(My promised shot of Junior Flores’ glorious flow in the foreground here, as well as Gerelmi Maldonado, whom we’ll get to in a moment, casting me a wary glance)
It looks like the minor league administrative calendar has now opened, and teams begin the dance of staying under the new 165-player domestic reserve maximum (the offseason maximum is 175, though, confusingly, those two limits count slightly different pools of players (don’t ask, it’s a mind-bender). By my editor’s count, the Giants are currently at 171, counting the players they’ve optioned so far this spring (but NOT counting the NRIs still in big league camp). That means they still have work to do to before the minor league season begins
Yesterday, the Giants made a series of moves aimed at helping them stay under the max, moving a number of players to various injury lists. Players on either the 60-day IL or the “Injured — Full Season” lists do not count against the 165 limit (though each of those lists have limits of their own which change from year to year). Eight different Giants prospects have officially been added to those lists:
Aeverson Arteaga, 60-day IL
Michael Stryffeler, 60-day IL
Dariel Lopez, 60-day IL
Cole Waites, 60-day IL
Liam Simon, 60-day IL
Spencer Miles, 60-day IL
Marques Johnson, 60-day IL
Gerelmi Maldonado, Full Season
The continued injury-status of Miles is certainly disappointing, as he’s now entering Will Bednar territory of continued inactivity. He has an exciting arm, so it has to be incredibly frustrating for him to be sidelined for so long. Johnson, whom I haven’t seen at the complex yet this spring, was shut down after a short stint in the AFL last October, and it now appears that that was a significant injury that an offseason didn’t help. It’s not surprising, but still a little sad to see that Arteaga’s timeline is officially at least 60 days out, and that we won’t see him until at least sometime in June.
Better news, perhaps, can be gleaned from the fact that the Giants placed Waites on the 60-day rather than the Full Season list. That would suggest at least a glimmer of hope that Waites can make an appearance or two before the season ends. His surgery came in the final week of the major league season, around the 1st of October, so that would be pushing things quite a bit. I had heard he was unlikely to get on a mound until spring of 2025, but their unwillingness to place him on the irrevocable full season injured list would at least leave the door open a crack to a ‘24 stat line, however brief.
And, as long as I’m onto administrative items, I’ve been meaning to mention for a couple of days now the final repercussions of the Giants’ March moves. Because both Matt Chapman and Blake Snell rejected qualifying offers from their former teams this winter, the Giants are taxed both their 2nd and 3rd round picks in this summer’s draft, as well as $1 million from their international free agent pool. I saw both Scouting Director Michael Holmes and Special Assistant John Barr at Papago yesterday and joked that their job will be a little harder now. Barr laughed and said “we’ll be fine.” Trust me, nobody in the scouting department is bemoaning the fact that the big league club added two major talents to their roster.
In the last mailbag, longtime reader Lyle asked about an early assessment of the Giants’ draft position, and I said I thought their 13th position this year was in a spot that was likely going to lead to a college player, and I would say the loss of the bonus pool money associated with those picks makes that even more likely (as it’s harder to buy high school kids out of college commitments with the smaller pool). The strength of this draft class lies in the college class, so that’s not a bad thing — and I think the Giants’ scouts have proven the last few years that they can find some real gems in the more obscure corners of the college class. The international bonus money could cause some rearranging of commitments, though I doubt it will impact their presumed connection to top talent Joshuar de Jesus. But it will be interesting to see if they swing any deals for international bonus pool money (which is allowable under this CBA) over the next year.
Now to the action at camp yesterday, along with a few observations. Let’s start things off with a bang!
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