The Giants added 3 players, all pitchers, to the 40-man roster to beat the deadline for the Rule 5 Draft to be held during the Winter Meetings the first week in December. The protected players were Erik Miller LHP, Kai-Wei Teng RHP and Trevor McDonald RHP. None of these adds are a complete surprise. Miller and Teng pitched in AAA so are more likely to have the experience necessary to stick on an active roster all season. McDonald might be a reach but selecting an A ball pitcher and stashing them in a MLB bullpen for a season is not unheard of. FZ obviously believes pitchers are more likely to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft and are willing to roll the dice that position prospects Grant McCray and Aeverson Arteaga who have not played above A ball either won't be selected or won't be able to stick on another team's active roster for a full season and thus would have to be offered back. That is a reasonable approach although I would really hate to lose either McCray or Arteaga due to bad roster betting.
As was speculated, Bryan Price was named pitching coach. Price is another veteran coach with managerial experience as the Giants continue their drive to create a coaching staff with gravitas and credibility with the players.
why continue using 40 man spots on Rodriguez & Cruz?
ReplyDeleteGood question. I probably would have dropped one or both to roster McCray and/or Arteaga.
DeleteSzapucki too.
Deletefixating on McCray & Arteaga risk now -- both seem MLB-stashable as depth for '24, even with K problems & still-developing hit tools. Both are going to be better-than-average defensively at most important defensive positions, both are going to get a few HRs even if other batting stats lag, and McCray is lefty bat and would immediately be team's most dangerous baserunner on a lot of MLB rosters. Probably I'm just too in love with this farm system right now
ReplyDeleteI think it's possible some rebuilding team might want to draft and stash McCray or Arteaga which would not be good for either's long term development.
DeleteThis is why I hate the Rule 5 Draft. It's designed to prevent teams from indefinitely stashing prospects who are ready or almost ready for MLB when some other team can use them. That's not the case with either McCray or Arteaga who still need development time and are still relatively young.
DeleteDo you think McCray or Arteaga is ready to spend the entire season on an MLB roster?
ReplyDeleteProbably not, which is what I think FZ is counting on.
DeleteI see the decisions on McCray and Arteaga. I like both but likely too far away for any team to take a chance and waste a roster spot for a year and a years development. On the flip side, I really like the decisions on Teng and MIller. Miller looks ready to be a NLB reliever (maybe like WALKER) and would be scoffed up. I watched TENG in Richmond twice last year and he was absolutely unhittable with a nasty compliment of pitches. Of course, I missed the games when he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn! He continued that in the PCL..But worth the chance to keep him and see if the Giants can iron out his control and, presto, he's a MLB starter..MCDONALD is a bit away but one of the best year's of any Giant pitching Prospect last year and his ceiling looks high, so why even take the chance on an unlikely grab?
ReplyDeleteSteveVA
Was Dave Righetti not available? 🤔
ReplyDelete