Over two days, the San Francisco Giants made a large number of roster moves, taking people on and off the roster as the offseason looms.

On November 9th, the Giants moved a number of players off the roster, with many being outrighted to Triple-A, a pair being claimed by the Philadelphia Phillies, but also two additions to the 40-Man roster.

On November 10th, the team made use of the space by moving players off the 60-Day Injured List, and making a couple of other moves.

Let’s break down the moves by groups.

Roster Additions

Isan Díaz, IF

The only promotion the Giants made is the result of an April trade the Giants made with the Miami Marlins for cash.  Díaz had spent parts of three forgettable seasons in the Majors with Miami, including batting .193/.292/.282 over 89 games in 2021, but had a great season with Sacramento, putting up a .275/.377/.574 batting line and had the 9th most home runs in the PCL with 23, despite having played less games than anyone else in the Top 10.  The 26-year old can play at third, second, or shortstop and is a left-handed batter, so he could have some real chances as a utility infielder for the big league team in 2023.

Dom Núñez, C

The first of two catchers the Giants claimed off of waivers, Núñez has a good reputation defensively, and puts up solid numbers in walks, but hit just .223/.319/.360 in Albuquerque last season, and has a career .180/.280/.373 batting line over 11 games in three seasons in the big leagues.

Meibrys Viloria, C

A former Kansas City Royals prospect, Viloria signed with the Texas Rangers as a free agent for 2022.  He hit .280/.422/.440 in Triple-A Round Rock over 54 games, and .159/.280/.270 over 26 games in the big leagues.  The 25-year old left-handed hitter has experience over four different seasons in the big leagues, and has a batting line of .201/.270/.283 over 93 games in the bigs.

Drew Strotman, RHP

Strotman has bounced around a lot the past couple of seasons.  2022 was his first full season as a full-time reliever, and he had a 6.32 ERA over 42 games, mostly with St. Paul in the Minnesota Twins organization, but he was claimed off waivers by the Texas Rangers late in September and got three games in Round Rock.  Strotman was originally a Rays prospect, but was traded to the Twins in the 2021 Nelson Cruz deal.  He had a 3.39 ERA before the trade as a starter, but fell off quickly as Twin, posting a 7.33 ERA in 12 starts after.

Players Lost

Evan Longoria, 3B – Option Declined

There’s a lot to say about Longoria, and obviously there’s chatter about the Giants finding a different contract to bring him back.  However, this affects a couple of Giants prospects.  David Villar was recently named the PCL MVP and has really been a revelation as a power hitter over the past two seasons, and the Giant may be ready to give him a bigger role, along with trade acquisition J.D. Davis.  In the longer term, 2020 2nd round pick Casey Schmitt catapulted himself into the Giants’ Top 10 prospect discussion with a huge 2022 season.  Schmitt is an excellent defensive third baseman, and could be poised to make a late 2023 debut in the big leagues, and at the moment, looks like the best in-system long-term answer at third base.

Andrew Vasquez, LHP – Claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies

The Giants picked Andrew Vasquez up off waivers by the Phillies in August. after a whirlwind season of moves.  Vasquez had a 2.20 ERA in Sacramento over 14 relief appearances, and one scoreless 2-inning stint with San Francisco.  Overall, however, he had a 2.23 ERA in 29 games in the minors (all but one in Triple-A), but a 6.23 ERA in nine MLB appearances, mostly in Toronto.  Vasquez, a 2021 Dodger, joined the Blue Jays as a free agent to start 2022, but was waived in August and picked up by the Phillies on August 2nd, only to be DFA’d on the 15th and picked up by the Giants on the 17th.  Vasquez is now back in Philadelphia.

Luis Ortiz, RHP – Claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies

Luis Ortiz joined the Giants as a free agent in the offseason, and put up a 4.54 ERA in Sacramento over 35 appearances, four starts, and a 1.04 ERA in six MLB relief appearances with the Giants.  In Sacramento, Ortiz had 72 strikeouts to 13 waks in 67.1 innings.  Ortiz had nearly the same ERA (4.60) in Round Rock in 2021, so he kept things pretty consistent.

Outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento

Austin Dean, OF

The Giants claimed Austin Dean off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals after the 2021 season, and Dean had a respectable season at Sacramento.  Staying healthy all season, Dean had a .268/.345/.467 batting line with 17 home runs.  He also got a late season callup to SF in September, going 3-for-8 (.375) during a roadtrip in Chicago.  Dean has played parts of five seasons in the big leagues with the Giants, Cubs, and Marlins, with a career .228/.286/.390 MLB batting line over 126 games.

Bryce Johnson, OF

A defensive highlight reel in Sacramento, The 27-year old Johnson finished 2022 with a .290/.369/.401 batting line while carving out time in a crowded outfield.  He’s had at least 30 steals in three of his four full seasons, including 31 steals on 36 attempts in 2022 at Sacramento.  He made his big league debut in 2022, going 2-for-18 (.111) over 11 games with the Giants.

Taylor Jones, IF

Taylor Jones was a late-season pickup by the Giants, off of waivers from the Houston Astros.  Jones had an overall .262/.370/.453 batting line in Triple-A over 74 games, and hit .250/.379/.417 in seven games with Sacramento.  Jones got into one big league game with Houston (1 hitless at-bat), and has a career .234 batting line over 43 MLB games.

RHP Zack Littell, RHP

After being one of the bedrock pieces of the San Francisco bullpen in 2021, Littell struggled in 2022, posting a 5.08 ERA in San Francisco, and getting sent to the minors a couple of times.  Littell had a 5.87 ERA in 15 minor league appearances as well.  It was Littell’s most time spent in the minors since 2019, when he made 20 appearances in Triple-A Rochester.

Ford Proctor, IF

Another of the Giants’ trade acquisitions, the Giants got Proctor in a trade for reliever Jeremy Walker at the deadline.  Proctor hit .267/.390/.448 in 34 games with the River Cats, and also got into seven games at the Majors, going 2-for-18 (.111).  Proctor played all over the infield, as well as some time at catcher, including a single inning at backstop in the big leagues.