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Giants Outright Kolton Ingram

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The Giants have sent left-hander Kolton Ingram through waivers and outrighted him to Triple-A Sacramento, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle on X. With left-hander Alex Young also being claimed off waivers by the Mets today, the Giants’ 40-man count drops to 38.

Ingram, 27, has been on and off the waiver wire all year but had enough interest around the league to keep getting claimed. Designated for assignment by the Angels in January when that club signed Aaron Hicks, he has gone to the Tigers, Mets, Rangers, Cardinals and Giants via successive waiver claims, though he has now passed through unclaimed. That means the Giants will be able to retain him as relief depth but without using a 40-man roster spot on him.

The lefty has just five games of major league experience, which came with the Angels last year. He allowed five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings, meaning he currently sports an earned run average of 8.44 in that small sample.

The interest from clubs around the league undoubtedly stems from his larger body of work in the minors. He logged 121 2/3 innings in the Angels’ system over 2022 and 2023 with a 2.81 ERA. His 10.4% walk rate in that time was on the high side, but just barely, while his 30.5% strikeout rate was quite strong and he also generated a decent number of ground balls.

This year, he has a 4.30 ERA in 29 1/3 minor league innings with a 22.1% strikeout rate and 16.8% walk rate. Those numbers are obviously less impressive than what he did in the previous two seasons but it’s perhaps fair to wonder if the lack of stability this year has been a challenge for him.

While he’s surely not pleased to lose his roster spot, he might at least get the consistency of sticking with one organization long enough to unpack his suitcase. If he can get back in a good form and earn his way back onto a roster spot, he can be optioned for the rest of this year and one additional season. He also has less than a year of service time and therefore would be controllable well into the future.

Mets Claim Alex Young, Designate Tyler Jay

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The Mets announced Wednesday that they’ve claimed left-hander Alex Young off waivers from the Giants and optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse. Fellow lefty Tyler Jay was designated for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

It’s a quick turnaround for Young, whom the Giants acquired just last week in the trade that sent outfielder Austin Slater and cash to the Reds. San Francisco seemingly hoped to pass Young through waivers and retain the southpaw as a depth option, but the Mets didn’t allow that to happen and will keep Young on their 40-man roster for the time being. The unusual sequence leaves the Giants with no return of which to speak for Slater, a 2014 eighth-rounder who’s been a solid role player for them over the years before struggling to career-worst results at the plate in 2024.

Young, 30, has pitched in parts of six big league seasons — including a brief two-inning stint with Cincinnati earlier this season. The former second-round pick has a career 4.40 earned run average in 264 big league innings and has fanned 19.5% of his opponents against an 8.5% walk rate. Though he debuted as a starter with the 2019 Diamondbacks, Young has worked primarily as a reliever since that time and hasn’t started a game since 2022.

Young didn’t allow a run in his two innings with the Reds this season, and he’s been excellent in 24 2/3 Triple-A frames as well, logging a tidy 2.19 ERA with a 23.5% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate between the affiliates for the Reds and Giants. The southpaw has a shaky 4.99 ERA in 209 1/3 career innings at the Triple-A level, although that’s skewed by a pair of dismal debut campaigns in Triple-A with the D-backs in 2018-19. He’s pitched well at the top minor league level in each of the past three seasons now.

This is Young’s final minor league option year. The Mets can shuttle him between Syracuse and Queens for the remainder of the season, but Young would need to stick on the big league roster in 2025 and beyond. He crossed four years of big league service time earlier this season while on the 60-day injured list with a back issue, meaning he can be controlled for another two seasons, through the 2026 campaign, if he makes a good impression on his new club.

For Jay, this will be the second time this season the Mets have designated him for assignment. He was also DFA’ed after making his big league debut back in April. He stuck with the organization after clearing outright waivers.

The 30-year-old Jay was the No. 6 overall draft pick out of Illinois back in 2015 and for years ranked as one of the more promising arms in the Twins’ system. He dealt with repeated shoulder and neck injuries throughout his time in Minnesota’s system, however, and eventually underwent thoracic outlet surgery. He was out of affiliated ball at one point, before parlaying a showing with the Joliet Slammers of the independent Frontier League into a minor league look with the Mets.

Jay has only pitched 4 2/3 big league innings for the Mets this season. He’s surrendered four runs on seven hits and three walks with three strikeouts in that time. He’s spent the remainder of the season in Syracuse, working to a strong 2.40 ERA with a below-average 18.6% strikeout rate but a sensational 2.5% walk rate. The Mets will either trade Jay or place him on outright waivers in the next five days. Waivers would then be an additional 48-hour process. If he goes unclaimed, Jay will have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, as is the case for any player who’s been outrighted multiple times in his career.

Longoria: Not Officially Retired, But Unlikely To Continue Playing

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Evan Longoria suited up for just the third organization of his career in 2023 when he signed with the D-backs and helped the club make an improbable run to the World Series. He hasn’t signed a new contract since then but also hasn’t formally filed any retirement paperwork. The longtime Rays and Giants third baseman, however, told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and others this past weekend that he’s all but officially retired.

“I waited long enough to know that I was done,” Longoria said before detailing some of the physical toll his 16-year playing career took during his final seasons. “…And then, being able to go to the World Series, have the experience that I had, it made it a pretty easy decision for me going into the offseason.”

Longoria did leave the door for one final run ever so slightly cracked. The 38-year-old said it would “depend on what team” called him and their chances of reaching a postseason. He listed both the Rays and D-backs as clubs he’d at least consider if he got the itch to take one more chance at winning a World Series.

“One of the only things I haven’t accomplished is winning a World Series,” said Longoria. “So if you said I would go hit .080 for the rest of the season, but the team would win the World Series, then I’d go do it. But that’s probably about the only thing I’d want to do.”

It’s a candid and broad-reaching interview that fans of Longoria and his former clubs, in particular, will want to check out in full. Some of the many topics touched on include how no Ray has worn his iconic No. 3 since he was traded, the slugger’s thoughts on a potential new stadium for the Rays, his life at home now that he’s been able to focus on being a full-time dad, and his hope to eventually return to the game in some capacity.

If Longoria is indeed done as a player, he’ll wrap up an outstanding career with a .264/.333/.471 batting line. He played in parts of 16 big league seasons, garnering MVP votes in six of them. Longoria made three All-Star teams, was named American League Rookie of the Year, won three Gold Gloves and took home one Silver Slugger Award.

Longoria piled up 1930 hits, including 431 doubles, 26 triples and 342 home runs, tying him with Hall of Famer Ron Santo for 104th on the all-time home run leaderboard. Those 431 doubles currently rank 142nd all-time. The former No. 3 overall pick also scored 1017 runs and knocked in 1159 (the latter ranking 185th all-time). FanGraphs credits Longoria with a hefty 55.2 wins above replacement. Baseball-Reference is even more bullish at 58.6 WAR. He earned more than $150MM in salary over the course of his 16 years in the big leagues. Along the way, he carved out a reputation as an excellent and beloved teammate.

“Longo is one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt told the AP’s Mark Didtler. “This guy’s a pro’s pro. This guy’s the epitome of what a professional baseball player looks like. Evan Longoria is everything that’s good about our game, and what a wonderful career he had.”

Giants, Clayton Andrews Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Giants signed lefty reliever Clayton Andrews to a minor league contract, per the transaction log at MLB.com. San Francisco assigned Andrews to their Arizona complex for the time being, though he’ll presumably head to Triple-A Sacramento before long.

A former 17th-round pick by the Brewers, Andrews has five MLB appearances under his belt. The 5’6″ southpaw reached the majors with four outings for Milwaukee last season. He made a lone appearance this year for the Yankees, who acquired him from Milwaukee in February. Andrews recorded one out and surrendered a homer to Luke Raley during his only game in pinstripes. New York designated him for assignment and ran him through outright waivers when they signed Tim Hill late last month.

Andrews has cleared waivers twice this season. After the second outright, he had the ability to choose minor league free agency instead of heading back to Triple-A with the Yankees. He took that opportunity and lands with an organization that plays much closer to home. The 27-year-old went to high school in Santa Rosa and attended Long Beach State.

The Giants have been light on lefty relief depth. Taylor Rogers and Erik Miller are the only southpaws to work multiple innings out of Bob Melvin’s bullpen all year. Raymond Burgos made a one-inning cameo in his MLB debut but was quickly outrighted off the 40-man roster. San Francisco has made a couple recent additions to their 40-man in an effort to shore up the group. They acquired Alex Young from the Reds for Austin Slater and grabbed Kolton Ingram off waivers from the Cardinals.

San Francisco takes a non-roster flier on Andrews, who has shown the ability to miss bats in the minors. He punched out almost 26% of opposing hitters over 24 2/3 Triple-A frames for the Yankees. Over parts of six seasons in the minors, Andrews has fanned nearly a third of batters faced. He hasn’t managed to harness that intriguing stuff consistently. Andrews has walked more than 12% of opponents in his professional career and dished out free passes to 22 of 108 opponents (20.4%) in the Yankees’ system.

Giants Release Nick Ahmed

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The Giants have released shortstop Nick Ahmed, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The club had designated him for assignment earlier this week. He’s now a free agent and can sign with any club.

Coming into 2024, San Francisco seemed committed to moving on from the Brandon Crawford era, something the longtime Giant discussed back in March. The plan was to give more playing time to younger options like Marco Luciano and Casey Schmitt, but Ahmed was brought in as a veteran fallback plan and eventually won the job out of camp.

Ahmed has long served as a glove-first shortstop in the big leagues, but his subpar offense dropped even lower last year. The Giants were surely hoping for a bit of a bounceback this year but didn’t quite get it.

He had hit .241/.299/.401 from 2018 to 2022, with that production translating to an 83 wRC+. But that dropped to a line of .212/.257/.303 and a 51 wRC+ last year. It has climbed a bit here in 2024 but only slightly, as he hit .232/.278/.303 for a wRC+ of 68 prior to being designated for assignment.

On top of that, his elite defense has been declining as well. From 2015 to 2021, he racked up 81 Defensive Runs Saved, second only to the now-retired Andrelton Simmons at shortstop. His 102 Outs Above Average in that time frame tied Francisco Lindor for the best in baseball, though Ahmed accumulated that total in far fewer innings than Lindor.

But DRS has him closer to league average over the past three years, with a total of -1 here in 2024. OAA still likes him quite a bit, with a tally of +4 this season, but that’s still a drop from his previous levels.

Given those trends, the Giants decided to move on. Luciano and Schmitt still working on things in Triple-A but the club is rolling with Brett Wisely and Tyler Fitzgerald at shortstop for now. Ahmed has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment while retaining his salary, which the Associated Press lists as $1.5MM, a bit north of this year’s $740K league minimum. The Giants skipped over that formality by releasing Ahmed.

The Giants will now remain on the hook for that salary while any club could sign Ahmed and only have to pay him the prorated version of that league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Giants pay. His declining results will likely limit him to minor league deals but he’s still a fairly capable defender and clubs like the Dodgers, Tigers, Braves, Guardians and Red Sox have some uncertainty at shortstop.

Giants’ Zaidi Downplays Need For Major Deadline Acquisition

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At 45-47, the Giants sit ten games behind the Dodgers for the NL West lead. They’re two and a half games back in the race for the final NL Wild Card spot, with three teams (including division-rival San Diego and Arizona) in order to claim that spot. The Pirates sit just a half-game behind San Francisco in the standings. The Cubs are only one game behind. It’s a tightly contested bunch of fringe contenders, but president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi isn’t publicly broadcasting an urgency to make a splash to separate his club from the pack.

“When I look at our team, we have pretty solid players at every spot in the field,” Zaidi said last night (link via Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle). “We have a rotation that’s getting healthier and a bullpen that’s done a nice job. So nothing jumps out as a spot where we need an emergency plug in.”

The rotation health to which Zaidi is referring includes not only reigning Cy Young winner Blake Snell, who returned from the IL and made his best start of the season last night, but also veteran hurlers Robbie Ray and Alex Cobb. Ray, acquired in an offseason swap with the Mariners, is on the mend from 2023 Tommy John surgery. Cobb, whose $10MM option was exercised following the 2023 season, has had a longer-than-expected recovery from hip surgery. Both veterans are currently on minor league rehab assignments that could see them activated later this month.

In some respects, this was always the plan. After signing free agents Snell and Jordan Hicks to pair with ace Logan Webb, the Giants patched together the rest of their first-half rotation with a series of in-house promotions and bullpen games. Injuries to Tristan Beck, Keaton Winn  and Kyle Harrison have tested their depth at times.

The season-long results aren’t great overall. Giants starters rank dead last in the majors with 428 innings pitched and sit 22nd in each of ERA (4.48), strikeout rate (20.8%) and walk rate (8.3%). The impending returns of Ray and Cobb could well  help turn the tides, but it’s also worth noting that Hicks has significantly tailed off after a hot start — perhaps no surprise given that he’s now into uncharted waters (in terms of workload) as a reliever making the conversion to starting pitching.

While the Giants can hope to soon have a rotation of Webb, Ray, Cobb, Harrison and Hicks — a strong quintet indeed if all are healthy — the question of depth persists. Winn has been out since June 21 due to elbow inflammation and has not begun a rehab assignment. Beck has been out all season after requiring surgery to address an aneurysm in his shoulder. Rookie Mason Black has been hit hard in three starts. Fellow debut hurler Hayden Birdsong has fared a bit better but hardly been dominant through three trips to the hill. Top prospect Carson Whisenhunt has started 18 games in Triple-A but has a 5.79 ERA and 11.7% walk rate.

Similarly, the bullpen has its own slate of questions. San Francisco relievers have thrown more innings (383 1/3) than any team in MLB, as one would naturally expect for a team with the game’s fewest rotation innings. Part of that is attributable to their frequent use of bullpen games — a strategy that can take its toll on a relief corps over time. The Giants have received strong work from Ryan Walker, Sean Hjelle, Taylor Rogers and Tyler Rogers this season. Closer Camilo Doval has been less effective than in the past, with a pedestrian 4.04 ERA and worrisome 14.2% walk rate (the worst mark of his career). Rookie right-hander Randy Rodriguez has been decent in middle relief, but fellow rookie Landen Roupp and veteran Luke Jackson have struggled. As is the case with the rotation, the bullpen has a talented core group but could certainly stand to be deepened.

On the position player side of things, the Giants have received strong production from each of catcher, first base and third base. Patrick Bailey has emerged as a cornerstone piece behind the dish. Veteran OBP machine LaMonte Wade Jr. is a sound option at first base. Matt Chapman is hitting well and playing plus defense at the hot corner.

In the outfield, the Giants have seen former top prospect Heliot Ramos break out as an All-Star. Michael Conforto’s recent hot streak (.289/.391/.658 over his past 15 games) has pulled him back to above-average offensive production on the whole. Mike Yastrzemski has underwhelmed thus far and will presumably platoon with Luis Matos for the time being. Jorge Soler has produced average offense out of the DH spot but isn’t going anywhere in the first season of a three-year, $42MM deal.

The middle infield is far less set in stone. The recent DFA of Nick Ahmed has Tyler Fitzgerald and Brett Wisely ticketed for frequent reps there. Both are hitting well but doing so with some particularly good fortune on balls in play. Second baseman Thairo Estrada just returned from the injured list but has batted only .227/.260/.371 in 315 plate appearances when healthy — a far cry from the .266/.320/.416 he slashed from 2021-23.

Perhaps Zaidi is correct in suggesting that there’s no glaring need where the Giants are performing with disastrous results and no reinforcements on the horizon. The sixth-year president of baseball operations spoke of the importance of allowing players like Fitzgerald and Matos to come to the big leagues and feel they have an opportunity to earn playing time, just as Ramos has.

At the same time, banking on production from so many unproven assets is a risky proposition for a team that, despite a sub-.500 record, has a legitimate playoff chance. It’s always a fine line to walk, giving players like Fitzgerald and Matos chances at playing time while also striving to remain competitive. The Giants are also sitting on a club-record $208MM payroll and are presently about $16MM north of the luxury tax threshold, per RosterResource. It’s not clear just how much ownership is willing to tack onto that record spending — if they’re willing to at all.

Giants Designate Nick Ahmed For Assignment

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The Giants announced a series of roster moves today, with left-hander Blake Snell as well as infielders Wilmer Flores and Thairo Estrada all reinstated from the injured list. One spot on the active roster was already opened when they traded outfielder Austin Slater to the Reds. They opened two more by optioning left-hander Kolton Ingram and designating shortstop Nick Ahmed for assignment. The latter move drops the 40-man roster count to 39.

Ahmed signed with San Francisco on a minor league deal early in Spring Training. The longtime Diamondback essentially took over for Brandon Crawford as a glove-first veteran shortstop. Ahmed hit well during exhibition play and made the roster, locking in a reported $1.5MM base salary in the process. He picked up the Opening Day nod at shortstop — the first time a player other than Crawford got that honor since Miguel Tejada back in 2011 — and went on to start 50 games overall.

As is typically the case with Ahmed, virtually all of his contributions came on defense. Statcast credited him as four runs better than average across 426 innings. Defensive Runs Saved was less bullish, grading him one run below par. He hit in the bottom third of the batting order and ran a .232/.278/.303 slash line with one homer over 172 plate appearances.

Ahmed is a two-time Gold Glove winner who has been one of the sport’s preeminent defensive shortstops throughout his career. While he’s still a good defender, his numbers have taken a step back from elite levels as he has gotten into his mid 30s. Ahmed has never been much of an offensive threat and has particularly struggled over the past few seasons. Since the start of the 2021 campaign, he owns a .222/.273/.330 line in a little more than 900 trips.

Estrada’s return from the IL will likely push Brett Wisely from second base to shortstop, at least against right-handed pitching. Righty hitting Tyler Fitzgerald is in the lineup tonight against Toronto southpaw Yusei Kikuchi. While the 25-year-old Wisely is stretched defensively at shortstop, he provides a higher offensive ceiling than Ahmed brought. Wisely owns a decent .278/.313/.421 slash through 135 plate appearances in his second MLB campaign.

The Giants have five days to trade Ahmed or place him on waivers. He has well over five years of MLB service time and would retain his entire salary if he clears waivers and becomes a free agent. A release is the likeliest outcome. Once Ahmed clears waivers, he could sign with another team for the prorated portion of the $740K minimum.

Meanwhile, Snell returns for his first MLB action in nearly six weeks. San Francisco’s late signing could hardly have gone worse to this point. Snell has battled groin issues throughout the year and been limited to six starts. Opponents have teed off on the defending NL Cy Young winner for a 9.51 earned run average through 23 2/3 innings. Snell will try to get his season on track when he takes on the Blue Jays this evening.

Reds Acquire Austin Slater

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The Reds and Giants have swung a late night deal with just over three weeks to go until the trade deadline. Per an announcement from both clubs, the Reds have acquired outfielder Austin Slater from San Francisco in exchange for left-hander Alex Young. Cincinnati is also receiving cash considerations as part of the deal. The Giants optioned Young to Triple-A following the transaction.

Slater, 31, has been in the Giants organization for more than a decade. His professional career began when he was selected by the club out of Stanford in the eighth round of the 2014 draft, though he wouldn’t make his big league debut with the club until his age-24 season in 2017. Slater was largely a part-time player during his first few years in San Francisco, and he amassed just 544 plate appearances in the majors between 2017 and 2019. In that limited playing time, he posted a decent .254/.335/.368 slash line that was good for a 92 wRC+ while splitting time between all three outfield spots, first base, and even making brief cameos at both second and third base.

The shortened 2020 season saw Slater break out in a big way, as he posted an excellent 150 wRC+ for the Giants while appearing in 31 of the club’s 60 games that year while playing mostly right field and DH for the club. That offensive explosion earned Slater a larger role in the following years, and while most of his playing time still came against left-handed pitching he fashioned more of a proper platoon role for himself as opposed to the reserve outfield role he had been utilized in previously. Slater took to the increased responsibilities quite well, and between the 2020 and 2023 seasons the lefty masher hit a solid .259/.352/.421 (118 wRC+).

That line goes from solid to sensational when looking exclusively at his production against southpaws, against whom he mashed to the tune of a .285/.380/.486 line with a wRC+ of 141. That production against left-handed pitching was good for 17th-best in baseball during that four year period, on par with star hitters such as Jose Altuve and Xander Bogaerts.

While the Giants leaned heavily on Slater as a platoon partner for a primarily left-handed outfield featuring sluggers such as Mike Yastrzemski, Michael Conforto, and Joc Pederson during those years, Slater’s playing time was further cut down by injury woes. Since the start of the 2020 campaign, Slater has made seven trips to the injured list for groin, hamstring, wrist, and hand issues as well as multiple concussions. Slater also required elbow surgery last offseason to remove a bone spur and relieve nerve pain.

It’s possible that lengthy list of injury issues has helped to contribute to what has been a difficult 2024 season for the 31-year-old, as he’s hit just .200/.330/.244 in 112 trips to the plate this season surrounding a month-long stay on the IL due to a concussion earlier this year. Those struggles ultimately paved the way for youngsters Heliot Ramos and Luis Matos to squeeze Slater out of playing time in the Giants outfield, as Ramos has stepped up to become a regular fixture in center field while Matos serves as a righty complement off the bench for Yastrzemski and Conforto.

In acquiring Slater, the Reds are surely hoping they can coax some of that lefty-mashing ability he flashed in previous years out of him in order to make him a quality platoon partner for the club’s many left-handed hitting outfielders. Slater’s main competition for playing time in that role figures to be Stuart Fairchild, who has slashed a lackluster .224/.298/.347 (81 wRC+) in 189 trips to the plate this year. In the short term, however, both Fairchild and Slater figure to get plenty of reps alongside Will Benson and Spencer Steer in the club’s outfield mix thanks to the absences of Jake Fraley, TJ Friedl, and Nick Martini. Fraley is currently on the family medical emergency list and will likely return within a few days, but both Friedl and Martini are on the injured list and are facing potentially lengthy absences.

In exchange for parting ways with Slater, the Giants are receiving some left-handed bullpen help in the form of Young. Once a second-round pick by the Diamondbacks in the 2015 draft, the lefty made his big league debut back in 2019 and generally struggled at the major league level in a swing role with Arizona and Cleveland. That changed in 2022, when Young was acquired by San Francisco in a cash deal with the Guardians and began pitching in a short relief role full-time. The lefty performed quite well during his first stint with the Giants and posted a 2.39 ERA and 2.96 FIP across 26 1/3 innings of work before being non-tendered by San Francisco the following November.

Young eventually caught on with the Reds on a minor league deal prior to the 2023 season and has remained with the club ever since. He posted solid results in middle relief with the club last year, pitching to a 3.86 ERA despite a lackluster 4.99 FIP. While Young’s 21.2% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate were both perfectly solid, he allowed a whopping ten homers during his 53 2/3 innings of work with the Reds last year.

Young has spent most of the 2024 season at the Triple-A level for the Reds, although he’s posted impressive numbers both in his two scoreless innings at the big league level and in his larger body of work in the minors. In 23 appearances with the club’s affiliate in Louisville this year, Young has posted a sparkling 1.19 ERA while striking out a solid 25.3% of batters faced. Unfortunately, the lefty hasn’t been able to get much playing time in the majors with the Reds this year thanks to the club’s deep bullpen, which features each of Justin Wilson, Sam Moll, and Brent Suter as quality left-handed options.

That made Young expendable enough that the Reds were willing to part ways with him, and it’s easy to see how the lefty could impact a Giants bullpen that has leaned heavily on Erik Miller to act as a secondary lefty reliever behind high-leverage arm Taylor Rogers. Miller, a 26-year-old rookie with a 3.51 ERA and 4.49 FIP in 41 innings of work this year, features a much more pronounced platoon split than Young has in recent years, and the spacious outfield of Oracle Park should be a great fit for Young that helps to curtail his proclivity for giving up homers.

San Francisco is also sending cash to Cincinnati in the deal alongside Slater, a fact that could factor into the club’s final luxury tax calculation later this year. Prior to the swap, RosterResource indicated that the Giants have a luxury tax payroll of just under $254MM, or just over $3MM below the second threshold of the luxury tax. Slater is making $4MM this year, while Young is earning a salary of $1.16MM. Depending on the amount of cash the Giants are including in the deal, it’s possible that the trade provides the additional benefit of offering the club additional financial wiggle room below the second luxury tax threshold.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Giants Activate Kyle Harrison From 15-Day IL

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The Giants officially reinstated left-hander Kyle Harrison from the 15-day injured list this afternoon, as Harrison is set to make the start in today’s game with the Guardians.  San Francisco also called up southpaw Kolton Ingram from Double-A, and right-hander Spencer Bivens and infielder David Villar were both optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding moves.

Regarded as one of baseball’s top pitching prospects, Harrison made his MLB debut last season and was slated to take a regular spot in the Giants’ rotation this season.  A sprained right ankle sent him to the IL on June 13, but before Harrison became the latest Giants hurler sidelined by injury, the results in terms of bottom-line numbers were pretty solid.  Harrison had a 3.96 ERA in 14 starts and 77 1/3 innings, as well as an above-average 6.7% walk rate.  Since control was a big question mark for Harrison in Triple-A in 2023, that decent walk rate is a very nice sign of the 22-year-old development as a big league starter.

The rest of the secondary metrics weren’t as glowing for Harrison, as he is allowing a lot of hard contact and his 20.6% strikeout rate ranks only in the 38th percentile of all pitchers.  Harrison is getting great results from the four-seamer he throws 62.5% of the time, but batters have been feasting on his secondary pitches, giving Harrison something of a predictable repertoire.

Plenty of adjustments are sure to come for a pitcher who is still so early in his pro career, as Harrison was a third-round pic in the 2020 draft.  Perhaps most importantly for the 2024 version of the Giants, Harrison was both effective and durable prior to his ankle injury, and his return allows the Giants to fill one hole in what has been another makeshift rotation for the club.  Logan Webb and reliever-turned-starter Jordan Hicks have been San Francisco’s other two stable starters, but the Giants have cycled multiple pitchers through the other two rotation spots with little success.

Blake Snell is expected to return from his latest IL stint this week, as the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner looks to finally get his Giants tenure on track after a horrific first three months.  Robbie Ray (Tommy John surgery) and Alex Cobb (hip surgery) should both return from their lengthy rehabs in the second half to provide some further reinforcement, so if the 44-45 Giants can at least tread water in the playoff race, they could look to be buyers at the July 30 deadline.

Ingram’s recall gives San Francisco another fresh arm in the bullpen, and it also puts Ingram in line for the first MLB action of what has been a tumultuous five months for the 27-year-old left-hander.  Since the start of February, Ingram has been a member of six different organizations due to recurring series of waiver claims, and just last week, the Cardinals’ decision to designate Ingram for assignment opened the door for the Giants to again pluck him off the waiver wire.  Ingram made his Major League last season, tossing 5 1/3 innings over five appearances with the Angels.

Guardians Acquire Spencer Howard From Giants

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The Guardians have acquired right-hander Spencer Howard from the Giants, per Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle on X. The Giants, who designated the righty for assignment recently, will receive cash considerations in return. The Guardians announced that they have designated righty Wes Parsons for assignment to open up a 40-man spot.

Howard, 27, was with the Giants on a minor league deal at the start of this year and opened the season with ten Triple-A starts. He had a 5.90 earned run average in that time, though he probably deserved better than that. His 32.2% strikeout rate was quite strong and his 9.6% walk rate only slightly on the high side. But he had a .406 batting average on balls in play and 66.1% strand rate in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, so his 4.12 FIP was almost two runs better than his ERA.

The Giants added him to their roster at the end of May and he spent just over a month with the club in a swing role. He tossed 24 innings over seven outings, two of those being starts, with a 5.63 ERA. It’s possible that luck played a role again, as his .388 BABIP in that time was well above average, but his strikeout rate also plummeted to 18.4% in the majors. His most recent outing was especially tough, as he allowed six earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. Since he’s out of options, he was bumped off the 40-man.

The Guardians are perhaps intrigued by those Triple-A strikeout numbers that Howard had earlier this year, or perhaps his past status as a notable prospect. A second-round pick of the Phillies in 2017, he was considered one of the top prospects in the league, with Baseball America giving him the #27 overall spot in 2020 and 2021. He went to the Rangers in the 2021 deadline deal that sent Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy the other way.

Unfortunately, Howard has never been able to find much success in the big leagues. Between his time with the Phillies, Rangers and Giants, he has 139 innings in the majors with a 6.93 ERA, 19.9% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate. His work in the minors hasn’t been much better in recent years, as he’s tossed 143 1/3 innings on the farm since the start of 2021 with a 4.83 ERA, though that minor league work has come with a 31.7% strikeout rate.

Since Howard is out of options, the Guards will be hoping that he can quickly start getting punchouts at the big league level, likely in a long relief role. The rotation has lost Shane Bieber to Tommy John surgery and they recently optioned a struggling Triston McKenzie, but they have a starting five of Tanner Bibee, Ben Lively, Gavin Williams, Logan Allen and Carlos Carrasco.

If the Guards can figure out how to get Howard on track, there could be long-term benefits. He’s out of options but can be retained via arbitration for three seasons beyond this one if he holds onto his roster spot for the rest of the year.

Parsons, 31, started the year with the Blue Jays but was designated for assignment in early April and flipped to the Guardians for international bonus pool space. He has spent most of the year in a swing role in Triple-A, with 25 2/3 innings over 12 outings, five of those being starts. He had a 4.21 ERA in that time but may have been lucky to have it that low. He struck out 29.3% of batters faced but also gave out walks at a huge 17.1% clip. Were it not for an 84.6% strand rate, he would have fared much worse, which is why he had a 6.06 FIP for Columbus.

The Guards will now have a week to trade Parsons or pass him through waivers. The recent numbers aren’t too exciting but he is in his final option year and could perhaps appeal to club bit by the injury bug that wants a bit more starting depth in the minors.

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