Giants Place Michael Conforto On IL, Outright Johan Camargo
The Giants have placed Michael Conforto on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring. Heliot Ramos is up to take his active roster spot. San Francisco also announced that infielder Johan Camargo has cleared outright waivers.
Conforto’s strain is of the Grade 2 variety, the team informed reporters (including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area). That’s of moderate severity and seems likely to keep him out beyond the requisite week and a half. San Francisco didn’t specify a timetable. Royals outfielder Kyle Isbel missed roughly six weeks when he suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain earlier in the season. That’s not a guarantee Conforto’s absence will be the same but suggests he’s likely at least in for a multi-week absence.
The injury halts a strong recent run for Conforto, who has been one of the best hitters in a struggling San Francisco lineup. He’s hitting .300/.400/.433 going back to the start of August. His first season in the Bay Area has been up-and-down overall.
In 426 plate appearances, the longtime Met owns a .251/.343/.405 line with 15 home runs. That’s above-average but not overwhelming offensive output. When paired with slightly below-average defensive marks in the corner outfield, Conforto’s season looks quite similar to his final year in Queens. By tallying 350 trips to the plate, he vested the right to opt out of his $18MM salary for next season. That’s a borderline call if he’s healthy. An extended absence could increase the odds he returns.
The Giants are running with Joc Pederson, Wade Meckler and Luis Matos as their outfield tonight against Braves ace Spencer Strider. Righty-swinging Austin Slater is on hand as a platoon complement, while the former first-round pick Ramos fills out the bench.
As for Camargo, the veteran infielder was designated for assignment on Wednesday. He appeared in eight games between the time San Francisco selected his minor league contract and DFA him after signing Paul DeJong. Camargo collected four hits (all singles) and a walk in 20 trips to the plate.
He’ll have the right to head back to free agency. Camargo only signed with the Giants 12 days ago but could explore other landing spots now that DeJong has jumped him on the depth chart. The switch-hitter owns a .260/.339/.466 line in 165 Triple-A plate appearances on the season — split between the affiliates of the Royals, Tigers and Giants.
Giants Designate Johan Camargo For Assignment
The Giants announced that they have now officially signed shortstop Paul DeJong to their roster, a move that was reported yesterday. In a corresponding move, infielder Johan Camargo was designated for assignment.
Camargo, 29, was just added to the Giants’ roster last week for a bit of veteran infield depth. With players like Mark Mathias, Casey Schmitt and Brett Wisely all producing fairly uninspiring results this year, an established utility option like Camargo was a sensible gamble to take, even though his own results have been fairly tepid in recent seasons. He hit .222/.300/.222 in a small sample of 20 plate appearances over eight games for the Giants, lining up at shortstop and third base but now losing his roster spot.
Since Camargo was selected, the Giants lost their everyday shortstop when Brandon Crawford landed on the injured list due to a left forearm strain. Rather than trying to patch together that position with their various utility infielders, the club decided to take a chance on DeJong after he was released by the Blue Jays.
That’s a low-risk move for the Giants from a financial perspective as they can bring aboard DeJong for the prorated league minimum and see what happens. It’s certainly risky in terms of results, as DeJong has been struggling in recent years and had a really poor showing with the Jays after they acquired him from the Cardinals at the deadline. But the Giants aren’t really committed and can easily walk away if it doesn’t work out.
In taking a shot on DeJong, they are giving up on Camargo, who will have to be placed on waivers in the coming days. His tiny sample of big league work this year doesn’t provide other clubs much to evaluate, but he has a longer track record they could look at. He has a career batting line of 254/.313/.407 in 1,359 career plate appearances, translating to a wRC+ of 90. The best part of that was earlier in his career, as he hit .281/.343/.455 over 2017 and 2018 but just .219/.272/.344 since then. He’s been slotted into each infield position as well as the outfield corners. This year, he has signed three separate minor league deals with the Royals, Tigers and Giants. He hit .260/.339/.466 in 165 Triple-A plate appearances between those different organizations.
If any of the 29 other clubs around the league are interested in some veteran infield depth, they could grab Camargo off waivers or perhaps sign him to another minor league in the event he clears. He has a previous career outright and would therefore be able to reject another such assignment in favor of electing free agency. He won’t be able to reach five years of service time this year and could therefore be retained for 2024 via arbitration by any club willing to give him a roster spot.
Giants To Sign Paul DeJong To Major League Contract
The Giants are signing shortstop Paul DeJong to a major league contract, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The shortstop was recently designated for assignment by the Blue Jays and his transactions tracker at MLB.com indicates he was released yesterday.
DeJong’s career has been on a downward slope in recent years, with his offensive production declining in each season since his 2017 rookie year. He hit .285/.325/.532 in his first campaign for a wRC+ of 123, indicating he was 23% above league average. The Cards then gave him a six-year, $26MM extension but watched him struggle more and more as time went on. His wRC+ dropped to 103 in 2018, then 101, 87, and 85 in the years after. In 2022, he spent a couple of months on optional assignment and only hit .157/.245/.286 in the majors for a wRC+ of just 55.
He seemed to have turned things around somewhat this year, having hit .233/.297/.412 through 81 games with the Cards. He was striking out in 28.4% of his plate appearances but had popped 13 home runs in that time. His 95 wRC+ indicated he was still a tad below average at the plate overall, but for a shortstop who’s considered an above-average defender, that was a serviceable showing.
With the Cardinals out of contention this year and DeJong in the final guaranteed year of that extension, he was a sensible trade candidate. The Jays found themselves with a sudden need at short just before the deadline when Bo Bichette landed on the IL with a knee injury. They sent minor league pitcher Matt Svanson to the Cards in order to get DeJong as an emergency fill-in for Bichette.
Unfortunately, switching the red bird on his jersey for a blue one coincided with an incredible swoon in his performance. He recorded just three hits in 44 plate appearances for the Jays, all singles, while striking out 18 times and not drawing any walks. When Bichette was reinstated from the injured list, the Jays could have optioned a less-experienced player like Santiago Espinal or Davis Schneider but instead decided to just move on from DeJong.
At the time of the trade, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the Cardinals are covering half of DeJong’s remaining salary and the buyouts on two club options. DeJong’s salary is $9MM this year, which left about $3MM to be paid out at the time of the trade and $2MM now. After being released, any club could sign him and pay him just the prorated league minimum, with that amount subtracted from what the other clubs pay.
It seems like the Giants will take that chance on another DeJong bounceback, which is a fairly logical move for them. Their regular shortstop, Brandon Crawford, just landed on the injured list over the weekend due to a left forearm strain. Thairo Estrada is also day-to-day after being hit by a pitch on the hand on Sunday. That leaves veteran utility man Johan Camargo and rookie Casey Schmitt as their healthiest middle infield options at the moment. Camargo has hit .220/.273/.345 since the start of 2019 while Schmitt is hitting .197/.249/.279 through his first 226 plate appearances.
Though DeJong may be inconsistent at the plate, it’s a sensible chance for the Giants to take. If he’s able to get back into decent form, he could certainly be an upgrade over their current options. By getting added to the roster prior to 11:59pm ET on August 31, DeJong will be eligible for the postseason roster as well. The Giants are currently 65-60 and in possession of the final Wild Card spot in the National League.
The club currently has a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move to add DeJong whenever this move becomes official. They will also need a spot for pitching prospect Kyle Harrison, who is reportedly going to be added and start tonight’s game, meaning some further roster moves are coming for the Giants.
Giants Promote Kyle Harrison
August 22: The Giants have now made this official, selecting Harrison and reinstating righty Ryan Walker from the paternity list. To open active roster spots, right-hander Sean Hjelle and outfielder Heliot Ramos were optioned. To open a 40-man spot for Harrison, infielder Mark Mathias was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Mathias was placed on the injured list a week ago due to a right shoulder strain. He’ll now be ineligible to return until 60 days from August 14, which rules him out until the middle of October. Barring a lengthy postseason run by the Giants, it seems his season is over.
August 20, 3:58 pm: Giants manager Gabe Kapler confirmed to reporters, including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, that Harrison was poised to be promoted. He’ll start the Giants’ game against the Phillies in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
10:14 am: The Giants are calling up top pitching prospect Kyle Harrison, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports (via X). Earlier today, the Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly wrote that San Francisco was “strongly considering” promoting Harrison during an upcoming series with the Phillies, and Murray says that Harrison is being aimed to start Tuesday’s game. San Francisco will need to make another transaction before then to create a 40-man roster spot for the left-hander.
The promotion makes for a nice late birthday gift for Harrison, who turned 22 on August 12. It is quite possible that the southpaw would have already made his MLB debut if it wasn’t for a hamstring strain that put him on the injured list for almost all of July, but after pitching in three Triple-A games since his return from the minor league IL, Harrison has been deemed ready for his first taste of the Show.
It doesn’t seem as though Harrison will be taking on a full-fledged starter role, as Baggarly notes that Harrison might work in more of a piggyback capacity on Tuesday, perhaps not throwing more than 3-4 innings. Harrison has had a limited workload for much of the minor league season, as he has topped the 80-pitch threshold only three times and has only once thrown as many as five innings in a single outing.
With this in mind, Harrison looks to become the latest member of a patchwork Giants rotation that has recently featured only two regular starters. Beyond Logan Webb and Alex Cobb, a group led by Jakob Junis, Alex Wood, Sean Manaea, and Ross Stripling have made limited starts, piggyback outings, or have worked as bulk pitchers behind an opener. This collection took a hit yesterday when Stripling was placed on the 15-day IL due to a back strain, and Sean Hjelle was recalled from Triple-A to work as a long reliever or bulk pitcher.
It’s not an ideal situation for a team fighting for a wild card berth, so there will be a bit of a bigger spotlight than usual on Harrison as he becomes a big leaguer. However, Harrison has dealt with plenty of hype as his prospect stock has risen over the last few years, since being selected by the Giants in the third round of the 2020 draft. In recent midseason updates to their prospect rankings, MLB Pipeline listed Harrison as the 20th-best prospect in the sport, while Baseball America slotted him 35th on their latest listing.
There’s no secret about Harrison’s biggest weak point, as he has a hefty 16.3% walk rate over 67 2/3 innings with Triple-A Sacramento this year. This shaky control (and pitching in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League) has contributed to Harrison’s 4.52 ERA, though he also has a tremendous 35.6% strikeout rate.
Both Pipeline and BA give Harrison a 70-grade for his fastball and a 60-grade for his slider, and he also has a good changeup that is still improving. Two plus pitches and the possibility of a third has created plenty of buzz about Harrison as a possible front-of-the-rotation starter, though the big question is naturally whether or not Harrison can improve his control and command. As Pipeline’s scouting report puts it, Harrison is “still learning to harness his enhanced stuff, though his ability to miss bats in the strike zone with all three of his offerings means that he doesn’t need to locate them with precision.”
However the Giants opt to manage Harrison’s workload among the rest of the pitchers, it seems likely that the club will limit him to less than 50 innings in the regular season, so he can retain his rookie eligibility for 2024. As per the rules of the Prospect Promotion Incentive, the Giants can receive a bonus pick in the 2025 draft if Harrison earns a full year of MLB service time in 2024, and he either wins the NL Rookie of the Year award or has a top-three finish in NL Cy Young voting during any of his pre-arbitration seasons. Harrison must be ranked as a top-100 prospect by at least two of MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, or ESPN.com in their pre-2024 lists to fully qualify as a PPI-eligible player, thought that seems like a foregone conclusion.
Beyond the 50-inning threshold, pitchers also have to have less than 46 days on a Major League roster to retain rookie eligibility. That date on the 2023 league calendar passed last week, so it isn’t surprising that Harrison and other notable prospects like the Reds’ Noelvi Marte, the Cardinals’ Masyn Winn, and the Angels’ Nolan Schanuel have all been called up within the last few days alone.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
A’s Acquire Sean Newcomb From Giants
The Athletics have acquired veteran left-hander Sean Newcomb from the Giants in exchange for minor league outfielder Trenton Brooks, per the teams’ transaction logs at MLB.com. It’s a rare post-deadline trade that sees a player going each way (as opposed to the more common cash trades in August) and an even rarer trade between the two Bay Area clubs. Both Newcomb and Brooks were eligible to be traded by virtue of the fact that they have not appeared on a 40-man roster or Major League injured list in 2023.
[Related: How to Acquire Players After the Trade Deadline]
Newcomb, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Giants over the winter and has primarily worked out of the bullpen in their system, pitching to a 3.16 ERA in 31 1/3 innings with Triple-A Sacramento. The command issues that have long plagued Newcomb persist (15.3% walk rate in Triple-A), but he’s fanned an impressive 30.5% of his opponents and has clearly changed up his repertoire a bit, based on a career-high 59.4% ground-ball rate. The left-hander posted a combined 35.2% grounder rate in 73 2/3 innings from 2020-22 — his most recent MLB work.
Early in his career, Newcomb looked like a budding mainstay on the Braves’ roster. Acquired from the Angels in the trade that sent Andrelton Simmons to Anaheim, Newcomb posted a 3.87 ERA and 23% strikeout rate through his first 332 1/3 big league innings — splitting his appearances roughly evenly between the rotation (2017-18) and bullpen (2019).
The 2020 season was a disaster for the former first-round pick, however, as he was tagged for 17 earned runs in just 13 2/3 innings spread across four starts. Newcomb walked 18% of his opponents the following year while pitching 32 1/3 innings out of the bullpen, and he yielded 27 runs in 27 2/3 innings between the Braves and Cubs last year.
Overall, Newcomb has a 4.52 ERA in 406 big league innings, but the vast majority of that success came upwards of five years ago at this point. He can be a free agent at season’s end if he’s not added to the big league roster, so it stands to reason that the A’s wouldn’t have given up a minor league player if he weren’t going to be selected to the Majors sometime soon. In the event that Newcomb can reestablish himself as a viable big league arm — presumably out of the bullpen, given his ’23 usage — the A’s would be able to control him through the end of the 2025 season via arbitration.
Brooks, 28, is in his first season with Oakland after spending the prior seven season in Cleveland’s system. The former 17th-round pick signed a minor league deal with the A’s after reaching minor league free agency, and he’s turned in a stout .299/.405/.529 output (125 wRC+) in 412 plate appearances in Triple-A this year. He’s turned in career-best marks in home runs (16) doubles (29) and stolen bases (five) — all while walking at a career-high (in a full season) 13.8% mark against just a 14.6% strikeout rate.
Defensively, Brooks has rotated between first base (816 innings), left field (1460 innings) and right field (1469 innings) throughout his professional career. He’s played all three spots in 2023, though this year’s usage skews more toward left field. He’ll give the Giants a left-handed-hitting corner option at a time when outfield options Mike Yastrzemski, AJ Pollock, Mitch Haniger and Mark Mathias are all on the injured list.
Giants Outright Luis González
Luis González cleared waivers this afternoon, and the Giants have sent him outright to Triple-A Sacramento. Because he has less than three years of MLB service time and has not been outrighted previously in his career, he cannot refuse the assignment.
González has been in the Giants organization since August 2021, when he was claimed off release waivers from the White Sox. He spent the rest of the season on the injured list with shoulder issues, making his debut in the Giants system the following spring. He played 11 games at Triple-A, slashing .283/.389/.500 before earning the call to the big league level. The outfielder bounced back and forth between Triple-A and the majors for the rest of the year, ultimately playing 98 games for San Francisco. He looked like a capable bench player if not much else, posting a 95 wRC+, swiping ten bases, and playing below-average defense in the outfield corners.
Unfortunately, González missed the first half of the 2023 season recovering from back surgery, and he has struggled at the plate since his return. In 14 games with Triple-A Sacramento, he’s batting .231 with no home runs and a 67 wRC+. His 13.1% walk rate and 18% strikeout rate are impressive, but he has had no power to speak of. In his first two seasons at Triple-A, he hit 13 home runs across 60 games.
Last Monday, González was designated for assignment amid a flurry of roster moves. Anthony DeSclafani was moved to the 60-day IL, and with two newly open spots on the 40-man roster, the Giants selected the contracts of Johan Camargo and Wade Meckler from Triple-A.
While González can’t decline the outright assignment, this is his seventh season logging at least some minor league action. As a result, he’d be eligible for minor league free agency next offseason if the Giants don’t select him back onto the 40-man roster before then.
Giants, Yoshi Tsutsugo Agree To Minor League Deal
The Giants have reached agreement on a minor league pact with first baseman Yoshi Tsutsugo, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). The 31-year-old is looking to get back to the big leagues for a fourth consecutive season.
Tsutsugo began this season on a minor league contract with the Rangers. He spent a couple months in Triple-A, hitting .249/.380/.432 in 280 plate appearances. Tsutsugo opted out of that deal in late June but didn’t immediately land another affiliated opportunity.
Instead, he made the jump to the Atlantic League. Tsutsugo signed with the Staten Island FerryHawks but very quickly hit his way back out of independent ball. The left-handed hitter connected on seven home runs in 12 games, posting an overall .359/.479/.949 batting line in 48 trips. That excellent showing earns him another crack at Pacific Coast League pitching with the Giants’ top affiliate in Sacramento.
Tsutsugo has suited up for three MLB clubs since heading over from Japan during the 2019-20 offseason. He has struggled for the bulk of that time. Tsutsugo hit .187/.292/.336 in 77 games with the Rays, who had originally signed him to a two-year contract. Tampa Bay released him in the second season of that deal. He briefly caught on with the Dodgers before signing with the Pirates for the end of 2021. Tsutsugo had the best stretch of his career in Pittsburgh, hitting .268/.347/.535 in 43 games to close out that season.
The rebuilding Bucs re-signed him on a $4MM free agent deal that offseason. His production cratered, however, as he hit .171/.249/.229 through 50 contests before being released in August. Tsutsugo hasn’t returned to the big leagues since then, as successive minor league deals with the Blue Jays and Texas didn’t result in a call.
San Francisco has left-handed hitting LaMonte Wade Jr. and Joc Pederson as the primary first base/DH tandem. The offense has floundered lately, with each of Wade and Peterson putting up well below-average numbers since the All-Star Break (although the former has turned things around a bit in August after a dismal July).
Tsutsugo adds some depth to the upper minors. Since he’s in the organization before September 1, he would be eligible for postseason play if he hits well enough to warrant a look and should the Giants qualify. San Francisco currently occupies the second NL Wild Card spot but is just a game a half clear of the D-Backs, Reds and Marlins (the top non-playoff teams at the moment).
Giants Place Brandon Crawford On 10-Day Injured List
The Giants announced that shortstop Brandon Crawford has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left forearm strain. The placement is retroactive to August 19. Outfielder Luis Matos was called up from Triple-A to take Crawford’s place on the active roster.
This is Crawford’s third IL stint of the season, as he missed roughly three weeks total due to a calf strain and left knee inflammation. Giants manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle) that Crawford’s forearm issue was impacting his swing, which explains why Crawford has only a single hit in his last 31 plate appearances. The club’s initial plan was to give Crawford a couple of days off, but he’ll now get at least 10 days to recover.
In a little over 14 months, Crawford has now made five different trips to the injured list. Recurring knee problems have led to the majority of those placements, and he was also briefly shut down during Spring Training this year due to more knee discomfort. The injuries have short-circuited what looked like a late-career revival for Crawford, who finished fourth in NL MVP voting in 2021 for delivering a huge performance in his age-34 season.
Crawford has hit only .194/.264/.318 over 270 plate appearances in 2023, and while his glovework has still been excellent, it surely isn’t the platform Crawford wanted for the final guaranteed year of his contract. While Crawford was somewhat non-committal last winter about the possibility of playing beyond the 2023 season, a year of injuries and struggles at the plate isn’t how the longtime Giants shortstop would want to wrap up his outstanding 13-year career. The severity of the forearm strain isn’t yet known, so it isn’t clear if Crawford could be in danger of missing the remainder of the 2023 campaign.
Casey Schitt was called up from Triple-A yesterday, and the Giants also recently selected the minor league deal of Johan Camargo. These two players will likely handle shortstop duty while Crawford is out, and Thairo Estrada has also seen some time at the position this season.
Giants Select Johan Camargo
The Giants announced they’ve selected the contract of infielder Johan Camargo. San Francisco also confirmed the selection of outfield prospect Wade Meckler and the designation of outfielder Luis González. Infielder Mark Mathias and rookie outfielder Luis Matos were optioned to Triple-A Sacramento in corresponding moves. To open a 40-man spot for Camargo, San Francisco transferred starter Anthony DeSclafani from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list.
Camargo gets back to the big leagues for a seventh straight year. The switch-hitting infielder had spent the ’23 campaign in Triple-A, moving from the Royals to the Tigers and then San Francisco. He just signed a minor league pact with the Giants over the weekend, reaching the majors after two appearances with Sacramento.
Between the three organizations, Camargo owns a solid .260/.339/.466 batting line. He’s been limited to 39 Triple-A games by an early-season injury. The 29-year-old has a fairly established track record, though. He owns an impressive .302/.375/.501 slash in a little more than 1000 career Triple-A plate appearances.
Camargo has a .255/.313/.410 mark over his MLB career. A productive everyday third baseman for the Braves between 2017-18, he’s settled into a journeyman role over the last few years. Camargo has hit .219/.271/.348 through 559 plate appearances over the past four seasons. The bigger appeal lies in his flexibility defensively. The Panama native has over 300 MLB innings at each of second base, third base and shortstop. Public metrics have given him roughly average reviews up-the-middle and plus marks for his work at the hot corner.
DeSclafani recently suffered a flexor strain in his throwing arm. He won’t throw until late September at the earliest and seems likely to miss the remainder of the season.
Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area first reported Camargo’s impending promotion.
Giants To Select Wade Meckler
The Giants plan to select the contract of outfielder Wade Meckler, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link). San Francisco is reportedly designating Luis González for assignment to create a 40-man roster spot but will need to make a corresponding active roster move.
Meckler, an eighth-round pick from Oregon State last July, moved exceptionally quickly up the minor league ranks. The 23-year-old finished last season in the low minors and began this year with High-A Eugene. He destroyed generally younger pitching and was bumped to Double-A by mid-May. Meckler didn’t slow down, hitting .336/.431/.450 over 39 appearances to move up to Triple-A two weeks ago.
The left-handed hitter needed just 10 games with the River Cats to force the organization’s hand. He raked at a .400/.546/.600 line at the top minor league level. Overall, Meckler sports a ridiculous .379/.463/.522 batting line in 294 plate appearances on the season. He’s walking at an elite 13.3% clip compared to a modest 14.6% strikeout percentage.
Meckler doesn’t have overwhelming physical tools. He’s only homered five times and swiped just six bases in 10 attempts. Yet there’s little doubt he has quickly raised his profile thanks to his excellent contact skills and strike zone awareness. In June, Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin of FanGraphs ranked him ninth among Giants’ prospects. Baseball America slotted him sixth in the system on their midseason update.
Both outlets call Meckler’s contact skills his carrying tool. He’s mostly a corner outfielder, though the Giants have given him 20 starts in center field this season. The extreme contact approach will be tougher to pull off if Meckler can’t stick in center field, but there’s little question about his minor league dominance. As Passan points out, he’s just the fourth player from the 2022 draft class to reach the big leagues — and the first non-Angel, as Zach Neto, Ben Joyce and Victor Mederos are the others.