Giants’ big cast of rookies, castoffs has team playing with some spark

Rafael Devers was the only member of the San Francisco Giants‘ lineup Tuesday who was there in April. Even his now firm middle-of-the-order sidekick, Bryce Eldridge, didn’t come up until May. 

This collection of rookies, such as Eldridge – who hit his 16th homer of the season in the Giants’ 2-1 win over the Cardinals at Oracle Park, and castoffs from other organizations have the team playing .500 ball this month while displaying a lot of energy and moxie, most of them just delighted to get a shot at playing in the big leagues. 

Recently added reliever Joel Kuhnel, who came in to get a big third out with the bases loaded in the eighth Tuesday and then picked up the save in the ninth, is one of 64 players the team has used and the 11th man to record a save, matching the franchise record set in 1964. When infielder Brett Harris, called up earlier in the day, and reliever Philip Abner get involved, San Francisco will tie the franchise record of 66 players used in a season set by transaction enthusiast Farhan Zaidi in 2022. 

This is quite a change from last year, when the Giants’ roster was stable. The front office averaged fewer than eight transactions per month during the season with zero waiver claims. Early this season, too, the team kept the dreaded churn to a minimum, doing little the first month that didn’t involve a player landing on the injured list. Plus a trade in that stretch that went a little under the radar  – the front office acquired Dylan Smith from Detroit for cash March 30. The rookie is now among the better rookie relievers in the league. 

Finally, on July 6, Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey, a year and a half into his tenure, made his first in-season waiver claim, grabbing right-hander Eric Cerantola, who’s pitching at Triple-A Sacramento. Posey has made five more claims since, including two this month in Harris (Boston) and Kuhnel (Milwaukee). Shay Whitcomb, a regular at third base since shortstop Willy Adames went on the IL and Christian Koss shifted to short, was acquired on waivers from Arizona last month. 

All that plus there was a fun minor-league signing a week ago: second baseman Darren Baker, Dusty’s son, best known as the toddler batboy who J.T. Snow scooped out of harm’s way during the 2002 World Series. 

In August alone, the Giants made more moves than they did all of last year during the season, in part because of the high number of injuries. There were plenty, though, that were for baseball reasons, trying to find the right fits in the bullpen and in the infield in particular. 

“Obviously, not being in the playoff race gives us an opportunity to give players an opportunity we otherwise wouldn’t see,” general manager Zack Minasian said. “That’s been a big factor, and we’ve dealt with a lot of injuries, especially of late, and that creates opportunity. We traded away six major-league players at the deadline, that creates opportunities. 

Giants 2, Cardinals 1

a-grounded out for Gorman in the 7th. b-lined out for Basabe in the 7th.

1-ran for Torres in the 9th.

E: Basabe (4). LOB_St. Louis 10, San Francisco 8. 2B: Hill (6). HR: Eldridge (16), off Mathews; Koss (4), off Mathews. RBIs: Torres (19), Eldridge (49), Koss (9). SB: McCray (5), Scott (10). S: Cox.

Runners left in scoring position: St. Louis 7 (Báez 2, Herrera, Walker 2, Church, Bernal); San Francisco 6 (Koss 2, Knizner 2, Lee 2). RISP: St. Louis 1 for 9; San Francisco 0 for 5.

Runners moved up: Walker, Winn. GIDP: Walker, Saggese.

DP: San Francisco 2 (Whitcomb, Basabe, Devers; Whitcomb, Basabe, Devers).

Inherited runners-scored_Kuhnel 3-0. WP_Seymour. PB_Knizner (2).

ABS Challenge: Roupp (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Mathews (Ball-Confirmed); Graceffo (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Herrera (Strike-Confirmed).

Umpires: Home, Sean Barber; First, John Libka; Second, D.J. Reyburn; Third, James Hoye.

T: 2:25. A: 27,787 (41,915).

“We wish our record was flipped and we were seeing a lot of familiar faces, but hopefully, we can turn this negative into a positive and figure some things out for the near future.”

One side effect: San Francisco has 15 players on the 60-day IL, which is extraordinary. No other team has more than 10. Could that be a problem when the 60-day IL list ends after the season and those players must go back on the 40-man roster? Most are firmly in the team’s 2027 plans, which means many of these players recently promoted or claimed will be let go – and the Giants also will need room on the 40-man to protect players such as outfielder Bo Davidson from the Rule 5 draft. 

That means quite a few of those working for the Giants right now are auditioning for 29 other teams, too. Most players know the lay of the land when it comes to roster room, and if they don’t, their agents certainly do. This is still a terrific opportunity for the Whitcombs and Kuhnels of the world. 

“It’s a huge compliment that we have talent beyond just the active players,” Minasian said. “I don’t necessarily see it as a negative to have difficult roster decisions to make. To me, it shows that there are players who have ability who can be successful up here and we just have to make those decisions one at a time.

“We need to accumulate as much talent as possible and it will take care of itself for the most part.”

The Giants called up Harris, 28, before the game. The former A’s player was claimed on waivers from Boston five days earlier.

To make room for Harris, the Giants sent catcher Zach Morgan back to Sacramento. The hope is that he comes back before the end of the season and when he does, that the Stockton native finally makes his big-league debut. That would be the 16th big-league debut for the Giants this year – and player 67, breaking that Zaidi record. 

“The new, fresh energy that comes in every day and the welcoming vibe that the guys get when they get here, it’s been fun to see,” manager Tony Vitello said. 

Landen Roupp started Tuesday and worked six scoreless and Koss joined Eldridge with a solo homer. Devers, named the NL Player of the Week earlier in the day after six homers, 13 RBIs and a 1.669 OPS, saw his four-game hitting streak snapped but turned in some smooth work at first including a nice scoop in the seventh on a bouncer from Whitcomb. 

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This article originally published at Giants’ big cast of rookies, castoffs has team playing with some spark.