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Giants Acquire Tobias Myers From Guardians

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The Giants announced they’ve acquired right-hander Tobias Myers from the Guardians in exchange for cash considerations. Cleveland had designated him for assignment last week. Myers has been optioned to Triple-A Sacramento, while Anthony DeSclafani was transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move.

Myers has still yet to reach the majors, but he’s now been traded three times as a professional. Originally drafted by the Orioles in 2016, he was sent to the Rays at the following year’s trade deadline. Myers spent the next few seasons in the Tampa Bay system but was slated to be eligible for the Rule 5 draft last offseason were he not added to the 40-man roster. The Rays apparently weren’t prepared to do so, but they acquired low level outfield prospect Junior Caminero from the Guardians, who did select his contract.

The addition didn’t pan out as Cleveland had hoped, as Myers struggled badly over his couple months in the organization. He made 14 starts with Triple-A Columbus, allowing six earned runs per nine innings with a meager 14.1% strikeout rate and an elevated 11.6% walk percentage. The Guardians fairly quickly moved on, but the Giants will take a shot at getting him back on track.

Myers had quite strong strikeout and walk numbers during his final season in the Rays’ organization. Between the top two minor league levels in 2021, he struck out more than 30% of opponents against just a 5.8% walk rate. Myers’ fly-ball ways led to some home run issues and a solid but unspectacular 3.90 ERA, but he’s flashed enough upside against high-level hitters to catch the attention of the San Francisco front office. He’s only in his first of three minor league option years and is still 23 years old, so there’s plenty of developmental time if the Giants are willing to keep him on the 40-man roster for the long haul.

As for DeSclafani, his IL transfer was only a matter of time. The right-hander is soon to undergo surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right ankle. He’ll miss the rest of the season.

Giants Place Evan Longoria On Injured List

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The Giants have placed third baseman Evan Longoria on the 10-day injured list due to a left oblique strain, the club announced. Catcher Joey Bart was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento to take his place on the active roster.

Longoria lands on the shelf for the second time this year. The three-time All-Star missed the first month-plus of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn finger ligament late in Spring Training. He returned to play on May 11 and has started 35 of the club’s 48 games since his reinstatement. Longoria has continued to produce at the plate when healthy, as he carries a solid .242/.331/.462 line through 151 plate appearances. That’s obviously not at the level he showed at his peak with the Rays, but it’s a second straight season of decidedly above-average power production.

Manager Gabe Kapler has relied upon Longoria as his primary third baseman. They’ll presumably need to mix and match at the hot corner at least through the All-Star Break now, with Wilmer Flores, Tommy La Stella and recent call-up David Villar among the various infield options on the roster. (La Stella has played mostly designated hitter this year but is getting the nod at second base tonight against Arizona). The club hasn’t provided a specific timetable on Longoria’s return, but Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle notes he took part in pre-game activities today to gauge his availability for tonight’s game. Obviously, his body didn’t respond to that work as hoped, but that the Giants initially believed there was a chance he could avoid the IL seemingly suggests they’re not anticipating a long-term absence.

Longoria is in the final guaranteed season of the extension he originally signed a decade ago with Tampa Bay. The Giants hold a $13MM club option on his services for next year, but it remains to be seen if he’ll continue playing. In a reflective conversation with Slusser last week, the 36-year-old (37 in October) acknowledged he’s given some thought to the possibility of hanging up his spikes at the end of the year. Longoria certainly didn’t commit to retirement, saying he hasn’t yet “made up (his) mind” and has “really gone back and forth with (his) wife about this so many times.” He nevertheless acknowledged that a handful of injuries and being away from his family in recent years has taken both a physical and emotional toll.

That’ll presumably be sorted out a few months from now, but Longoria’s immediate focus will be on making his return to a San Francisco team that has scuffled of late. The Giants have dropped six in a row and eight of their last ten, falling to 40-39 in the process. They’re two games back of the Cardinals and Phillies in the race for the National League’s final Wild Card spot entering play tonight.

Giants’ Curt Casali Suffers Oblique Strain

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JULY 5: Casali told reporters (including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle) he’s been diagnosed with a Grade 2 oblique strain. As Slusser notes, that’s an injury that often sidelines players for upwards of a month. Bart has reported to the major league team, as expected, but has not yet been officially recalled onto the active roster.

JULY 4: Giants catcher Curt Casali suffered an oblique strain during an at-bat in tonight’s game.  During the sixth inning, Casali was in discomfort after taking a swing, and had to leave the game before finishing his plate appearance.

Casali will undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the damage, though a trip to the injured list is a certainty.  NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic noted that Joey Bart was scratched from a Triple-A lineup tonight after word of Casali’s injury spread, and thus Bart is likely on his way back to the majors once Casali is placed on the IL.

Now in his second season with the Giants, Casali has been the constant behind the plate, first in a timeshare with Bart behind the plate, and then splitting time with Austin Wynns after Bart was optioned back to Triple-A.  While any Giants catcher had a tough act to follow in Buster Posey, Casali has provided roughly league-average (104 wRC+, 99 OPS+) offense with his .236/.331/.377 slash line.  Almost all of the damage has come against southpaws — Casali has a mammoth 1.232 OPS over 33 PA against left-handed pitching, and only a .526 OPS in 91 PA against righties.

Between his solid offense and defense, Casali has helped stabilize the catching position in the wake of struggles from Bart and Wynns.  San Francisco was hoping that former top-prospect Bart was ready for regular work in the big leagues, yet Bart has hit only .156/.296/.300 in 108 PA this season.  With only seven games under his belt at Triple-A, the Giants surely would’ve preferred to see Bart get more reset time and start to dominate (he has a .748 OPS in 31 Triple-A plate appearances) in the minors before bringing him back to the Show.

If and when Bart is recalled, the Giants will retain what is technically a three-catcher depth chart on the active roster, as Yermin Mercedes is also active.  However, it seems like the Giants are more apt to give Bart another look than to rely on Wynns and Mercedes as their full-time catching tandem while Casali recovers from what might be a lengthy absence.  Should Casali have the type of oblique strain that lingers for weeks or even months, the Giants could even opt to add another catcher prior to the August 2 trade deadline.

Giants Promote David Villar

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3:35PM: The Giants have officially selected Villar’s contract.  Right-hander Yunior Marte was optioned to Triple-A yesterday, creating an open 26-man roster spot.

12:31PM: As first reported by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Giants prospect David Villar is in Phoenix and will be activated ahead of today’s game against the Diamondbacks. Villar, who’s primarily played third base in the minors but has some positional versatility, has logged a .284/.409/.633 triple-slash — and 21 home runs — in 281 trips to the plate for Triple-A Sacramento so far this year.

It isn’t yet clear what position Villar will play in his first taste of the majors, but with both Thairo Estrada and Brandon Crawford on the IL and Evan Longoria entrenched at third, he’ll most likely slot in at second for the time being. He’s played 98 innings at the position, all of them this year.

An unheralded 11th-round pick out of the University of South Florida in the 2018 amateur draft, Villar hasn’t drawn a lot of prospect fanfare but has hit his way onto the big-league radar. While his 2022 performance in Triple-A has taken him to new heights, he showed significant power last year as well, hitting 20 homers at Double-A Richmond en route to a .275/.374/.507 overall line.

Anthony DeSclafani Out For The Season

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Giants righty Anthony DeSclafani will be out for the rest of the season. He was placed on the injured list on June 28 for what, at the time, was judged to be right ankle inflammation.

It’s now been determined that he needs surgery to “set the peroneal tendon in his right ankle,” per MLB.com’s Maria I. Guardado (via Twitter). Recovery time is expected to be four to five months. As his surgery is set for July 12, he will not return to the hill this season.

DeSclafani seemed to find himself last season in a prove-it contract year. He made 31 starts for the Giants, logged 167 2/3 innings, and pitched to a 3.17 ERA/3.62 FIP with career-best strikeout and walk rates.

The 32-year-old is in the first year of a three-year, $36MM deal that he signed this past winter. Both parties certainly hoped for more than five starts and the 9.95 ERA DeSclafani currently owns. Of course, those five starts (19 innings) hardly means much in the grand scheme of things. Even so, a 4.86 FIP certainly provides a touch of promise for team and player to dream on as they look to 2023.

The Giants have survived without DeSclafani thanks to a strong front four of Logan Webb, Carlos Rodon, Alex Wood, and Alex Cobb. Jakob Junis and Sammy Long have been the primary stand-ins for DeSclafani so far, with seven and five starts, respectively. Both have performed well. Still, as the year wears on, it would not be surprising to see the Giants explore adding reinforcements from outside the organization.

Giants Place Anthony DeSclafani On 15-Day Injured List

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The Giants placed starter Anthony DeSclafani on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 28, due to right ankle inflammation. Infielder Jason Vosler has been recalled to take his active roster spot.

It’s the second time DeScalafani has hit the IL because of right ankle inflammation. His first stint cost him two months, as the righty was out from mid-April until two weeks ago. Manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area) the team has “real concern” about the setback. The skipper ominously added that “everything is on the table” as far as treatment options go, leaving open the possibility DeScalfani could require surgery.

It has been a frustrating season for the 32-year-old righty, who has been limited to just five starts. After allowing two runs in each of his first two appearances, he was tagged for five runs during his final start in April. He’s seemed limited even upon returning from his initial IL stint, first allowing five runs in three innings against the Braves and serving up seven through 2 2/3 frames to the Reds on Sunday.

That’s a far cry from DeSclafani’s very productive debut season in the Bay Area. Signed to a one-year deal over the 2020-21 offseason on the heels of a rough final year with Cincinnati, he bounced back in black and orange. DeSclafani threw 167 2/3 frames of 3.17 ERA ball, missing bats at a league average rate while showing excellent control. That earned him a three-year, $36MM deal to return last winter, but the ankle issues have prevented him from settling in thus far in 2022.

San Francisco has an established top four in the rotation of Carlos Rodón, Logan Webb, Alex Cobb and Alex Wood. During DeSclafani’s first IL stint, Jakob Junis stepped into the fifth spot with a strong couple months. Junis has been on the IL himself for the past few weeks. He threw a bullpen session today, Pavlovic tweets, but it remains to be seen how quickly he can return to the MLB staff. The Giants don’t have a single off day between now and the July 18 start of the All-Star Break.

Giants Place Brandon Crawford On 10-Day Injured List

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The Giants placed shortstop Brandon Crawford on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to June 25) due to left knee inflammation.  The recently acquired Yermin Mercedes has been called up from Triple-A and will take Crawford’s spot on the active roster.

Crawford hurt his knee Tuesday while awkwardly sliding into home plate, and the injury forced him out of that game and caused him to miss three of San Francisco’s last four contests.  However, it doesn’t appear as if the problem is too serious, as manager Gabe Kapler feels Crawford will miss just the minimum 10 days.  As Kapler explained to The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser and other reporters, the IL placement would be something of a general reset, as Crawford has been playing through some nagging injuries for much of the season.

Playing at less than 100 percent could explain the dropoff from Crawford’s 2021 numbers, as the shortstop enjoyed the best season of his career at age 34.  Crawford finished fourth in NL MVP voting last year, but he has followed up that performance by hitting just .224/.313/.350 over his first 243 plate appearances of 2022.  Some regression at the plate was perhaps inevitable, but Crawford’s usually-strong defense has also fallen off, which could hint at larger physical issues.

The hope is that the 10-day break will allow Crawford to heal up for the second half of the season, and he can then help the Giants return to the postseason.  In the interim, Thairo Estrada and Donovan Walton are the likeliest candidates to cover shortstop in Crawford’s absence.  Creating the chain reaction in the Giants’ platoon-heavy lineup, this could also mean more time for Tommy La Stella and Wilmer Flores at second base, to cover Estrada’s playing time.  Likewise, Mercedes could now get the DH at-bats previously occupied by La Stella and Flores.

Reds Claim Michael Papierski Off Waivers From Giants

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The Reds announced that they have claimed catcher Michael Papierski off waivers from the Giants and optioned him to Triple-A Louisville. The Reds recently placed Jeff Hoffman on the COVID-related IL, opening up a spot on the 40-man roster for this claim.

Papierski began this season in the Astros organization but went to the Giants in May as part of the Mauricio Dubon trade. A week later, he was selected to the big league roster as Curt Casali was placed on the concussion IL. Once Casali returned a week later, Papierski was optioned back to the minors. When the Giants claimed Yermin Mercedes off waivers from the White Sox recently, Papierski was designated to create room for him.

Papierski got into five MLB games with San Fran but wasn’t able to manage a hit in ten plate appearances. In 40 Triple-A games between the Astros’ and Giants’ organizations, he’s hit .210/.297/.308. That only amounts to a wRC+ of 53, though more encouraging signs can be found in his 10.3% walk rate and 16.4% strikeout rate, both of those being better than average. His .223 BABIP suggests some positive regression could be forthcoming.

Tyler Stephenson, the Reds’ primary catcher, landed on the IL earlier this month with a thumb fracture. He’s yet to even begin a rehab assignment, suggesting he’s not close to a return. Since he’s been gone, the club has been using Aramis Garcia and Chris Okey behind the plate, both of whom currently have a wRC+ below 25. Papierski will head to Louisville to alongside fellow catcher Mark Kolozsvary, to provide the club with some extra catching depth.

Giants Sign Matt Hall To Minor League Deal

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The Giants signed left-hander Matt Hall to a minor league contract last week, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Sacramento, where he made his organizational debut on Tuesday.

Hall is looking to pitch his way back to the majors for the first time in two years. A former sixth-round pick of the Tigers, the Missouri State product reached the big leagues late in the 2018 campaign. He made five appearances down the stretch, then tallied 23 1/3 innings through 16 outings the following season. Hall posted a 7.71 ERA in 2019 and was designated for assignment the ensuing offseason.

The Red Sox acquired Hall in a minor trade in January 2020. He spent the entire season on the Boston 40-man roster but only made four big league appearances. Hall was tagged for 18 runs in 8 2/3 innings while bouncing between the active roster and the alternate training site during the abbreviated campaign. Boston took him off the 40-man at the end of the year, and he spent most of last season with their top affiliate in Worcester after passing through outright waivers.

Hall’s struggles continued with the WooSox, where he allowed more than seven earned runs per nine innings pitched over 28 outings. That led to his release last August, but he’ll have an opportunity to get things back on track in the upper minors with San Francisco. Owner of an 11.48 ERA in 40 MLB innings, the 28-year-old has obviously yet to find success at the game’s top level.

He’s also struggled through parts of four Triple-A seasons, but Hall posted quality numbers up through Double-A to catch the attention of a few different organizations. Despite not being a hard thrower, he’s flashed promising raw spin rates on both his fastball and curveball during his past MLB looks. Hall also excelled in 28 innings with the Kansas City Monarchs of the independent American Association this season, working to a minuscule 1.29 ERA with 35 strikeouts and only eight walks to earn his way back to the affiliated ranks.

Giants Acquire Willie Calhoun From Rangers For Steven Duggar

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The Giants and Rangers have agreed to a swap of position players. The Rangers will send Willie Calhoun to the Giants in exchange for outfielder Steven Duggar, per Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic (via Twitter). The Giants will also receive cash considerations from Texas, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).

San Francisco had a decision to make on Duggar, who needed to be added back to the 40-man roster after completing his rehab assignment. Calhoun himself just recently passed through waivers unclaimed.

The plan is for Duggar to join the active roster. The Rangers will designate Spencer Patton for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Duggar, per the team. They will need to make one more move to make room on the active roster for Duggar. Patton, 34, had made seven appearances for the Rangers, posting a 3.86 ERA/5.70 FIP across seven innings.

In Duggar, the Rangers are acquiring a player with more defensive utility than Calhoun, who never really found a defensive home. Duggar can play all three outfield spots. He had been on the injured list since April 21 with a strained oblique, however. He has appeared in each of the past five seasons for the Giants, accruing an overall line of .242/.297/.377 over 805 plate appearances with a too-high 29.4 percent strikeout rate and too-low 7.0 percent walk rate.

With Luis Gonzalez going on the injured list today, the Giants could easily have brought Duggar back to the Major League roster, so it’s interesting that they decided to move on. As a left-handed hitter, Duggar’s skill set doesn’t compliment the Giants’ current cohort of outfielders that includes Gonzalez, Joc Pederson, Mike Yastrzemski, Austin Slater, and LaMonte Wade Jr., who himself is almost ready to return from the injured list. Only Slater among that group bats right-handed.

Of course, Calhoun bats lefty as well, so he’s less of a fit acquisition and more of a rehabilitation project for the staff in Triple-A. Broadly speaking, the Giants work wonders finding roles for players who have been previously unable to find a defined role on a big-league club. Players like Wilmer Flores, Darin Ruf, and Thairo Estrada are players that have found a home in San Francisco’s system. Calhoun has had his opportunities in the bigs, and while he’s no longer a prospect, the Giants are as promising a landing spot as a young vet like Calhoun can hope to find in this league. For now, the Giants can send him directly to Triple-A without adding him to their 40-man roster.

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