San Francisco Giants Sign Two Major League Vets to Minor League Deals

The San Francisco Giants bolstered their depth on Thursday, adding a pair of players with major league experience to minor league deals.

Though neither player is the significant move that Executive Vice President Brian Sabean was alluding to after the Evan Longoria trade, the San Francisco Giants made some important additions to their depth by signing a pair of players with major league experience to minor league pacts. On Thursday, they agreed to terms with infielder Josh Rutledge (via Chris Cotillo of SB Nation) and utility player Alen Hanson (via Hanson himself on Instagram). Though it wasn’t explicity mentioned in either case, they will both likely be extended invitations to big league Spring Training.

Rutledge is the more experienced of the two players, having played in parts of the last six major league seasons. However, he has accumulated just 370 games and 1,206 plate appearances in that time. In his career, he owns a .258/.310/.384 slash-line with 51 doubles, 14 triples, 20 home runs, 24 stolen bases, and a 68 wRC+.

The 28-year-old began his career with the Colorado Rockies, the team that made him a third-round draft pick in 2010. He made his big league debut in 2012, hitting 20 doubles and eight home runs with a 91 wRC+ in what turned out to be his best season as a big leaguer yet.

He’s bounced around the league since. After three seasons with Colorado, he was traded to the Los Angeles Angels after the 2014 season, and was then traded to the Boston Red Sox in the middle of the 2015 season. He became a free agent after the 2016 season, was signed by the Rockies, and returned to the Red Sox again after the picked him up in the Rule 5 draft.

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Rutledge appeared in just 47 games combined between the major and minor leagues in 2017 as injuries nagged him all year. He began the year on the disabled list with a hamstring strain, missed time because of a concussion suffered on Memorial Day, and finally had his season ended in August because of hip surgery.

When he’s on the field, Rutledge brings a wealth of experience all over the infield. He’s played 141 games at shortstop, 133 at second base, and 47 games at third base, but doesn’t rate favorably defensively at any position. He’s also played 13.2 innings at first base, all in 2017 with the Red Sox.

Hanson was once a fairly highly-regarded prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization, making appearances on MLB.com’s top-100 prospect lists before the 2013, 2014, and 2015 seasons. He did well in Double-A in 2014 (.280/.326/.442, 25 steals, 111 wRC+), and reasonably well in Triple-A in 2015 (.263/.313/.387, 35 steals, 101 wRC+) and 2016 (.266/.318/.389, 36 steals, 102 wRC+), but that has yet to translate to major league success.

He made his big league debut for Pittsburgh in 2016, and hit .226 in 33 plate appearances. He was back in the big leagues in 2017, but appeared in only 37 games and hit .193 for Pittsburgh before he was designated for assignment and claimed by the Chicago White Sox. He was mildly better in the Windy City, but still hit just .231/.276/.375 with four home runs and nine stolen bases in 69 games. He was non-tendered after the season.

Despite the meager major league numbers, Hanson is still just 25 years old and has the speed to be a valuable asset off the bench (71 triples and 205 stolen bases in 719 minor league games). He  is also quite versatile, having played shortstop and second base extensively, as well as third base. In recent years, he has started to play more outfield, and played all three outfield spots with the White Sox in 2017.

Next: Longoria Shores Up Giants Infield

These two players will probably have an opportunity to compete for a bench job as a backup infielder, but they will have to beat out Kelby Tomlinson and Pablo Sandoval to earn it. Hanson has a bit of an advantage because of his ability to play outfield, but neither player has a clear path to the Giants’ opening day roster. Should they stay with the team after Spring Training and play in the minor leagues, they will provide good insurance during the season when the inevitable injury occurs.