We will soon get some insight into how the Giants value their current and minor league players, and not a moment too soon. The Buster Posey era has largely consisted (so far) to hearing about coaches and front office personnel taking jobs elsewhere, along with appointments to Minasian, Martinez, and Winn.
Namely, we will get some roster moves. Hooray!!! So-called “reserve lists” are due on the 19th. That likely means a few guys will be added to the 40-man so they won’t disappear in the Rule 5 draft at the Winter meetings. And contract tenders to pre-arb and arb-eligible players are due by the 22nd. The latter group includes Camilo Doval, Monty Wade, Tyler Rogers, and Mike Yastrzemski.
Players who entered pro ball prior to the age of 18 more than 5 years ago, or 4 or more years since entering from age 19 on up can be taken in the Rule 5 draft, unless they are placed on the MLB 40-man roster. It is kind of impossible to get a comprehensive list of all Giants minor leaguers who fit into that 5/18 and 4/19 stuff! But from a couple of sources, we have a partial listing:
• pitchers Carson Seymour, Carson Ragsdale (but not Carson #3, Whisenhunt), Will Bednar, R. J. Dabovitch, Seth Lonsway, Ryan Murphy.
• infielders Brett Auerbach, Christian Koss, Will Wilson, Luis Toribio, Aeverson Arteaga (who lost 2024 to an operation), Logan Wyatt
• catchers Onil Perez, Andy Thomas
• outfielders Victor Bericoto, Vaun Brown, Jairo Pomares, Hunter Bishop
Many people think the only two who will be given a coveted 40-man spot are Seymour and Ragsdale, and I can’t disagree. But the Giants often surprise us, for example by giving Erik Miller a roster spot in fall 2023, along with Trevor McDonald and Kai-Wei Teng. Tyler Fitzgerald, Marco Luciano, and Luis Matos were put on the 40 in fall 2022, and Randy Rodriguez got his spot in fall 2021. It is well worth paying attention to the names who get added to the roster on Tuesday!
And conversely, we will learn about whom the organization has lost faith in. Donovan Walton is already waived (and on a minor league deal with the Mets), to put the Giants roster at only 39. Kai-Wei Teng is an obvious candidate to join him, but Tom Murphy’s, David Villar’s, or Blake Sabol’s claim to a roster spot may also be up in the air. Or there could be a quick trade (perhaps of Taylor Rogers?) to create roster spots.
The arbitration contract tenders are likely to be less interesting – everyone seems to think all four guys up for that will be given a contract. Pay Yaz the money!
