The Giants have agreed to acquire the left-hander. Joey Lucchesi Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that he is back on a minor league contract. CAA clients will head to big league camp and will receive $1.55 million if they make the roster. He has an additional $300,000 available through incentives.
Was a deal already underway for fellow left-hander Lucchesi? river san martin It’s unclear if he suffered an injury or if this contract came in response to that injury. However, via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Sanmartin’s recent MRI revealed a severe hip flexor strain that is expected to keep him out of the running for at least three months. San Martin, Eric Miller and mat gauge He was the only left-handed relief option on the Giants’ 40-man roster, and Miller’s play was slowed by a back injury in camp.
Lucchesi, 32, was effective in a middle relief role for the Giants last season. He appeared in 38 games, pitched 38 1/3 innings and had a 3.76 ERA. Although his strikeout rate of 18.8% was well below average, Lucchesi’s walk rate of 7.3% was strong and his ground ball rate of 53% was outstanding. In 433 big league innings between the Padres, Mets, and Giants, Lucchesi posted a 4.07 ERA with roughly average strikeout, walk, and ground ball rates. Until his success in the bullpen last year, he mainly played as a starting pitcher. The Giants non-tendered him in November.
Sanmartin, 29, joined the Giants via waiver request last November. He spent his entire big league career with the Reds, appearing in parts of four seasons from 2021-25. At the time, San Martin recorded an ERA of 5.66 (53.6%) due to a lot of ground balls, but strikeouts, walks, and average fastballs were all worse than the league average.
Despite that modest performance, Sanmartin was one of the Giants’ only bullpen additions in the offseason. San Francisco signs a reliever. Jason Foley, sam henges and rowan wick I entered into a major league deal knowing nothing would be sound on Opening Day. Sanmartin was claimed off waivers and the Giants signed him. michael fullmer On a minor league contract. Other than that, their bullpen is largely untouched despite trades this winter. Camilo Taunt and Tyler Rogers Lost again in July Randy Rodriguez I had Tommy John surgery in September.
Assuming the Lucchesi deal is finalized soon, he will have plenty of time to break camp and grow in a similar single-inning relief role as he had last year.
