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Giants Acquire Erik Kratz

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10:02am: Kratz is indeed going to San Francisco for Hinojosa, per an announcement from the Brewers.

9:40am: The Brewers will acquire shortstop C.J. Hinojosa from the Giants, Robert Murray and Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic report. Milwaukee may send veteran catcher Erik Kratz to San Francisco, Murray and Baggarly suggest.

Hinojosa had been with the Giants since they took him in Round 11 of the 2015 draft. He spent the majority of 2016-18 at the Double-A level, where he owns a .259/.321/.345 line in 951 plate appearances. The 24-year-old offered roughly league-average minors production across 283 PAs last season in a return from a late-2017 Achilles tear; however, he also missed 50 games after testing positive for a drug of abuse for the second time.

As recently as last May, Hinojosa ranked as the Giants’ 16th-best prospect, per FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen, who wrote that the ex-Texas Longhorn “projects as a utility man trending upward with contact skills.” In return for him, the Giants are landing the well-traveled Kratz, an out-of-options 38-year-old who has appeared in the majors in each season since 2010. He’d immediately replace catcher Rene Rivera, whom the Giants released Saturday, and would join Aramis Garcia and Stephen Vogt as another potential backup to Buster Posey.

While Kratz is a plus defender who quickly became a respected figure in Milwaukee after it acquired him from the Yankees last May, a lack of offensive upside helped seal his fate with the Brewers. Kratz is just a .211/.258/.363 hitter across 858 major league PAs. The Brewers have two far better offensive backstops in Yasmani Grandal and Manny Pina.

Giants Acquire Michael Reed From Twins

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Per Dan Hayes of the Athletic, the Giants have acquired OF Michael Reed from Minnesota for OF John Andreoli and cash. Per Kerry Crowley of the Mercury News, lefty Steven Okert was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man.

Reed, 26, was in camp with the Twins after an outstanding AAA performance in the Atlanta system last year. A career .269/.382/.395 hitter in the minors, Reed took it up a notch last season, slashing a ridiculous .363/.459/.539 in 229 plate appearances for AAA-Gwinnett.  Scouts were never too bullish on the longtime Brewer – his highest ever rank in the Milwaukee system per Baseball America was 14th, following the 2014 season – but the recent performance has been too enticing to ignore.

Incredibly, Reed may slot in as the San Francisco’s top projected outfielder for the upcoming season – Steamer, at least, seems to agree. The Giants may not, but the righty-swinging Reed should see plenty of time at each outfield position in ’19, which he may well begin by serving as the weak-side platoon option in center field for lefty Steven Duggar.

Andreoli, 28, was brought in with a host of others to compete for a spot in the wide-open SF outfield, though his minor-league track record doesn’t glow nearly as brightly as Reed’s. The righty did put up an impressive .397 OBP at the AAA level last season, albeit in the much more hitter-friendly confines of the Pacific Coast League.

Okert, 27, has been decent in limited action for the Giants over the last three seasons, and had a banner (3.30 FIP, 12.22 K/9 vs. 2.27 BB/9) AAA season in 2018. Righties have always given the southpaw trouble, but he should have no issue latching on with a new franchise in the coming days.

Orioles, Giants Swap Mike Yastrzemski, Tyler Herb

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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.

Braves Acquire Matt Joyce

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Per Kerry Crowley of the San Jose Mercury News, the Braves have acquired outfielder Matt Joyce from the Giants for cash considerations. It’ll be the third team this week for the 34-year-old Joyce, who was released Tuesday by Cleveland after the team informed him he wouldn’t crack the Opening Day roster.

Joyce enjoyed a late-career renaissance in 2016 with Pittsburgh, slashing .242/.403/.463 (136 wRC+), and again the following season in Oakland, where his 2.7 fWAR was a career best. He fell back to earth last season, though, posting an 89 wRC+ and just 0.2 fWAR in a 246 plate appearances, the vast majority of which came against right-handed pitching.

The lefty-swinging Joyce has long exhibited one of the game’s most pronounced left/right splits, slashing a career .250/.351/.451 (121 wRC+) against righties, versus just .184/.267/.306 (61 wRC+) against same-side arms. Despite the down year in ’18, Joyce’s 35% hard-hit rate was one of the highest of his career, and he maintained his always-robust walk rates, checking in at 14.2% to end the season.

He’ll serve as an ideal corner-outfield depth piece for Atlanta, and perhaps even an upgrade over incumbent Nick Markakis in right field (Steamer projects the two at an identical 102 wRC+). Despite trading for the plummeting Adam Duvall late last season, Atlanta was decidedly light on experienced corner options, so the Joyce signing seems a savvy one indeed.

Giants Release Rene Rivera

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The Giants have released catcher Rene Rivera from his minor league contract, as reported by several members of the Giants beat (including NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic).

Rivera and Stephen Vogt were the two veterans brought into the Giants’ camp on minor league deals to compete with Aramis Garcia for the backup role behind Buster Posey.  Since Posey is recovering from hip surgery that cut his 2018 campaign short, the general consensus was that San Francisco might look for a catcher that could handle more playing time should Posey need more rest days.  Instead, with Posey making good progress this spring, it seems like the Giants are comfortable using the rookie Garcia as the primary backup, as Vogt has already been assigned to Triple-A to begin the season.  (Cameron Rupp was also in the Giants’ camp earlier this spring, though he has since been traded to the Tigers.)

This left Rivera as the odd man out.  Unless he re-signs with the Giants on a fresh minor league deal, Rivera will now look elsewhere as he looks to embark on his 11th Major League season.  Long known for his excellent framing and prowess at throwing out baserunners, Rivera has also posted decent numbers at the plate over the last two seasons — a .247/.297/.428 slash line and 14 homers over 328 PA with the Mets, Cubs, Braves, and Angels.  Given his defensive reputation, Rivera seems like a good candidate to catch on with another team as clubs figure out their catching situations at the end of Spring Training.

Giants Notes: Pillar, Guyer, Choo, Harper

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The latest on the Giants’ search for outfield help…

  • Cameron Maybin’s release has left the Giants in need of a right-handed hitting center fielder who can complement Steven Duggar.  To this end, the club has “looked into Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar and Brandon Guyer,” Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes.  Guyer was just released by the White Sox and has a long track record of success against lefty pitching, though he would be another imperfect fit as a center field option — Guyer has only 356 career innings as a center fielder, with a -1.4 UZR.150 and -4 Defensive Runs Saved in that relatively small sample size.  Pillar is the much more accomplished defender, though not much of a hitter and also much more expensive than Guyer would be, as Pillar is set to earn $5.8MM this season.  There’s also the question of what the Giants would have to give up to Toronto in a trade, though Schulman notes “it’s unclear whether the Blue Jays would entertain a deal.”  San Francisco’s interest in Pillar dates back to earlier this offseason, though obviously no trade came together.
  • The Giants and Rangers discussed a trade that would have sent Shin-Soo Choo to the Bay Area, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (subscription required), though “the talks failed to gain momentum and at this point are barely active.”  Choo would’ve been something of a curious add for the Giants, given that he has moved into more of a DH role in recent seasons.  Choo’s bat is still potent (.264/.377/.434 with 21 homers in 665 PA last season), and while his glovework was below-average (-5 DFS, -3.9 UZR/150 in 507 1/3 innings as a corner outfielder) in 2018, the Giants might have felt the tradeoff was worth it, even if Choo’s defense would have likely further fallen off in Oracle Park’s larger outfield.  The Giants could also have possibly seen the trade as something of a bargain, since Rosenthal notes that the Rangers “would have included significant cash” to cover the $42MM remaining on Choo’s contract through 2020.  The talks didn’t revolve around the idea of dealing Choo for one of the hefty contracts (i.e. Jeff Samardzjia, Mark Melancon) on the Giants’ payroll.
  • Also from Rosenthal’s piece, he provided a sneak peek at an interview conducted with Bryce Harper that will air in full after Fox Sports 1’s broadcast of the Braves/Phillies game on March 30.  Within the interview, Harper discussed his lengthy free agent process, including the tidbit that his final decision came down to the Phillies and the Giants.  In weighing his options with his wife Kayla, Harper said the couple ultimately decided that Philadelphia was the best fit.  “It was nothing against San Francisco. They’re a great organization. It’s a great city,” Harper said.  “It just came down to what I felt. And by that point, it was Philly.”  Harper also said that the difference between spacious Oracle Park and the more hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park “was never really a factor” in his choice of teams.

Giants To Select Contracts Of Nick Vincent, Yangervis Solarte, Gerardo Parra

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The Giants have decided to carry a trio of veteran players who were in camp on minor-league deals, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic was among those to report on Twitter. Reliever Nick Vincent, infielder Yangervis Solarte, and outfielder Gerardo Parra are all headed onto the 40-man roster.

All three have had success at the MLB level, but were left to battle for jobs this spring. Vincent has thrown over three hundred frames of 3.17 ERA ball as a big-league reliever, with strong K/BB numbers throughout his career. As I examined upon his signing, Vincent is an interesting candidate to continue putting out solid numbers.

Solarte and Parra, each of whom is 31 years old, will take up important part-time positions in the lineup. At his best, Solarte provides infield versatility and an above-average bat. Consecutive down seasons have reduced his outlook, but he could still factor as a solid contributor. As for Parra, he just wrapped up a hefty three-year deal with the Rockies, over which he managed only a 81 OPS+ (.283/.320/.407). But he’s a well-regarded all-around player who posted a .270/.317/.541 slash in 41 plate appearances this spring.

Giants Release Cameron Maybin

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The Giants announced that they have released veteran outfielder Cameron Maybin, as Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group was among those to tweet. It is not clear at this time if Maybin opted out of his contract.

While it had seemed at one point that Maybin would likely crack Giants roster out of camp, the club obviously decided to go with another direction. It’s possible that an outside addition will end up filling the need for a reserve outfielder that can step in at times in center for youngster Steven Duggar.

A regrettable mid-spring DUI arrest surely did not help Maybin’s cause. He also failed to do much with his opportunities in the lineup, posting a meager .483 OPS in 48 Cactus League plate appearances.

Over the past two seasons in the majors, Maybin has carried a .237/.322/.351 batting line with 14 home runs and 43 steals in 834 total plate appearances. The 31-year-old has never been a consistent offensive threat, but is still viewed as a quality defender.

Giants Return Rule 5 Pick Drew Ferguson To Astros

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The Giants have returned Rule 5 pick Drew Ferguson to the Astros after the outfielder cleared waivers, Maria Guardado of MLB.com tweets. Ferguson was designated for assignment yesterday when the Giants acquired another pick in this past year’s Rule 5 Draft, Connor Joe, from the Reds.

Ferguson, 26, struggled in big league camp with San Francisco this spring, hitting just .111/.294/.111 over the life of 34 plate appearances. He enjoyed a strong, albeit somewhat shortened season in Triple-A this past year prior to being taken in the Rule 5, hitting .305/.436/.429 with 46 walks against just 61 strikeouts in 292 plate appearances. He’ll return to the Astros now and won’t be required to be placed on the 40-man roster.

Giants Acquire Connor Joe, Designate Drew Ferguson

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The Giants have acquired utilityman Connor Joe from the Reds, per a club announcement. Righty Jordan Johnson and cash considerations are headed to Cincinnati in return. To open a 40-man roster spot, the Giants designated outfielder Drew Ferguson for assignment.

Both Joe and Ferguson were selected in last December’s Rule 5 draft. The former went to the Reds from the Dodgers, while the latter came from the Astros organization. Ferguson would be offered back to Houston if he clears waivers, but every other team in baseball will have a chance to step into his Rule 5 rights.

With a deal coming together at this late stage of camp, it seems likely that Joe has the inside track on a job in San Francisco — perhaps bumping out veteran Pablo Sandoval. New president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi is amply familiar with the former Dodger farmhand, having just come over from the L.A. organization. If Joe can make and stay on the MLB roster all year, his rights would move permanently.

Joe, 26, is a former first-round pick who had largely struggled until a breakout 2018 season. In 435 plate appearances in the upper minors, he turned in a robust .299/.408/.527 slash with a career-high 17 home runs and sixty walks to go with 88 strikeouts.

Ferguson is also 26 years of age. The former 19th-rounder put himself on the map with some strong offensive showings, including a .305/.436/.429 run in 292 Triple-A plate appearances last year. But he has struggled since in short stints in the Arizona Fall League, Puerto Rican Winter League, and Cactus League.

On the Cincinnati end of this swap, Johnson will give the organization another upper-minors arm to work with. He earned a call-up to the highest level of the minors after 15 solid starts at Double-A last year, but struggled thereafter. In 58 frames over 11 outings at Triple-A, Johnson managed only a 4.66 ERA with 37 strikeouts against 33 walks.

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