The SF Giants picked up a subtle new link to the Tampa Bay Rays through the draft, and it runs straight through the Rays’ broadcast booth.
Tampa Bay play-by-play voice Doug Waechter is the father of Giants second-round pick Kaden Waechter, who landed with San Francisco in this year’s draft after receiving a $3.2 million signing bonus to pull him away from his commitment to Florida State University.
Waechter’s own baseball path included six major league seasons in the 2000s, with his most notable stretch coming during a four-year run with Tampa Bay. He finished his big league career after the 2009 season, with a 5.34 ERA across 113 appearances and 54 starts. After that, he pitched in winter ball during the 2010-2011 season.
Once his playing days were over, Waechter moved into broadcasting. He has spent the past 11 years as a play-by-play broadcaster and studio analyst for the Rays.
Tampa Bay’s broadcast group also includes former major league players Matt Joyce and Denard Span as studio analysts. Span spent two seasons with the Giants late in his career and also had a brief stint with Tampa Bay.
The Giants-Rays overlap does not stop there. Austin Slater, who ended his San Francisco run midway through the 2024 season after being the team’s longest-tenured player at the time, appeared in seven games for Tampa Bay in 2026. That makes him eligible for a World Series ring if the Rays win, even though he was not called upon again to wear a Rays uniform.
Since leaving San Francisco, Slater has bounced around the league. Over the past two and a half seasons, he has played for seven major league teams, a path that has become common for platoon players. He finished the year in Tampa Bay’s organization, which is what made him playoff-eligible.
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