Saturday BP: Giants announce AAA Sacramento roster

Apr 1, 2023 - 12:00 PM

Happy weekend, San Francisco Giants fans. After a one-day hiatus, Giants baseball is back in your life.

And not only is Giants Major League Baseball back in your life, but Giants Minor League Baseball is, too!

While AA, High-A, and Low-A don’t start for another week, and rookie ball and the Dominican Summer League don’t begin for about two months, the season is underway for the AAA Sacramento River Cats.

And on Friday, they released their roster.

Here’s what it looks like:

Right-handed pitchers:
Melvin Adón
Tanner Andrews
Tristan Beck (40-man)
R.J. Dabovich
Sam Delaplane (7-day IL)
Nick Duron
Jorge Guzmán
Trevor Hildenberger
Sean Hjelle (40-man)
Mauricio Llovera
Kade McClure
Ljay Newsome (7-day IL)
Joe Ross (60-day IL)
Logan Shore (7-day IL)
Cole Waites (40-man)
Ryan Walker
Keaton Winn (40-man)
Miguel Yajure (7-day IL)

Left-handed pitchers:
Aaron Fletcher
Kyle Harrison
Sam Long (40-man)
Joey Marciano
Sean Newcomb (7-day IL)
Darien Núñez (60-day IL)

Catchers:
Brett Cumberland (60-day IL)
Ricardo Genovés
Austin Wynns

Infielders:
Armando Alvarez
Isan Díaz (40-man & 7-day IL)
Casey Schmitt
Donovan Walton (7-day IL)
Will Wilson

Outfielders:
Clint Coulter
Michael Gigliotti
Bryce Johnson
Heliot Ramos (40-man)

Utility:
Shane Matheny
Ford Proctor

Two-way:
Ronald Guzmán (60-day IL)

There are a few things of note. Counting the two-way action of Guzmán, the Giants are using 25 of 39 roster spots on pitchers, which would be hilarious for the Majors but is par for the course for how the front office has handled Sacramento. Have minimal position players so those guys can play almost every day, and throw out five million arms — often rejection starting pitchers altogether — and see who can stick for the inevitable bullpen churn.

There’s a somewhat clear pecking order for depth. Johnson, who was going to make the Opening Day roster before a last-minute trade for Matt Beaty, will be first in line as an outfield replacement, though the Giants will hope that Ramos can earn that spot. When healthy, Díaz will be first in line for the infielder, until Schmitt or Wilson takes over.

Speaking of Schmitt and Wilson ... it became clear that they were Sacramento bound after their springs, which were not only impressive, but featured a lot of playing time. What we didn’t know is who would join them. Tyler Fitzgerald and Sean Roby, who spent all of 2022 in AA where they had seasons full of both promise and worry, did not make the cut.

Oh, and Harrison is on the roster. Which we knew. But I’m still excited.

And finally, the Giants traded for former All-Star catcher Gary Sánchez on Friday, and he’ll start things in Sacramento. So you can expect to see him as part of this roster shortly.

The River Cats were supposed to start their season on Friday, but their season opener was rained out. They’ll play a doubleheader today, and as a reminder, MiLB TV is included in the MLB TV package this year.

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What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants and New York Yankees resume their series today at 1:05 p.m. PT.