Monday BP: Giants claim Jharel Cotton off of waivers

The churn continues, even when fully out of the playoff race and not having anything to play for. On Sunday the San Francisco Giants claimed right-handed reliever Jharel Cotton off of waivers from the Minnesota Twins.

Cotton, who is 30, is having a tough year. In 35 innings with the Twins he had a very nice ERA of 2.83, but everything points to that being a lot of luck, as he had a 5.48 FIP, a 5.09 xFIP, and a .182 BABIP, with less than eight strikeouts per nine innings, and more than four walks.

This was the fourth time this year that the Twins had DFA’d him, and the first time that anyone had claimed him.

Still, there’s a lot to be intrigued about with Cotton, who had a 3.72 FIP with the Texas Rangers in 2021. He used to be a top 100 prospect, with Fangraphs having given him a 55 future value, and a 70-grade changeup. In all likelihood he won’t find magic with the Giants and will be gone in a few days or weeks, but you can see why they’re making the gamble.

To clear space on the 40-man roster for Cotton, the Giants designated Willie Calhoun for assignment. Calhoun was acquired early in the season in a trade for Steven Duggar ... he wasn’t on the 40-man roster, which made him enticing to the roster-crunched Giants. But he didn’t do very well for AAA Sacramento, where he sported just a 115 wRC+, and received only nine plate appearances after the Giants purchased his contract.

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants play the Colorado Rockies tonight at 5:40 p.m. PT.