The Giants have announced their first round of roster cuts, sending 12 down to minor league camp. Those players include RHP Ljay Newsome, RHP Drew Strotman, RHP Joe Ross, RHP Randy Rodriguez, LHP Darien Nunez, LHP Sean Newcomb, LHP Daniel Tillo, IF Donovan Walton, IF Colton Welker, IF Brady Whalen, C Brett Cumberland, C Andy Thomas.
This is the first round of cuts from the Giants camp, and teams will slowly whittle down the rosters as spring training goes on until they have their 26-man roster ready for Opening Day.
This group includes multiple players recovering from injuries, Joe Ross is recovering from Tommy John surgery, Donovan Walton is recovering from shoulder surgery, and Sean Newcomb, who didn’t make an appearance in spring training, is possibly rehabbing an injury as well.
Another notable is Drew Strotman, who appeared in two games during spring training and had a rough time. In those two appearances, he only managed 0.2 IP and had an astounding 175.50 ERA to go with a 19.50 WHIP. Yikes.
The most notable cut is Randy Rodriguez, who was selected to the Giants’ 40-man roster last season to be protected from the Rule-5 draft and pitched 66.2 innings across three levels last season, netting a collective 4.46 ERA. Rodriguez dominated hitters at High-A, but in his short time at Double-A, he had trouble keeping the ball in the yard. Rodriguez still has potential as a high strikeout plus stuff reliever, but in order to do so, he will need to hone his control; he walked over 12% of hitters he faced last season.
Rodriguez will likely be an option to help the Giants later this season but will need to show that he has improved from last season to get that opportunity. The Giants’ front office loves open 40-man spots to play with, so it will be interesting to see how much runway Rodriguez gets.
