The Giants wrapped up a quiet but weirdly successful week at the Winter Meetings by trading for Daniel Susac C who was the Twins selection in the Rule 5 Draft. The Giants did not make any selections of their own in the major league phase but lost two minor league pitchers, Spencer Miles RHP and Ryan Watson RHP. They also did not make any selections in the minor league phase but lost 5 more prospects: Junior Flores RHP, Ryan Murphy RHP, Carter Howell OF, Jan Caraballo RHP and Evan Gates RHP. Let's break it down:
Giants acquire:
Daniel Susac C. DOB: 5/14/2001. B-R, T-R. 6' 4", 218 lbs.
2025(AAA): .275/.349/.483, 18 HR, 7 SB, 8.6 BB%, 26.8 K%, 407 PA.
Younger brother of Andrew Susac a former Giants 2'nd round draft pick who got a World Series Ring for his contributions to the 2014 World Series Championship team. Those look like nice numbers from AAA but he played his home games in Las Vegas which is an extreme hitter's environment. He will compete for a back up catcher role in 2026 but must be kept on the Giants active roster all season or be offered back to the A's. The other catching prospect expected to compete for a back up role in spring training is Jesus Rodriguez but JRod has 2 options so if the Giants want to keep both players in the organization they can do that by using Susac as the back up catcher for the MLB team with Rodriguez getting more salt in AAA Sacramento. I think Rodriguez has some positional flexibility so if the Giants really like his bat, they could roster both at the MLB level.
Giants trade:
Miguel Caraballo C. DOB: 8/26/2008. B-S, T-R. 6' 0", 190 lbs.
2025(DSL): .264/.432/.442, 5 HR, 8 SB, 16.6 BB%, 22.5 K%, 169 PA.
So I'm not so sure how down I am with this trade. Caraballo put up better than decent numbers as a 16 year old in the DSL. He's a switch-hitting catcher. I get that it's going be at least 3 more seasons before he reaches the upper majors and most likely will never see the major leagues but oof! This one feels like it could come back to bite in about, oh, 5-6 years. Oh well, a bird in the hand......I guess it comes down to one lottery ticket for another and the one the Giants are left holding might pay off now, rather than 5 or 6 years from now.
The Giants lose(at least temporarily):
Spencer Miles RHP. DOB: 7/26/2000. 6' 3", 180 lbs. 2025(AFL): 2-0, 4.15, 8.2 IP, 12 K, 1 BB.
Ryan Watson RHP. DOB: 11/15/1997. 6' 5", 225 lbs. 2025(AAA): 4-3, 4.26, 50.2 IP, 11.37 K/9, 2.84 BB/9.
The Giants drafted Miles in the 4'th round in 2022. He was beset by injuries limiting him to just 14.2 IP in his pro career so far. He's always had good stuff and he reportedly had electric stuff in the Arizona Fall League which is probably what led to him being selected today. Those are excellent numbers Ryan Watson given the strongly negative pitching environment in the PCL. Selecting teams must keep Miles and Watson in their active roster all season or offer them back to the Giants which I have to think the Giants would accept.
The Giants lose(probably permanently):
Junior Flores RHP. DOB: 2/13/2002. 6' 1", 170 lbs. 2025(A/A+): 0-0, 3.38, 10.2 IP, 8.44 K/9, 8.44 BB/9, 1 Save. International prospect in the organization since 2021. Has never pitched impressively.
Ryan Murphy RHP. DOB: 10/8/1999. 6' 1", 190 lbs. 2025(A/AA): 0-1, 5.59, 19.1 IP, 6.05 K/9, 4.19 BB/9. Was not able to replicate early pro success at higher levels and ran into injury issues.
Carter Howell OF. DOB: 2/7/1999. B-R, T-R. 6' 0", 200 lbs. 2025(AA): .221/.304/.335, 7 HR, 8 SB, 8.2 BB%, 21.6 K%, 439 PA. NDFA. Seemed to hit a wall last season after a promising start to his pro career.
Jan Caraballo RHP. DOB: 10/20/2003. 6' 6", 181 lbs. 2025(ACL): 0-0, 4.30, 14.2 IP, 10.43 K/9, 2.45 BB/9, 2 Saves. I'm always a little extra interested in young pitching prospects who are 6' 6" tall but Caraballo was in the organization 5 seasons without making much of an impact. Giants have a lot of young pitching talent in the lower minors so probably just didn't have roster room to protect him.
Evan Gates RHP. DOB: 1/13/1998. 6' 0", 210 lbs. 2025(AA): 3-2, 3.23, 69.2 IP, 10.33 K/9, 4.00 BB/9, 5 Saves. NDFA from 2021. Always posted strong strikeout numbers and decent ERA's. Walk rates were not ideal but he induced more GB's than FB's. He's a guy I might have wanted to hang onto but again, the Giants have a lot of young pitching.
Comment: The Giants seem to be tickled pink with acquiring Daniel Susac. My problem is I'm not convinced he's going to stick as the back up catcher all season and I really, really hate to see them trade the kid, Miguel Caraballo. There is a good chance Miles and Watson find their way back to the Giants system. No huge losses in the minor league phase.
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