The Giants’ roster has been battered so badly this season that even the simplest depth move now feels urgent.
With Casey Schmitt, Matt Chapman, Daniel Susac, Willy Adames, Jesus Rodriguez, Harrison Bader and Victor Bericoto all sidelined among the position players, and Hayden Birdsong, Randy Rodríguez, Trevor McDonald, Carson Whisenhunt, Adrian Houser, José Buttó, Matt Gage, Rowan Wick and Keaton Winn on the injured list as well, San Francisco is running out of easy answers. The club has already had to patch together the active roster in a major way - it made 10 roster moves on August 24 alone, before Adames and Whisenhunt went on the IL - and September callups are right around the corner.
That has pushed the Giants toward a simple question: who out there can eat innings or cover at-bats without costing much more than a prorated salary?
A few recently designated or waived players fit that description, even if none of them looks like a clean fix.
Eugenio Suárez is the headliner. He signed a one-year reunion deal with the Reds, but it has gone sideways.
FanGraphs has him at -0.4 WAR, and his 93 OPS+ would be his lowest since 2021, the last time he played in Cincinnati. Even so, he’s still launched 19 home runs this season, and last year he crushed 49 between Arizona and Seattle.
For the Giants, the appeal is obvious: there isn’t a real answer at third base right now, with Buddy Kennedy and Shay Whitcomb positioned for most of the at-bats there. That’s a far cry from the outlook they had when Matt Chapman and Casey Schmitt were healthy.
Michael Lorenzen is another name on the board. The California native has logged parts of 12 big league seasons, with 144 starts in 421 appearances, and the Rockies cut him loose just over a week ago.
His season line is rough - a 7.08 ERA in 115.2 innings - but he could still make sense as an Adrian Houser-type stopgap, handling a couple of multi-inning relief outings and maybe a spot start. For a staff this thin, that kind of utility matters.
Zack Littell brings familiarity. He was on the Giants with Buster Posey during the 2021 season, though his follow-up in San Francisco was less kind, as he posted a 5.08 ERA in 44.1 innings in 2022.
Since then, he’s bounced around, spending this year with the Nationals and Diamondbacks. His 5.21 ERA and 13.5% strikeout rate won’t jump off the page, but he has thrown 124.1 innings this season.
At this stage, availability counts for plenty.
Austin Slater is another former Giant who could make some sense. He spent his first seven seasons in San Francisco before moving on and never really finding a long-term home elsewhere.
During his Giants days, he was known as a lefty-killer, and the club still struggles badly against left-handed pitching. Slater is 33 now, and his 69 wRC+ across three teams this year suggests modest expectations at best.
Outfield depth is not the biggest issue on the roster, but with Bader and Bericoto hurt, and both expected to factor against lefties, a reunion would not be hard to imagine.
TJ Friedl is the other outfielder in the mix, and like Suárez, he was placed on waivers at the same time. He was once viewed as a core piece for the Reds, but this season has gone off the rails: -0.9 WAR and a 33 wRC+.
That is a stunning drop from last year’s 3.1 WAR and 111 wRC+. Friedl is 31 and still under control for two more years beyond this one, which gives him some appeal, and he can play both left field and center field.
The catch is that he bats left-handed, and the Giants’ bigger need right now is infield help. Still, if he lands in their lap, it would be hard to ignore the chance.
And beyond this group, the Giants are surely checking every possible option for fresh bodies. More injuries could change the picture again at any moment. At this point, they may need reinforcements for the roster - and maybe for the medical staff too.
In Other News...
Giants Infield Shuffle Could Mean More Than A Buddy Kennedy Exit
Bryce Eldridge is back with the Giants after a brief stay on the bereavement list, and the roster move that made room for him sent Buddy Kennedy off the 40-man roster. It is the kind of infield shuffle that can look routine on the surface, especially for a player like Kennedy, who has hit much better in Triple-A than he has in the majors and has spent much of this season fighting for a foothold.
The wrinkle for San Francisco is what comes next, because Kennedy has already used up his option years and now has to go through waivers. If another club claims him, the Giants lose a depth piece they clearly had room for only in the short term; if he gets through, his past outright assignments give him the ability to choose free agency, leaving his future tied to a process the Giants cannot fully control. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Already Have One Painful Question About That Red Sox Trade
The early returns on the Red Sox-Giants swap have been impossible to ignore from San Franciscos side. Marcelo Mayer still has not made his Giants debut because of injury, while Erik Miller has settled quickly into Bostons bullpen and has not allowed an earned run in his first 10 appearances. For a deal built around a high-upside prospect and immediate major league help, the contrast has been stark enough to make the trade feel like a live conversation rather than a finished transaction.
Millers underlying numbers have only sharpened the point, with a strong FIP and a strikeout rate that suggest the Red Sox may have found a real late-inning arm. Add in three more seasons of team control, and Bostons end of the deal suddenly looks even more valuable if Miller keeps pitching this way. For the Giants, the question now is whether Mayer can get on the field soon enough to keep this from becoming the kind of trade that looks harder to defend with every passing week. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Suddenly Face A Willy Adames Problem That Wont End Here
Willy Adames first season in San Francisco has taken another hard turn, with the Giants confirming the shortstop has a left UCL sprain and will go through rest and rehabilitation after receiving a PRP injection. The club said the usual recovery window is 3-4 weeks, but manager Tony Vitello made clear the outlook is far murkier than that, saying it is unlikely Adames will return this season and that surgery is not currently on the table.
For a Giants team already trying to manage a long list of health issues, the timing is brutal. Catcher Jess Rodrguez has hit a setback in his recovery from right elbow neuritis, while right-hander Adrian Houser is now working through a right flexor strain with rehab plans still to be determined. Even without a definitive end point on Adames, the bigger concern for San Francisco is how quickly this latest injury stretches an already thin roster even further. [Read more 🡒]