Rule 5 Decisions: Cole Waites

Let's start with one who both is and isn't part of our sample pool

Now that we’ve set up the Giants’ situation heading into their Rule 5 protection decisions, let’s start looking at specific cases. As I said on Monday, I want to start this process by looking at a couple of players who aren’t specifically “Rule 5 protection” decisions. Today, I’m going to look at the case for adding right-handed pitcher Cole Waites to the roster, and on Monday I’ll do the same for lefty Juan Sanchez.

Neither of these pitchers is specifically a Rule 5 protection candidate (well, Waites might be, and I’ll get to that in a moment), but both are minor league players whom the Giants are probably considering adding to the 40-man, which puts them in the same basic bucket. And, as impending minor league free agents, the decision point on them comes up sooner — they’ll need to be added to the roster the day after the World Series ends, which means we have less time to talk about them!

So let’s start our series by discussing Waites, the fireballing right-hander who rose from A-ball all the way to the majors back in 2022, and looked like he was going to play a significant role in the Giants’ late-inning relief in 2023, before he was sidelined by, first, ineffectiveness, and then, injury. It’s likely, of course, that some degree of injury actually preceded the ineffectiveness, but it wasn’t until the final week of the 2023 season that Waites finally underwent Tommy John surgery, with the result being that we’ve essentially gone two years without seeing the “real” Waites — the one who I ranked at #11 in the 2023 Top 50!

Now back and throwing again, will Waites re-join the 40-man, after being non-tendered a year ago? Let’s dive in and discuss…