The Skillz Report

Ex-Giants Around The Majors (And Minors) 2016

 

 

(originally posted 8/18/16)

 

 

 

After a memorable return to the Bay Area for ex-Giant Ryan Vogelsong Monday night, followed two days later by a conversation with D-Rock about "beloved" Giants of yesteryear, I've decided it's time for a 2016 edition of Ex-Giants Around The Majors (And Minors). If a familiar name from the past is not on this list, assume he's out of Major League Baseball, deceased, or wasn't a notable enough Giant to be featured here. Drop me a line if you're wondering about someone unlisted below. 

 

 

(years with Giants in parentheses)

 

David Aardsma (2004): He's still around, 12 years after being traded to the Cubs for LaTroy Hawkins in 2005. Aardsma, who was the Mariners closer around decade's turn before injuries derailed him, was in the majors just last season with Atlanta; this year he opened with AAA Syracuse (Blue Jays) before opting out or his deal. At 34, he could conceivably land another paying gig.

Nori Aoki (2015): Aoki played very well in his early months as a Giant, until a hit-by-pitch and later concussion abbreviated what had been a fine season. He moved on to Seattle for 2016; after a slow start that cost him leadoff privileges for a time, Aoki has batted just under .300 since 5/24 and will soon eclipse his 2015 games played total with over a month to go.

Joaquin Arias (2012-15): Arias was a valuable infield sub for two championship Giants teams, but when the '15 Giants needed a full-time 2B for injured Joe Panik, Arias lost his roster spot to Kelby Tomlinson. The 32-year-old (next month) tried and failed to win a job with the Diamondbacks this spring and has not played professionally since.

Carlos Beltran (2011): Much opposition was voiced when the Giants gave up young flamethrower Zack Wheeler to get Beltran in mid-2011, but five years later the deal doesn't look so silly. In fact, Wheeler has missed two seasons with injury while 39-year-old Beltran keeps chuggling along. He was the Yankees' best hitter in 2016 (and an All-Star!) until being traded to Texas at the deadline—through August 17, Beltran is slugging a composite .540 in his 19th season.

Mike Broadway (2015-16): Hard-throwing reliever Broadway gave the '15 Giants a lift after working 10+ seasons in the minors. Unfortuately, he couldn't carry it over into 2016, was demoted and ultimately allowed to join the Japan League in July.

Emmannuel Burriss (2008-12): Burriss got extensive run for the late-00's Giants at second base, but the speedster just couldn't hit enough to hold the job for long—though he'd kick around the Giants through 2012. The now-31-year-old, dreadlocked Burriss spent the first two months of 2016 as a Phillie before his .121 average was demoted to AAA.

Marlon Byrd (2015): Byrd, acquired in August 2015 to sub for injured Hunter Pence, played well for SF (31 RBI in 35 starts). Still, the 38-year-old could only extract a late-Spring minor league deal from Cleveland for 2016—he made the team and was slugging .452 in 34 games  when he was busted for a second PED violation...likely ending his career.

 

 

Rajai Davis (2007-08): Yes, in case you forgot, Davis was a Giant, the return from Pittsburgh in the Matt Morris trade of 2007. He's still around, and at age 35 leads the AL in steals thru August 17; his 11 homers have already exceeded his prior career high by three.

Adam Duvall (2014): The 2010 11th-rounder didn't get much of a shot with the Giants despite some prodigious minor league slugging. He did get one with the 2016 Reds and ran with it, making the 2016 All-Star team on the strength of a 23-homer first half. That barrage has slowed since, but the 28-year-old-to-be is still tied for third in the NL (27) thru August 17.

Alejandro De Aza (2015): Yes, I forgot he was a Giant late last year, too. De Aza moved on to the Mets for '16 and is batting .193 in a reserve role, though he's picked it up lately.

Matt Duffy (2014-16): It sounds odd to describe Duffy as an ex-Giant, but he went southeast in the Matt Moore deal two weeks ago while on the disabled list. He's since come off and batted .368 in five starts at shortstop for Tampa, who shifted a less-than-enthusiastic Brad Miller to 1B to accommodate Duffy.

Darren Ford (2010-11): He's still in the Giants farm system, where he's been the past three seasons. We've probably seen the last of the soon-to-be-31-year-old in San Francisco; he stole a very important base and scored a very important run in his MLB debut for the pennant-chasing Giants 9/1/2010.

Heath Hembree (2013): The big reliever went to Boston in the 2014 Jake Peavy trade, and has been up-and-down with the Sox since. Judging by his seven hits allowed in his past 0.2 IP...another "down" may be looming for the 27-year-old, unfortunately. In his nine games with the Giants, Hembree K'd 12 in 7.2 innings with no runs allowed.

Brandon Hicks (2014): He began 2014 slugging like mad, but the league adjusted, and Hicks wound up cut before season's end. Out of the majors since, Hicks has spent all of 2016 with the Dodgers' AAA team...with unimpressive offensive numbers.

 

 

Travis Ishikawa (2006, 2008-10, 2014-15): He hit one of the franchise's most dramatic home runs ever...but was out of a job six months later. Almost-33-year-old Ishikawa has split 2016 between the Giants and White Sox AAA teams.

Mike Kickham (2013-14): Kickham was, well, awful in his 14-game Giant tenure (10.98 ERA, 2.14 WHIP), but survives professionally because he's still a breathing left-hander with a little velocity. After bouncing through two other organizations and the Independent League, the 27-year-old is once again a Giants farmhand (AA Richmond) in 2016.

Mike Leake (2015): Byrd wasn't the first Red acquired by the Giants in '15—Leake was brought in at the deadline to shore up their depleted rotation (at the cost of the blocked Duvall). He signed with St. Louis for '16, but has been the Jeff Samardzija of their rotation (frustratingly inconsistent). Still, Leake has gone at least five innings in 22 of his 24 starts to date.

Tim Lincecum (2007-15): He needs no introduction, but the way things have gone for him in '16, he may soon need an intervention. The pitching-starved Angels signed him in June and would have been over the moon to have even 2013-15 Lincecum—but after a strong debut, he was simply too terrible to keep on the roster (9.16 ERA, 2.37 WHIP). He is currently in AAA fighting to save a once-great career. 

Jean Machi (2012-15): Machi and his splitter ate up a load of relief innings for the 2013-14 Giants, but he was cut in mid-2015. After a run in Boston, Machi began '16 in AAA Iowa (Cubs) before rejoining the SF organization in June. In between, there was this.

Justin Maxwell (2015): Maxwell got a lot of midseason run for the '15 Giants, who were down Aoki and Angel Pagan for extended periods. But a 10-week flirtation with the Mendoza Line eventually cost him his roster spot. He began '16 with AAA Pawtucket (Red Sox) before joining the Korean League.

Casey McGehee (2015): McGehee tried, but it just didn't work out for him as a Giant. Very recently, he was called up by Detroit to take over 3B for injured Nick Castellanos—and went 11-for-his-first-34.

Mike Morse (2014): The jubilant 1B/OF and 2014 NLCS hero has travelled a bumpy road since leaving San Francisco—stops in Miami, Los Angeles (sort of) and Pittsburgh have all been injury-plagued and mostly fruitless. Now 34, Morse's career may have already closed—he had eight AB with the Bucs this year before being released, and his phone isn't exactly ringing off the hook. (For those of you under 20, Google "phone hook".)

 

Nick Noonan (2013-15): Noonan got in 76 unspectacular games for the Giants; just this week the 27-year-old former #1 pick was selected to be the Padres' primary SS for the foreseeable future—a reward for batting .321 in 87 games for AAA El Paso.

Juan Perez (2013-15): The speedy, cannon-armed outfielder helped the '14 Giants win it all, but he could never hit enough to secure a roster spot for very long. Perez took his talents to North Chicago for 2016, but failed to make the loaded Cubs roster—his entire 2016 has been with AAA Iowa.

Yusmeiro Petit (2012-15): The long reliever/spot starter threw 8.2 perfect innings in one start, once retired 46 consecutive batters, and contributed ass-saving long relief in the 2014 NLDS (and many other times). Petit joined the Nationals for 2016 and serves a similar role for the NL East leaders.

Brett Pill (2011-13): He burst onto the scene with homers in his first two games, fell back to earth, then took a plane to Korea, where he's been filling up the stat sheet for three years now.

Hector Sanchez (2012-15): The switch-hitting slugger backed up Buster Posey capably for a while, but concussions helped drop him behind Andrew Susac on the 2015 depth chart. And just when Susac's own injury created opportunity, Sanchie wrecked his leg trying to beat out a bunt. Now approaching 27, Sanchez has 26 AB split between the White Sox and Padres this season; to date he's slugging .704 with AAA El Paso and may return to SD in September.

Pablo Sandoval (2008-14): The former World Series MVP had—brace yourself—weight problems in Spring 2016 and had already lost his 3B job to Travis Shaw breaking camp when he underwent season-ending shoulder surgery during Week 1. Sandoval's final line for 2016: 6 AB, 0 hits, 4 K.

Nate Schierholtz (2008-12): Nate left SF in the Pence trade, briefly became a star with the 2013 Cubs, played 2015 in Japan, and opened 2016 with AAA Toledo (Tigers) before being released and later suspended 80 games by MLB for failing a PED test. At 31, there's still time to salvage his already-fading career...but that may not be enough.

 

 

Chris Stewart (2011): He was a co-substitute at catcher when Buster Posey was injured in 2011, then moved to the Yankees for George Kontos the following Spring...quite a steal from this end! For the Pirates, Stewart hit a combined .291 in 2014-15—a substantial leap from his SF days—but his 2016 has been a struggle (.198, past six weeks on the disabled list).

Andrew Susac (2014-16): Susac played his way into the job as Posey's backup, but was twice injured in 2015 and bypassed himself by Trevor Brown in 2016. While still in the minors, Susac was packaged to Milwaukee for Will Smith at the 2016 deadline. Despite their trade of star catcher Jonathan LuCroy not long after, Susac has not been summoned to Milwaukee yet.

Unnamed Left Fielder (2012): No, I'm still not using his name, though now it's more to be gimmicky rather than to express bitterness over his PED suspension. ULF is batting .297 in the second of a three-year pact with the White Sox.

Juan Uribe (2009-10): Uribe was with three teams in 2015 (Dodgers/Braves/Mets) and spent the first half of 2016 struggling with Cleveland before being let go in late July. At 37, he may not get a shot to club the final home run he needs for 200 lifetime.

Jerome Williams (2003-05): Wow, this is going WAY back...yes, Mr. Puka Shells is still amongst the baseball living. He's somehow just 34, and he joined the St. Louis Cardinals staff in late July.

Ryan Vogelsong (2000-01, 2011-15): When he's not having his face caved in by Jordan Lyles fastballs, Vogelsong—whose 8/15 return to SF partially inspired this piece—has been a very capable swingman for the contending Pirates at age 39. Thru 8/17 he's got a 3.20 ERA and 1.3 WHIP in 15 games...not bad.