Giants designate Monell and Peguero, sign Erik Cordier, claim Jose De Paula

Only jerks make moves on the day before Thanksgiving, but, well, here we are. The Giants signed right-handed minor-league free agent Erik Cordier and claimed left-handed starter Jose De Paula off waivers from the Padres. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Giants designated Johnny Monell and Francisco Peguero for assignment.

Cordier spent last season in the Pirates' organization, where he struck out 11 batters for every nine innings he pitched. That's good! He also walked 4.8 batters for every nine innings he pitched. That's bad. His control has shown improvement over his eight minor-league seasons. That's good! He walked 32 batters in 32 innings in 2012.

...

That's bad.

You can go now.

But Cordier recently converted to relief, and the Giants saw something they liked. He apparently throws an upper-90s fastball. I'll trust them with the 40-man roster spot. Kind of.

De Paula has been a starter for most of his career, and the 23-year-old is still young enough to be a quasi-prospect:

Gaslamp Ball profiled him here, and his career splits suggest he might be a future reliever.

Johnny Monell is a 27-year-old catcher with pop who couldn't really catch so well. He's left-handed, and the power will keep him interesting. I'd be mildly surprised if he makes it back to the Giants, though I'm horrible at predicting who will clear waivers.

Francisco Peguero is a former tools monster and top prospect who just swung at the pistachio shell you discarded. Stranger players have turned into assets, but he hasn't walked over 20 times since 2009, when he walked 21 times in 414 plate appearances.

All in all, not a bad swap. But I'm wondering what will happen when the Giants sign/trade for another pitcher and need another spot. For now, the Giants prefer the relief and depth.

Happy Thanksgiving! Although, when you put it that way ... man, that's rough timing for Monell and Peguero.