are closing in on new contracts, though that hasn’t stopped teams from keeping in touch with the two free agents.  Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin of The Athletic (subscription required) list the Mets and Brewers as two of the clubs checking in on both pitchers, though Milwaukee is more focused on Kimbrel as a potential add.  The Rays are also still maintaining contact with Kimbrel, after reports during Spring Training suggested Tampa Bay was at least considering signing the closer.  Rosenthal and Lin described the Mets’ interest in Keuchel and Kimbrel “as a matter of due diligence,” with MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo and Newsday’s Tim Healey (both Twitter links) adding that it doesn’t seem likely that either pitcher will end up in a Mets uniform.

Here’s more from Rosenthal, via his most recent Full Count video for FOX Sports…

  • Eloy Jimenez’s career-opening extension with the White Sox included “an understanding” that Jimenez and his camp wouldn’t pursue a service-time grievance with the league and players’ union.  Jimenez’s agents expressed public displeasure last summer when their client wasn’t given a late-season promotion, and the young slugger had been ticketed to begin this season in Triple-A before he inked his extension, which opened the door for Jimenez to join Chicago’s Opening Day roster.  The evidence seems to pretty clearly suggest that the White Sox were aiming to extend their control over Jimenez for an extra year, though the Sox are far from the only team that deploys this strategy with top prospects.
  • The Giants are the only team known to be involved in the Kevin Pillar trade market, though Rosenthal notes that the Blue Jays have also talked with multiple other teams about the center fielder.  Pillar offers two years of team control and a center field glove that was elite from 2015-17, as per the UZR/150 and Defensive Runs Saved metrics.  Last season, however, Pillar’s glovework was rated closer to average overall, and he has yet to post even league-average run production over his six MLB seasons.  If a trade did take place, Pillar would join Kendrys Morales, Russell Martin, and Troy Tulowitzki as Jays veterans sent out of town as Toronto makes room for its younger players.
  • The Braves acquired Matt Joyce from the Giants last weekend, just three days after Joyce joined San Francisco on a minor league contract.  Rosenthal provides some details on the transaction, stating that while the Giants were prepared to part ways with Joyce regardless, Atlanta chose to send some cash to the Giants in a trade rather than simply sign Joyce when he became available.  Since league offices were closed last Saturday on the day of the trade, Joyce’s arrival in the Braves’ spring camp could have been further delayed had the two sides been required to wait for the contract to be officially approved.  With a trade, however, Joyce was able to get some time in Atlanta’s camp, which led to his placement on the club’s Opening Day roster (Joyce marked his first PA with his new team by swatting a pinch-hit homer).

Mariners Acquire Tom Murphy

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1:06pm: The Mariners have announced the trade. To make room for Murphy on the 25-man roster, Freitas has indeed been optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.

12:55pm: The Mariners will send minor league righty Jesus Ozoria to the Giants in return for Murphy, according to Greg Johns of MLB.com. The 20-year-old Ozoria has yet to pitch above Rookie ball but logged 49 1/3 innings of 2.19 ERA ball there last season. Ozoria turned in a brilliant 59-to-7 K/BB ratio in that time and paired it with a 39.3 percent grounder rate. He’s a long way from MLB readiness but seemingly adds a live arm to the lower levels of the organization. The long-term question will be one of whether Ozoria carries more value than righty Merandy Gonzalez, whom the Giants designated for assignment when claiming Murphy; the move, in essence, swaps those two pitchers out while also clearing a spot on the Giants’ 40-man roster.

7:20am: The Mariners have reached a deal to acquire catcher Tom Murphy from the Giants, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). San Francisco claimed the out-of-options Murphy from the Rockies earlier this week but did not carry him on the Opening Day roster, ultimately designating him for assignment just days after initially claiming him. Seattle has an open 40-man roster spot, so a corresponding move isn’t a necessity.

Currently, Omar Narvaez and David Freitas are the only catchers on Seattle’s 40-man roster, so Murphy figures to supplant Freitas as the primary backup/platoon partner for Narvaez. Freitas has options remaining and can freely be sent to Triple-A without first being placed on waivers.

Murphy, 28 next week, was once considered to be among the game’s top catching prospects but hasn’t produced at the plate in limited Major League opportunities across the past couple of seasons (.188/.221/.325 in 122 plate appearances). The Rockies, who owe veteran Chris Iannetta nearly $5MM through contract’s end, opted for a more defensive-minded second catcher in Tony Wolters when they cut Murphy loose.

Murphy, however, isn’t a poor defender by most measures. He sports average caught-stealing rates in both the Majors and minors throughout his career, and while he’s not a standout in terms of pitch framing, he’s been a bit above average in that regard over the past three seasons combined. At the plate, Murphy raked at a .266/.341/.608 clip through his first 88 plate appearances from 2015-16. He has a career .286/.335/.567 batting line across 875 Triple-A plate appearances, including a .258/.333/.568 slash in 264 PAs a year ago.

Outrighted: Duensing, Wilkerson, Okert

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With the recent slew of players being designated for assignment, several have cleared waivers. We’ll keep track of today’s outrighted players here…

  • The Cubs announced that lefty Brian Duensing has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Iowa. He has enough service time to reject the assignment and still retain the entirety of this year’s $3.5MM salary, but there’s no indication yet whether he’ll choose to do so. The 36-year-old Duensing had a strong year with the 2017 Cubs but was clobbered for a 7.65 ERA in 37 2/3 innings last season after signing a two-year, $7MM contract to remain in Chicago. His second season with the Cubs saw him walk more batters (29) than he struck out (24), and his struggles continued into Spring Training, where he yielded eight runs in seven innings of work.
  • Infielder Stevie Wilkerson was outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk after clearing waivers, per an announcement from the Orioles. The 27-year-old made his big league debut a year ago and hit .174/.224/.239 in 49 trips to the plate with the O’s. The versatile Wilkerson has experience at every position other than catcher and center field. He’s a career .266/.342/.368 hitter in parts of five minor league seasons.
  • The Giants announced Thursday that left-handed reliever Steven Okert has been outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento after clearing waivers. Okert, 27, has spent time in the Giants’ bullpen in each of the past three seasons and compiled a career 4.28 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 48 1/3 innings as a Major League reliever. He’ll remain with the organization as a depth option should the club need to call upon some additional left-handed bullpen help at some point in the 2019 season.

Cardinals Claim Merandy Gonzalez

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The Cardinals have claimed righty Merandy Gonzalez off waivers from the Giants, per a club announcement. Southpaw Brett Cecil was moved to the 60-day injured list to create roster space.

The 23-year-old Gonzalez didn’t have a stirring performance in 2018, leading the Marlins to dump him from their 40-man roster. But he has drawn no shortage of interest from clubs that like the raw tools, with the Cards now following the Giants in being willing to commit a roster spot to get a first-person look.

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