The Giants continued to set the stage for their offseason by making a number of 40-Man roster moves, including additions, DFA’s, and one trade to decide which prospects will be protected from their Rule 5 roster.

The team added RHP Tristan Beck, RHP Jose Cruz, IF Marco Luciano, OF Luis Matos, and RHP Keaton Winn to their 40-man roster, while making a trade, acquiring IF Brett Wisely from Tampa Bay in exchange for utility player Tristan Peters, also adding him to the 40-man.  

To make room for the moves, the Giants designated seven players for assignment, removing them from the 40-man roster: RHP Sam Delaplane, LHP Jarlín García, C Dom Núñez, RHP Drew Strotman, C Meibrys Viloria, IF Jason Vosler, and IF Colton Welker.

The moves are primarily so certain prospects are protected from the upcoming Rule 5 Draft, which occurs on the last day of the Winter Meetings on December 7th.

Brett Wisely, 23, was the Tampa Bay Rays 15th round pick in 2019.  In 2022, he hit .273/.366/.455 on the year with 25 doubles, six triples, and 15 home runs, mostly in Double-A.  Wisely played mostly at second, third, and shortstop, but also played quite a few games at first, plus three games in left field.  The Giants have placed a lot of priority on infielders with versatility over the last few years.

Tristan Peters was a trade deadline acquisition by the Giants in 2022, being acquired in a trade for pitcher Trevor Rosenthal with the Milwaukee Brewers.  Peters was a 7th round pick in 2021 by the Brewers, and hit .306/.286/.485 in High-A for the Brewers before the trade.  The Giants pushed Peters to Double-A after the trade, where he struggled, batting .212/.302/.303.

With many players being removed from 40-man rosters this week, the players who were designated for assignment are not likely to be picked up on waivers by others.  It’s notable that both catchers the Giants picked up on waivers earlier in the week, Núñez and Viloria, were both DFA’d.

The Rule 5 Draft was set up to prevent players from stashing more prospects than they have room for on their roster, allowing young players to get an opportunity with another team if they haven’t gotten a chance with their original team.  For a player to be eligible for the draft, a player needs to be protected within four seasons if they were signed or drafted after the age of 18, or within five seasons if they were signed at age 18 or younger.

A team that selects a prospect from another’s roster must pay that team $100,000, and keep the player on the team’s 26-man roster all season, and must be placed on and pass through outright waivers if he is to be removed.  If he passes waivers, his previous team can get the prospect back for $50,000 and be outrighted back to the minors, remaining off the 40-man roster.  If a selected player is put on the Injured List, he must also remain active for 90 days in the subsequent season before he remains on his new club without restrictions.

The 2021 Rule 5 Draft was cancelled after it was delayed by the owner’s Lockout as the owners and player’s union negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement.  As the new CBA was not signed until well into what would have been Spring Training, the sides agreed to cancel the Rule 5 Draft.  Because of that, approximately double the players than normal are eligible for the draft than usual.