San Francisco Giants Add Beede, Three Others to 40-Man Roster

To protect them from the Rule 5 Draft, the San Francisco Giants added four players to the 40-man roster, including top pitching prospect Tyler Beede.

With the deadline to protect prospects from the Rule 5 Draft approaching, the San Francisco Giants made a flurry of moves on Monday, adding four players to the 40-man roster and ensuring that they remain with the Giants’ organization.

The four players the Giants protected are catcher Aramis Garcia, left-handed pitcher D.J. Snelten, and right-handed pitchers Tyler Herb and Tyler Beede. To make room on the 40-man roster for these guys, Engelb Vielma was put on waivers and claimed by the Philadelphia Phillies, Dan Slania was outrighted off the 490man roster after clearing waivers, and Micah Johnson and Orlando Calixte were designated for assignment.

Beede is the headliner of this list, ranking as the Giants’ top pitching prospect. He had an up-and-down season in Triple-A in 2017, dealing with inconsistencies before an injury ended his season, but he likely would have already made his major league debut if not for the groin tear. He returned to the mound for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League and finished well. Over his last three starts, he threw 14 innings and allowed 12 hits, one walk, and three earned runs.

More from Golden Gate Sports

Garcia’s addition is promising, as he was a second-round pick in 2014 and he has been considered among the team’s better hitting prospects, but also necessary. He joins Buster Posey as the only catchers on the 40-man roster as of now.

Garcia has dealt with his fair share of injuries in the minor leagues, but had a nice year in 2017. Overall, he hit .274/.323/.485 with 32 doubles and 17 home runs in 103 minor league games, including his first promotion to Double-A Richmond. He joined Beede in the AFL, where he hit .259 with a .626 OPS, but drove in 12 runs.

Snelten, a lefty reliever who also spent time in Arizona over the past month, put together an extremely solid campaign in 2017. In 73.2 innings between Double-A and Triple-A, Snelten posted a 2.20 ERA and 1.086 WHIP while proving he can get groundball outs as well as strikeouts. In a bullpen that desperately needs to get better from the left side, Snelten could certainly help.

Herb was the “player to be named later” in the deal that sent Chris Heston to the Seattle Mariners. The 25-year-old righty made 10 starts in Double-A after joining the Giants, pitching to a 2.76 ERA and 1.209 WHIP, and even threw a complete game.

As for the players the Giants removed from the 40-man roster, Vielma came to the Giants on a waiver claim from the Minnesota Twins late in the 2017 season, but never played a single game for the Giants’ organization. He is a great defensive prospect at shortstop, but his bat has yet to match that production. He hit .206/.233/.260 over 340 plate appearances in his first taste of Triple-A action in 2017.

Johnson was also claimed off waivers, this claim coming earlier in the offseason from the Atlanta Braves, and also never played a game for the Giants’ organization. Johnson is a versatile defender, having spent time at second base and in the outfield, but hasn’t played much at the big league level. He’s played 61 games over the past three years, with three different teams, and owns a rather meager .224/.291/.259 big-league slash line.

Slania and Calixte both made the big leagues in 2017 with the Giants. Slania made one appearance, his major league debut, and threw a clean inning in a blowout win, but otherwise was unimpressive in the minor leagues. In 141.1 innings, Slania posted a 5.41 ERA, 1.542 WHIP, and just 7.1 strikeouts per nine innings. Calixte hit a miserable .143/.185/.163 in 55 big league plate appearances, but did collect his first career MLB hit.

Next: The Latest Stanton Rumor

This year’s Rule 5 Draft takes place on December 14th, the final day of the annual Winter Meetings.

Home/San Francisco Giants