Spring Training is in full swing, and the San Francisco Giants continue to add pieces to fill up any available room to the camp roster. On Thursday, the Giants added veteran infielder Ronny Cedeno to the mix, signing him to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training.
The 32-year-old Venezuelan is versatile, and has made his rounds as a professional. Cedeno has played second and third base with regularity throughout his career, also with some time at third base and the outfield sprinkled in.
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Cedeno’s luggage has many stickers, as the Giants will be his ninth organization since his debut in 2005. He came up through the Chicago Cubs’ organization before making his first big league appearance. After four seasons in the Windy City, he moved to Seattle, playing part ofone season, 2009, with the Mariners. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the middle of the season, and played there until 2011.
He was with the New York Mets in 2012, the Houston Astros and the San Diego Padres in 2013, and the Philadelphia Phillies in 2014. Cedeno also spent time in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ organization, although he never appeared for the big league club.
Cedeno is not a real offensive threat, as he is known more as a “glove before bat” player. He owns a career .245/.289/.353 slash-line, with 45 home runs and 239 RBI in 875 games as a big leaguer.
In 2014, Cedeno appeared in just seven major league games with the Phillies, but didn’t record a hit in nine plate appearances. Triple-A was much more kind to Cedeno, as he posted a .313/.368/.431 slash-line split between the Phillies’ and Diamondbacks’ affiliates. He also totaled 17 doubles, four homers, and 43 runs driven in.
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Cedeno has had some success in his career when facing San Francisco, especially at AT&T Park. In 14 games in the beautiful stadium by the Bay, Cedeno owns .280 average. His shining moment in the park came on August 2nd, 2012, while he was with the Mets. Cedeno finished the game with three hits and a career-high five RBI, leading his squad to a 9-1 blowout victory over the Giants.
Cedeno adds more depth to the infield battle, being able to play all positions on the dirt. He can also take some reps in the outfield, although he has quite limited experience at those positions. If Cedeno is to get playing time in the Spring, it will most likely come in split-squad matchups, where the infield depth, or depth in general, will be much more necessary.
Cedeno’s signing won’t turn many heads or set off any alarms, but adding players with big league experience is very common in the early goings of Spring Training. Cedeno most likely has zero chance to make the big league roster, but anything can happen. Last year, Brandon Hicks was added to Spring Training camp, and was given very little chance to make the roster. Injuries to key players, plus an outstanding Spring performance from Hicks, earned him a spot on the opening day 25-man roster.
Maybe Cedeno goes out and has the Spring of a lifetime. Or maybe he just heads to the minor leagues, waiting for a chance to get back to the big leagues again. Maybe he’s released before the season begins. No one really knows what’s going to happen, but for now, Cedeno is a Giant.