The Giants have released Ken Giles from their Triple-A roster, tweets Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. The club had signed Giles to a minor league deal just over a week ago. As Pavlovic notes, this move gives Giles a chance to join the organization of a contending team before the postseason eligibility cutoff, which is 11:59pm ET on August 31.
Giles, 31, has been one of the most dominant relievers in baseball at times during his career. In 2019, he threw 53 innings with the Blue Jays with a 1.87 ERA, racking up 23 saves and striking out an incredible 39.9% of batters faced. He was limited by injuries to just 3 2/3 innings in 2020, eventually undergoing Tommy John surgery in October.
The Mariners signed Giles to a two-year deal covering the 2021 and 2022 seasons, knowing that he would miss the first year of the deal while rehabbing from the surgery. He earned a salary of $1.5MM last year and is making $5MM here in 2022. He seemed to be on track to help the club on Opening Day this year until a finger injury suffered in Spring Training kept him on the IL until June 21. He threw 4 1/3 innings over five frames for the M’s before he had to return to the IL due to shoulder tightness.
He began a rehab assignment in early August but was designated for assignment by the Mariners during that rehab stint. He eventually rejected an outright assignment and elected free agency, as was his right as a player with more than five years of MLB service time. The Mariners are on the hook for the remainder of his salary this year, in addition to the $500K buyout on the club option for 2023.
The Giants signed him to a minor league deal just over a week ago, with Giles making one appearance with the club’s Complex League team and three at Triple-A. The Giants have slumped to a 61-66 record and are now 8 1/2 games out of a postseason spot. If Giles can find a new team by midnight tomorrow, he will be eligible for that club’s postseason roster, even if it’s just a minor league deal. If he is selected to a club’s major league roster, that team would only have to pay Giles the prorated league minimum for any time he’s on the team, with that amount being subtracted from what the Mariners pay.
Jays
I originally had the same thought , but it doesn’t seem they are ready to give up on Richards to take a flyer on Giles. Understanding they will have a extra spot I expect Pop or Merryweather . Maybe I’m missing someone else with options? But they chose to option pop vs opening up Richards to get picked up elsewhere. Gotta think if they didn’t sign him after Sea I would be alittle surprised to it now.
Get rid of zimmer again if they need an open spot
My understanding is the 2 sept extra spaces only allows 1 extra pitcher or 2 position players so I’m not sure if that helps in this instance
*Granpda Simpson walking meme*
Sounds like a knock-out punch for Giles’ career.
Punch jokes incoming
*punch lines
(Sorry)
What are you, punch drunk?
Anyways, at least the Giants are giving Giles a puncher’s chance at finding a gig.
Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle, that was a good reply
TB needs a closer
But TB would probably use him as an opener.
First round KO?
@wkkortas – well played!
Another player that has about 33-1/2 hours left to sign to have postseason eligibility is Michael Conforto. If Boras was truly honest about his ability to play this season, you’d think someone would sign him.
He wasn’t honest.
Boras and Conforto have so thoroughly bungled his situation that it should not be surprising that he’s still without a team.
Does a team take a shot at possible rust? Rct just commented best the whole situation is a cluster fk.
Well isn’t that just a punch in the face for him…
Dodgers should pick him up and ditch Kimbrel. Can’t be worse.
It could be a lot worse.
While it COULD be worse, it’s also a little peculiar to see a team like the Dodgers depend on such a mediocre relief pitcher to be their closer.
@myth, I’d be shocked to see the now mediocre Kimbrel closing out tight games for the Dodgers in the playoffs. He’ll likely finish games where Dodgers are up by more than 3 runs. In close games it will be Phillips or maybe Treinen, if healthy.
Ideally, they use Kimbrel and he ruins their season, but I doubt even the highly over-rated Roberts will be that clueless.
I would be shocked as well. As it is, I’m surprised he is now. I get that the Dodgers are running away with the division but Kimbrel has 21 saves and 4 blown. He’s certainly getting a lot of rope to hang himself with if not the Dodgers. But I agree with you. I can’t even imagine the most inept manager going with Kimbrel in the playoffs.
If he was so concerned with having an opportunity with a playoff team, why did he sign this contract just a week ago? SFG chances haven’t really changed. Something smells fishy. This seems like just a polite, “we are letting you go” situation. Wonder what he did to get cut so fast.
“Something smells fishy” – the whole city of San Francisco
My guess is he thought a middling team like SF was his quickest route to playing time, but, when he and the Giants both realized that wouldn’t happen, they released him as a formality.
He just needs to face it. Head on.
Either back to the Phillies or onto the Dodgers where he’ll magically become their dominant closer.
Gallo and Heaney be like “come on in the water’s fine!”
Enter Mr Cashman
We don’t want him but with Cashman there’s always a puncher’s chance of scooping up a veteran relief pitcher in August
The Yankees need anyone with a pulse at this point
Padres should take a chance. Pomeranz looks to be done, Hader has no chance to straighten out by the end of the year and Martinez will likely be needed in other high leverage spots. Giles could do what Rosenthal did in 2020.
Anyone else left for Zaidi to affect the lives of players and their families by signing and then DFAing them? He has no conscience. It’s beyond time for the shoe to be on the other foot. OWNERSHIP NEEDS TO FIRE ZAIDI, HARRIS AND KAPLER! Don’t wait until season is over (it’s been over since All-Star break) do FIRE them NOW!!
Wow! Sts. Farhan and Gabe have yugely fallen from grace bigly.
I think it’s safe to assume Ken Giles did not relocate his entire family to San Francisco in the last week.
The Giants. Making Loves to Make Moves
Maybe the Phillies should give him another go.
Yankees make too much sense