Giants make waiver claims on three players you may or may not have heard of

It’s been a pretty quiet week for the San Francisco Giants. Nothing much of note has been going on. Nope, absolutely nothing. Very quiet, very boring, no big news that might make you sad. Nothing to see here.

But the Giants wouldn’t be the Giants if they didn’t do Giantsy things, and as long as Farhan Zaidi is running the operation, that means doing Zaidiy things. And what’s a more Zaidiy thing than making three waiver claims on a random November day?

The Giants did exactly that on Friday, claiming outfielder Austin Dean from the St. Louis Cardinals, right-handed pitcher Hunter Harvey from the Baltimore Orioles, and left-handed pitcher Joe Palumbo from the Texas Rangers.

You might have heard of these players. You also might not have heard of these players.

Here’s a quick rundown on the newest Giants who, based on how things have gone for the Giants with small moves, are equally likely to be off the roster tomorrow and earning All-Star votes next summer.

Dean is a 28-year old right-handed hitting corner outfielder who was drafted in the fourth round in 2012. He’s played in each of the last four seasons, accumulating a slash line of .225/.282/.391 (80 wRC+) with 25 walks to 82 strikeouts in 356 plate appearances. He struggled with injuries last year, barely cracking 100 plate appearances between the Majors and the Minors, but he had a tremendous offensive season in AAA in 2019, slashing .337/.401/.635 (146 wRC+) while in the Miami Marlins system.

Harvey is a 26-year old righty who was drafted in the first round (No. 22 overall) in 2013, and has spent his entire career with the Orioles organization. He’s reached the Majors in each of the last three seasons as a reliever, sporting a 3.42 ERA and 4.71 FIP, with 23 strikeouts to 9 walks in 23.2 innings. He only pitched 18.2 innings this season between the Majors and Minors, and hasn’t had a standout Minor League season since 2017. Still, at their most recent prospect update, Fangraphs gave Harvey a future value of 40, and named him Baltimore’s No. 30 prospect. He has a 60/60 fastball and 55/55 curveball.

Palumbo has the least pedigree but perhaps the highest upside. A 27-year old lefty, he was taken in the 30th round in 2013, but in 2020 was given a future value of 45 and named the Rangers No. 8 prospect, per Fangraphs. He has just 19 MLB innings to his name — spread between 2019 and 2020 — and a 9.47 ERA and 8.00 FIP, with 26 strikeouts to 11 walks. He pitched just 6.2 Minor League innings this year.

Welcome to the Giants, you three. Enjoy your stay, however short or long it may be.