Giants protect Alexander Canario, Kervin Castro, Camilo Doval, and Gregory Santos

Friday was the deadline to protect eligible players from the Rule 5 draft, and unlike last year the San Francisco Giants got very busy. The Giants added four young prospects to the 40-man roster, protecting them from being selected later this offseason.

Those four: outfielder Alexander Canario, and right-handed pitchers Kervin Castro, Camilo Doval, and Gregory Santos.

Since the Giants had 39 players on their 40-man roster, they had to get rid of a trio of names to make room for the protected prospects. As a result, they designated for assignment catcher Aramis Garcia, infielder/outfielder Chris Shaw, and right-handed pitcher Jordan Humphreys.

Garcia and Shaw had been with the Giants their entire careers; the former was drafted in the second round in 2014, and the latter in the first round in 2015. Both debuted in 2018, played sparingly that year and in 2019, and didn’t play in 2020. Garcia missed the 2020 season due to injury, while Shaw was not added to the 60-person player pool until late in the season, and was never called up.

Humphreys was acquired during the 2020 season, in the trade that sent Billy Hamilton to the New York Mets.

As for the protected players, Canario is a 20-year old who played low-A ball in 2019, and is currently rehabbing from surgery on his non-throwing shoulder. Castro is a 21-year old who also played low-A ball in 2019, with great numbers. Doval is a 23-year old who played in high-A ball in 2019, and was on the Giants taxi squad at one point this season. And Santos is a 21-year old who played A-ball in 2019.

With these four protected, it would seem that the only player the Giants have to fear losing in the Rule 5 draft is 27-year old right-handed pitcher Tyler Cyr.