Giants outright players, lose players, add Dom Núñez

The MLB offseason is officially underway, which means it’s transaction season. And if you’re new to these parts, you should know that the churn never sleeps with the San Francisco Giants. Sure, it takes a one-eye-open power nap while the rest of baseball participates in that silly little thing called the “postseason,” but it never actually sleeps.

And so the churn is back at it.

The Giants announced a series of moves on Wednesday. Most notable was that they claimed catcher Dom Núñez off of waivers from the Colorado Rockies. Núñez, a 27-year old left-handed hitter, has struggled in three MLB seasons with Colorado, hitting .180/.280/.373 in 347 plate appearances. But he’s a defensively strong backstop, who has shown a great ability to draw walks at both the Major and Minor League levels.

San Francisco now has three catchers on their 40-man roster, which is unlike them. It wouldn’t be at all surprising if Austin Wynns is non-tendered.

Also joining the 40-man roster is Isan Díaz, whom the Giants selected the contract of rather than letting him hit free agency. Díaz spent all of last year with the AAA Sacramento River Cats, where he hit .275/.377/.574, good for a 131 wRC+. Díaz, a 26-year old left-handed hitter, is unlikely to make good on his prior prospect status, when he was a 50-FV player and one of the top prospects in the Miami Marlins organization. But he has all the marks of someone who could be a quality fifth or sixth infielder.

The Giants also waived a lot of players from the 40-man roster. Five of those players — outfielders Bryce Johnson and Austin Dean, infielder Taylor Jones, utility player Ford Proctor, and right-handed reliever Zack Littell — cleared waivers and were outrighted to Sacramento.

But two players didn’t clear waivers, and are now out of the system: left-handed reliever Andrew Vasquez and right-handed reliever Luis Ortiz, who were both claimed by the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Giants 40-man roster now sits at 39 players, including those that are still on the 60-day Injured List. They’ll have to clear a few more spots before Rule 5 protections and honest-to-goodness free agency.

Buckle up, folks. The churn has only just begun.