The Giants have claimed left-hander Andrew Vasquez off waivers from the Phillies. To create roster space, San Francisco has designated outfielder Steele Walker for assignment.
Vasquez was DFA’ed himself two days ago, and the southpaw will now be joining his third new organization since the start of August. The Blue Jays signed Vasquez just after the lockout ended, but he struggled to an 8.10 ERA in limited action (6 2/3 innings) in the big leagues, and Vasquez also missed over six weeks due to an ankle injury. Toronto designated Vasquez after the trade deadline and the Phillies put in a claim, and now Vasquez’s Philadelphia tenure will end after four appearances with Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
The Giants have assigned Vasquez to their own Triple-A affiliate for now, and given San Francisco’s tendency to cycle through players on the back end of their roster, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Vasquez either up in the majors soon or perhaps even back on the DFA treadmill in relatively short order. Vazquez has an 8.10 ERA over 13 1/3 career innings in the majors (21 total games with the Blue Jays, Dodgers, and Twins from 2018-22) but he has some very solid numbers and a lot of strikeouts over his minor league career. His Triple-A resume consists of a 3.72 ERA over 87 innings, though with a high walk rate.
Walker made his MLB debut this season, appearing in five games with the Rangers before the Giants claimed him off waivers on August 7. The White Sox selected Walker in the second round of the 2018 draft, but he has a modest .257/.329/.416 over 1405 career PA in the minor leagues. Chicago dealt Walker to the Rangers for Nomar Mazara in 2019, and thus Walker (a native of Prospect, Texas) eventually got his first taste of the majors while playing for his hometown team.
God this picture
In that picture, he looks like the Hippo character from Mike Tyson’s Punchout on Nintendo.
SF just let go one of the best names in the business. It sounds like he’s constantly rehabbing.
He’s more if a Don Flamenco than a King Hippo.
You suppose he’s trying to create the illusion for the hitter that he’s pulling the ball out of his mouth?
6 innings 6 runs in 2022
Small sample but
Can throw with the left hand so..
He might have a job.
And back to the Rangers goes Walker!
Does Walker have any upside left?
He does bat left ⚾️
At first I thought they designated a steel worker
Young man, there’s no need to feel down
I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground
I said, young man, ’cause you’re in a new town
There’s no need to be unhappy
For a second I thought it was Andrew Velazquez* of the Angels that got claimed. I got very excited at the thought of him finally leaving.
At this point, Duggar and Gosselin seriously need to also be DFA’d by the Angels.
stop designating walker. it’ll take a rebuilder, but he’s actually going to be a decent big leaguer somewhere. and i thought the giants had cashed it in on 22?
i say rebuilder, when the rangers would love him back. we’re playing brad miller and kole calhoun. i’d bet steele (yes that’s a ridiculous name) could put up .260/.320/.400 if given the look he’s not going to get.
Reds should claim him, go look at their current roster.
We’re definitely going to make the playoffs now!
That line wasn’t funny the last hundred times it was used.
Walker is a native of Prosper, TX, not Prospect.
Prosper, texas not prospect
Hello, I am very interested in the Steele Walker, where can I pick up?
Great name! Sounds like he should be a porn star.
Zaidi once again playing with people’s lives, uprooting players and families, and giving false hope only to be DFA’d. Hopefully once the season is over Zaidi and Kapler will find out how it feels to be DFA’d (FIRED).
Right, because FZ is the only PBO claiming and DFA’ing players. Like FZ is falsely giving hope to guys for the purpose of crushing their dreams. Ridiculous.
(BTW nobody uproots their family when they get claimed after being waived.)
By your reasoning the vast majority of, if not all, PBOs/GMs should be fired for simply operating in the best interests of their team; doing business just like everyone else.
You’re going to be disappointed when neither FZ, nor Kapler, are fired this coming offseason.
I am sure there will be plenty who disagree, but how does Kapler justify having Belt in the line up every day? I get he’s a veteran and the so-called captain, but he doesn’t even seem to care as he doesn’t even run out a routine ground ball. When is it enough to justify sitting a player who is obviously struggling?? Didn’t Dave Roberts just sit a struggling Cody Bellinger???