The Giants have acquired left-hander Ethan Small from the Brewers for cash, the team announced. Milwaukee had designated him for assignment last week after acquiring Joey Ortiz and DL Hall for Corbin Burnes.
Small was a somewhat surprising DFA who always looked likely to attract interest from another team. He was Milwaukee’s first-round pick in 2019 and initially perceived as one of the better pitching prospects in their organization. While Small’s place in the farm system had fallen in recent years, he’s coming off a reasonably promising showing for their top affiliate in Nashville.
Working as a full-time reliever for the first time in his career, Small pitched to a 3.18 ERA over 51 Triple-A innings a year ago. He punched out an impressive 28.5% of opposing hitters. He paired that with a concerning 11.2% walk percentage. That surely played a part in Milwaukee deciding not to give him much of a shot at the MLB level. Small has only pitched in the big leagues four times, twice apiece in each of the last two years.
The Mississippi State product doesn’t throw especially hard. His fastball averaged 92 MPH in his limited MLB look last season. An atypical over-the-top arm slot adds some deception to his delivery, though, and prospect evaluators have credited him with a plus changeup.
San Francisco had an opening on the 40-man roster after last week’s Bay Area swap sending Ross Stripling to Oakland. They’ll use that to take a flier on Small, at least for the time being. The Giants are reportedly in talks with Jorge Soler and would need to create a roster spot if those discussions result in an agreement. Small has one minor league option remaining, so the Giants could keep him in Triple-A for the upcoming season if he holds his spot on the 40-man.
Let’s get Small.
Steve Martin is the Giants advisor.
There are no Small moves. Except this one.
Your Small jokes are Ethan Smaller than his jokes!
Age 27 season, throws 88 with terrible control and no actual streak of success, totally worth it.
Cash Considerations on the move again.
Someone should name their kid Cash Considerations
Poor cash considerations. Can never find a home.
2023 * 11.25 era, 2.75whip, 10.1 innings pitched in 2 years. Zaidi is the man!!! This was last piece in the puzzle!!
4 career MLB games. Chill
It’s a Small sample
SFG.1, You must be really new to baseball. Anyone that’s watched the game for any amount of time knows that 10.1 innings offer zero insight into a guy’s ability. Even the best pitchers will have a stretch of bad innings.
For example, last season in 2 consecutive starts, 4/27 and 5/3, Shohei Ohtani pitched 11 innings and gave 9 ERs. Gerrit Cole, in 2 consecutive starts, 5/23 and 5/28, pitched 11 innings and gave up 10 ERs.
Even Cole and Ohtani have a Small side to them.
Small acquisition.
Nothing to see here.
How much cash are we talking? Knowing the Brewers they’ll turn $2 million into a useful depth piece.
If they got anything north of $250k then this is a pure rip.
These deals can be as low as $1 or $10,000. So I highly doubt it’s even in the six digits
Maybe $50k.
Small change
it is usually a couple of hundred thousand max
San Francisco Smalls
They misspelled Jorge Soler.
Evidently it was just Small talk with him.
Who the hell is Ethan Small
He’s a nice boy who’s mama loves him you cad! And like he also pitches baseballs or something lol
As a Giants fan I see Zahdi as a bafoon and embarrassment to the fan base.
Never mind those who may criticize you for your spelling Jehri.
Many would agree with you
Zaidi is just trying to make a move, any move to save face, because he knows this off season was a total bust, A G A I N !! Zaidi is an Embarrassment to this team and the Fan Base as a whole !! He Should resign or be fired, period !!
Oh yeah sure. Thats what this move was all about. Right.
Lean into the hyperbole !!
Zaidi dumpster diving again. If Zaidi thinks he’s going to save face with the fans this move certainly isn’t the one.
Zaidi has become the laughingstock of MLB & the fans. And Johnson Baer & Posey are giving Zaidi a 3-year extension. Instead of an extension Zaidi needs to be FIRED!
Redwolves3, You’re delusional if you think Zaidi does any kind of deal with the purpose of “saving face with the fans”. Any GM or PBO that does anything with the fans in mind is a fool, soon to be out of a job.
And sorry, Zaidi has not become the laughingstock of MLB. Only a small band of Zaidi critics think that. A lot of fans of other teams wish Zaidi was their PBO.
If Zaidi hasn’t significantly improved the team in 3 years it might be time to move on. But I noticed in the Sunday chat with Mark, that when asked if the Boston GM should be worried about Theo Epstein becoming an advisor, Mark said, perhaps Theo will advise the owners not to fire the GM every 4-5 years.
what a stupid take
You’re killin me Smalls.
Finally someone makes a proper post in this thread!
The guy is a top talent who never got it together for Milwaukee. Giants did great in getting him.
Gausman sucked when they got him too.
Very true good point
He’s no Gausman…
Neither was Gausman at the time.
there were at least a half dozen guys you could say the same thing about when they got to the giants that turned around – I never count anyone out.
Another “flyer.” Why is SF doing this? Is it part of a greater plan? Let’s hope so.
The real question is, why not? Dude had a low 3 ERA in the minors, 10.8K/9, and has experience as a starter or a reliever. If he cuts down on walks and puts it together, they’ll have a valuable player. And if not, they can move on.
Thank you disadvantage for having a real thought, everyone else here was too busy with their Small jokes and their obsessively strange Zaidi hatred to realize this could be a good move and that every team makes moves like this. Worth a shot.
Good luck Small! Thank you Zaidi!
It isn’t obsessively strange to dislike the guy who’s job it is to assemble the roster when he continues to build boring, low energy, mediocre teams who get demolished by the Dodgers. We didn’t expect to be competing with the Rockies for last place in the division 5 years into Farhan’s tenure. It’s OK to admit it. It doesn’t make you less of a fan.
@ted
Your hyperbole suggests that you either don’t understand what is going on, or that you have to exaggerate your argument to make things look worse than they actually are.
When Farhan took over, the team was bad and the farm was barren. Keep that in mind when saying “5 years into Farhan’s tenure”. He signed 6 of the top 50 free agents last offseason. At times, they looked unstoppable (sweeping the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, including a 15-0 romping… not something “competing with the Rockies for last place” would do), but also faded down the stretch.
So I’ll ask you the same question I ask all fairweather fans. What would you have realistically done differently?
tedtheodorelogan
“…demolished by the Dodgers….”
The Giants were 6 – 7 against the Dodgers last season. They were outscored 57 to 55. That’s a very low bar for a demolishing.
everyone in the division gets demolished by the dodgers, if you think the padres are in any better of a place realize that they have bought everyone under the sun but have still only managed a couple of seasons over .500 let alone being competitive . this season is honestly looking like a reset in philosophy and evaluation, if you have a problem with that – stop watching baseball, the fact that the giants have been middling means that yeah they aren’t in the top half but they also haven’t been in the bottom half like they were before Zaidi came on – what happened the last few years hasn’t worked and they are resetting
Hop Lee, Cox, Ray, Hicks, Small. All these guys have big “ifs” tied to them: if can be as good at MLB, or recover well from TJ, or convert to a starter, etc. SF seems to have more of these types of players than other teams, plus SF hasn’t landed & kept long term any star players via trade in years. (e.g. Gausman, Rodon). The past 5 years, SF has not created a team for long term success, not via trades nor their farm system. I’m far from happy about that and would like to see a more talented team being built.
@giants
I’ll ask you the same thing I asked @ted – what would you have realistically done differently?
Your goal of more long-term players and “a more talented team” is vague and not something that will happen with wishful thinking. And if you are going to make a list of big “ifs” (two of which, Small and Cox… hehe, Small and Cox… were MiLB signings which are “ifs” by their very nature), include Gausman and Rodon, the two you mentioned as long-term star players, as well. Gausman faded down the stretch (4.42 ERA after the ASB vs. 1.73 before) and had a poor track record, while Rodon had a long history of injuries. Without the benefit of hindsight, neither was a sure thing to replicate their success over a long-term contract. If you had signed both, you would have a bonafide ace tied to a $162mm anchor. The verdict is out on whether that makes the team “better”.
To both @giants and @ted
The 5-year argument each of you had made is frustrating because, did you really expect a new GM/PBO to take an 89-loss team with deadweight contracts that ownership refused to rebuild and magically turn it around overnight?
As far as I can tell, I am just not convinced another GM or PBO would be measurably any better or worse. I am also happy to hear any evidence to the contrary. I am also not sure how much reign ownership has over his control. One minute, they want to spend $800mm on Ohtani, but the next minute, they are shedding salary with nothing to show for it (YET… there is still some offseason left).
Agreed. SF has been “shedding salary with nothing to show for it” yet. In my OP I said let’s hope it’s part of a greater plan. But if nothing changes, at least the River Cats should be good.
@Giants
Well if your only takeaway is that the Giants should add players after shedding salary and are not willing to answer my question, you should at least consider the 60-day IL opens on February 14, so it’s possible that the Giants may have a deal or two in place that is contingent on the team being able to put Cobb and Ray on the IL (and not have to DFA any players for their spot).
And if they do, I hope that you and the other Giants fans who have nothing but complaints and unrealistic expectations calm down, so I can stop feeling like I have more in common with Dodgers fans on MLBTR than Giants fans (Agnes, Bag, and Jean being a few of the rare exceptions).
And again, if they don’t, it’s fairly likely on ownership, which again, would handcuff any GM/PBO. (Or if they don’t acquire another pitcher after giving up Stripling, and FZ says it was his strategy and isn’t just being a puppet, THEN I would be right there with you).
Can’t really say the Giants don’t spend at this point.
I’m guessing 56-60 wins this year, and thats being optimistic
All of the actual predictions right now are a .500 team as constructed with 81 to 83 wins. Naysayers Jane been predicting a 100 loss team the last 2 years when the team is a .500 team. This one actually has more like an 80 win floor but the ceiling is who knows because most of the expected team doesn’t have much of an MLB record.
And to think they could have just traded Jakob Junis for Ethan Small to avoid all the hullabaloo!
Small point: Junis wasn’t under contract.
Giants going to play Small ball this year.
Happy Willie Mays Day!
The Giants are a mess. Would not be shocked if they finish below the Rockies who are a bigger mess. Got all that cheese to spend and continue to be rejected by big names. I do like the Lee signing. Should be a good CF and hit enough to warrant an everyday gig.
Would rather have seen Juno’s resigned.
Junis. Stupid spell check
love this signing, would have swapped junis for small straight up which this basically is.
Yay Vagiants!
wasted 1st rd draft pick congrats brewers
Did he throw 92 mph when drafted? If so, is it an unusual occurrence to draft a pitcher at this fastball velocity in the 1st round?
What a joke SF’s front office is. They tease their fans with Soler, Snell, Chapman, etc. then sign Ethan Small. SF FO has no plans on winning
They’re all still unsigned so, maybe patience is in order here. I did expect more action on those guys this week.
Two roster spots will open up next week when they are able to place Ray & Cobb on the 60 day IL, so maybe by the end of the week they can have the Boras- Zaidi showdown.
That is a good point, Davis hasn’t resolved his arb either so maybe there is a Chapman move coming with Davis moved somewhere since they have been looking into DH offense as well
Don’t be Small minded. This is a depth move. Every team does it.
When you’re weary:
Ethan Small.
When tears are in your eyes
Al Drythemol.
All.