Derek Holland and Ryder Jones designated for assignment

Well, I was wrong. I went ahead and guessed that the two players the Giants would designate for assignment today would be players who have recently performed poorly at the major-league level (Tyler Austin & Ty Blach).

Actually, it’s almost exactly what happened, just two different players. Ryder Jones has a sub-.600 OPS in the minors this year, bouncing around all four levels due to injury while Derek Holland has simply been bad in every role the Giants have assigned him. Yesterday’s 4-run inning of work was the last straw and now he’s off the 40-man roster.

It’s possible his early season comments regarding the front office and his general confusion about the direction of the team coupled with his 5.90 ERA / 6.08 FIP are enough to severe ties with the org. He’s likely to seek out a different situation, and after being a solid starter just last season, it’s easy to see him catching on somewhere to eat up innings the rest of the season.

Meanwhile, the Giants have simply released Ryder Jones. The new regime doesn’t want him in the organization. It’s another tough break in a series of breaks for Ryder Jones, who at various times over the past few seasons got hurt just when he had a chance to shine.

All of this was done to make room for two new guys and to give them a chance to shine. Zach Green will start at third base and Conner Mendez will be today’s starting pitcher. Ty Blach was optioned back to Triple-A, too.

This year was always going to be about turning the page and churning through roster spots, but the recent run of success has sort of slowed that down. Here we are with the Giants’ first big transaction in some time. Hope it works out.