A couple of days after agreeing to a major deal with a new starting pitcher, the Giants added two players to increase their depth at two important positions.
Early on Sunday, the Giants claimed catcher José Godoy off of waivers from the Seattle Mariners. Later in the day, the team signed former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez to a minor league deal.
Both moves give the Giants important depth at key positions. The team is expected to use rookie Joey Bart as their primary catcher after the retirement of Buster Posey, with Curt Casali to act as a backup. However, the Giants don’t have much catching at the higher levels to fill out Triple-A depth or act as options in case of injury. At pitcher, Carlos Rodon will fill out the rotation, but teams often need many starting pitching options throughout the season. Martinez will give the Giants experienced depth.
Godoy, 27, made his major league debut in 2021 for the Mariners after having been in the minors since 2012, having signed with the Cardinals in 2011 for a $200K bonus, and left after 2020 as a free agent, signing with Seattle. Godoy hit .285/.330/.413 in Triple-A for the Mariners in Tacoma, and in 16 games at the majors, hit .162/.225/.189. When Godoy made his debut in the bigs, he made history as the 20,000th MLB player to make his debut.
Claiming Godoy puts him on the 40-man roster, filling the Giants’ last official spot on the roster. With Carlos Rodon not yet officially signed, the Giants will need to clear a spot on the roster to get it done.
Martinez, 30, is a 9-year MLB veteran who has been limited the last two seasons thanks to injuries. He has a career 3.74 ERA, but had a 6.23 ERA as a starter in St. Louis in 2021, and a 9.90 ERA with five starts in 2020. His injury troubles date to a shoulder problem in 2019, when he was moved to the bullpen. He faced COVID-19 and oblique muscle issues in 2020, and had a torn ligament in his right thumb in 2021 that ended his season in July.
According to reports, his deal will guarantee him $2.5 million if he makes the majors, and could grow to $4 million. The Giants could stash him in Sacramento as a starter option there, helping him come back from the thumb injury. Or they may keep him in the big leagues a long-man in the bullpen if he doesn’t outright win a spot. But his depth could be important, on a team that has three other starters with recent injury history in Rodon, Alex Wood, and Alex Cobb.
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