Hot Stove League Update: Minor Signings: Around the League

 Hey team!  I hope everybody is having a great Thanksgiving.  Sorry I have not posted more often but the Hot Stove is barely warm and I've been crazy busy and stressed with work and family responsiblities.  

The Giants Hot Stove is barely smoldering as we head into Thanksgiving weekend with no major activity at the MLB level.  They have signed three minor league free agents who we will catch up on here:

Yusniel Diaz OF.  DOB:  10/7/2023.  B-R, T-R.  6'1", 215 lbs.  AA:  .278/.374/.484, 16 HR, 7 SB, 13.8 BB%, 19.2 K%, 406 PA.  If this name sounds familiar, he was once a top prospect in the Dodgers system signed out of Cuba.  He was traded to the Orioles in 2018 for Manny Machado and was subsequently the top rated prospect in the O's system.  He has struggled at higher levels and managed just one MLB PA in which he struck out.  He's now 27 yo and running out of time but continued to show power and intriguing K/BB in AA last season.  The Giants placed him on the AAA roster is a depth option 

Chase Pinder OF.  DOB:  3/16/1996.   B-R, T- R.  5'10", 185 lbs.  AAA:  .265/.401/.417, 6 HR, 8 SB, 17.2 BB%, 23.7 K%, 279 PA.  Chad Pinder's lil' bro.  The Giants are looking for a true CF and Pinder fits the description.  Not a lot of power but terrific K/BB's.  Signs a minor league deal with the Giants after spending his entire pro career in the Cardinals organization.

Spencer Howard RHP.  DOB:  7/28/2023.  6'3", 210 lbs.  AAA(Rangers):  1-1, 5.40, 18.1 IP, 14.73 K/9, 3.44 BB/9.  AAA(Yankees):  0-1, 16.88, 2.2 IP, 13.50 K/9, 0.00 BB/9.  MLB(Rangers):  0-0, 10.80, 3.1 IP, 5.40 BB/9, 8.10 BB/9.  Howard was once a top rated prospect with the Phillies whose career has been derailed by a string of injuries.  Giants will give him the low-risk chance to stay healthy and regain his top prospect form of 4 impact pitches.

*************************************************************************************

Around the League:

As was widely expected, Aaron Nola RHP re-signed with the Phillies for 7 yr/$170 M.  Nola has been a rock-steady, durable SP for the Phillies throughout his career after arriving in the majors less than 1 year after being the 7'th overall draft pick in 2014.  Still this seems like a long contract for a guy who is entering his age 31 season and had a bit of a down tick in 2023 with a 4.46 ERA and a fWAR of 3.9.  The FB velocity and K/BB remained strong so it's unlikely the contract will be a complete bust for the Phillies.  12-9, 4.46, 193 IP, 9.39 K/9, 2.09 BB/9.  xFIP= .3.63.  

Someone asked about Eugenio Suarez 3B for the Giants.  The Mariners traded him yesterday to the D'Backs for a couple of prospects.  Suarez is a good defensive 3B with some power who would compare favorably with Matt Chapman.  At his peak he hit 49 HR's with the Reds in 2019.  He was traded to the Mariners after a down season in 2021.  He's been extraordinarily durable with over 600 PA's in 6 of his 10 MLB seasons and all but 2 since 2015.  He's 32 yo and coming off a season where most of his value was on defense.

The Cardinals are well known to be hurting for SP's, so much so they are thought to be interested in trading from their overabundance of young OF's.  Well, they have already started to address that issue with 2 FA signings:  Lance Lynn RHP and Kyle Gibson RHP.  Lance Lynn's 2023 season went south in hail of HR's so the Cardinals are counting on him normalizing his HR/FB.  Kyle Gibson had a much better season by inducing a lot of GB outs, something some analysts thought might make him attractive to the Giants.  The Cardinals may still be interested in trading for more arms but they could also now be in position to be in play to sign a frontline SP like Yamamoto or Snell.