Giants trade Jackson and Gearrin to Rangers; call up Ray Black and Steven Duggar

The Giants made their first trade of the 2018 season Sunday morning by dealing Austin Jackson, Cory Gearrin, and RHP Jason Bahr to the Rangers. The Giants will receive a player to be named later or cash considerations. The move was made to dump salary and to clear roster space for Ray Black and Steven Duggar whose contracts were both purchased.

Neither Jackson or Gearrin were playing much and their positions with the Giants were somewhat redundant, with the Giants ready to give a shot to Black and Duggar. In Jackson’s case, he would also have to contend with Austin Slater and Mac Williamson for playing time.

Jackson only received 165 plate appearances in which he hit .242/.309/.295. In just 59 games, he was worth -0.8 fWAR. Jackson was a quarter of the way through a two-year, $6 million contract.

Gearrin got into 35 games in 2018 and had a 4.20 ERA in 30 innings. In his time with the Giants, he had a 3.24 ERA with 145 strikeouts and 63 walks in 150 innings.

In 21.2 innings for AAA Sacramento, Ray Black struck out 38 batters and pitched to a 2.91 ERA. Black’s fastball has topped out at 104 MPH. Doug wrote a two-part feature on Black this week which you should read if you haven’t yet.

Steven Duggar hit .272/.354/.421 in 78 games for Sacramento this year, and the Giants are wasting no time in getting him into a game.

Jason Bahr was a fifth-round pick in the 2017 draft. He has split his time between Augusta and San Jose in 2018. In sixteen starts across two levels, he has thrown 84 innings, struck out 103 batters and walked just 23.