Bay Bridge Series Game Wrap 3/25/2019: A's 5 Giants 4

For some reason the Giants and A's decided to play a game that didn't count in a driving Northern California rainstorm. Thankfully, I have not seen any reports of injuries coming out of it from either team.  Key Lines:

Steven Duggar CF- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .326.  Duggar should have the starting CF job locked up.

Erik Kratz C- 1 for 2.  BA= .258.  Kratz was acquired yesterday and appears to have the inside track for the backup catcher role. His single in the 7'th inning drove in 2 runs.

Michael Reed RF/CF- 0 for 3, BB, Assist(3B).  BA= .227.  Late acquisition fighting for a reserve OF role.  Showed off his arm from RF with an assist at 3B.

Tom Murphy PH/DH- 1 for 2.  BA= .267.  Murph was acquired from the Rockies earlier in the day throwing some uncertainty into the Roster Churn.  He's out of options, so do the Giants keep 3 catchers on the roster?  Will Farhan figure out how to get Murphy to AAA and still keep him?  Word is the Dereck Rodriguez will start the season in Sacramento.  Will Farhan figure out how to essentially stream a SP or two all season effectively lengthening his roster to 26 or 27 players?  That's essentially what the Dodgers did for the past 2 seasons.

Connor Joe- LF/1B- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .245.  Will Joe's added versatility be enough to beat out Pablo Sandoval's experience?

Shaun Anderson RHP- 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 4/1.  ERA= 1.69.  Anderson showed some big league moxie pitching his way out of a first inning jam with just 1 run allowed then retiring his final 7 batters.  Kruk and Kuip were raving about his stuff as he walked off the field.  Looks like the Giants have a legit SP prospect here.

Ty Blach LHP- 0.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 6.08.  Blach's last 2 appearances have not gone well.  I read that he has an option, so it looks like Sacramento is in his future.

Tyler Rogers RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  3 K's and 3 GB outs in his last 2 appearances.  I want more of Tyler Rogers.

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Up Next:  Drew Pomeranz was a late scratch, presumably due to the weather, and will team up with Jeff Samardzija to work the Bay Bridge finale today.

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As the Roster Churns:  As mentioned above, the Giants claimed C Tom Murphy off waivers from the Rockies.  I really like Murph's power.  I even wrote him up as a Breakout Candidate for my Fantasy Focus a couple of years ago.  Ironically, it's his defense that has held him back.  He's out of options and it is really unclear what the Giants think they are going to do with him.  Try to sneak him through waivers at the last minute?  Carry 3 catchers on the 25 man roster?  Lengthen the roster by streaming SP's between Sacramento and SF?  Stay tuned.  I will say, if Farhan figures out how to keep Murph and tap into his power, I will be impressed!

The Giants solved one roster crunch by trading Chris Stratton to the Angels for a big, hard throwing LHP Williams Jerez.  I saw Jerez pitch on TV over the weekend and he can bring it.  Per Fangraphs, he averaged 95+ MPH on the FB last year.  Jerez has options, which Stratton did not, so he can be stashed in Sacramento and gives the Giants additional LHP depth.  This is a decent return for Stratton who could still blossom with the Angels.

And finally, Aramis Garcia was optioned to Sacramento, an expected move.