Juan Gutierrez and Robert Coello opt out of Giants contracts as San Francisco loses two more minor league pitchers

On the heels of Kevin Correia packing his bags for greener pastures, San Francisco—well, technically Sacramento—has bid ado to another ex-Giant in Juan Gutierrez as well as starting pitcher Robert Coello.

Like Correia, both men have opted out of their minor-league contracts to seek opportunities elsewhere, according to MLB trade rumors.

Gutierrez is obviously the name fans are more familiar with, all Amy G jokes aside. The right-hander was a staple in middle relief for San Francisco last season, finishing with a respectable 3.96 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 63 2/3 innings.

He also rubbed up baseballs with a lot of…er…passion?

He was very solid for the Giants in the first-half of 2014, seeing his ERA dip into the 2’s for a stretch in July-August, but the Venezuelan vet struggled down the stretch and was ultimately left off the team’s postseason roster.

The organization rewarded him with a good faith signing in the winter, but his performance in Sacramento (4.39 ERA with 34 hits in 26 2/3 innings) did not position him for a potential call-up.

He can still hammer the strike zone with good velocity, but if Erik Cordier couldn’t find a new home off waivers, I wouldn’t hold out hope for the man formerly known as J.C.

R.C. (or just Coello, if you prefer) is the other departed arm, and is the bigger loss of the two, in my opinion. He may have less MLB service time than Gutierrez, but he was having a strong year for the ’Cats on paper (6-3, 3.50 ERA in 11 starts) after an impressive 2014 splitting time between the Yankees’ and Orioles’ Triple-A affiliates.

If his name sounds familiar, it’s probably because you, like me, read this article after he got some run with the Angels in 2013. That’s right: the Giants have given up the master of the forgotten forkball.

Except…Coello’s not exactly the master of that pitch. By that, I mean that he struggles with command (49/28 K/BB ratio with Sacramento), which—in addition to his otherwise average stuff— has kept him from sticking in the Majors. This is his first season exclusively starting in quite some time, though, so I could see another team scooping him up as a speculative add.

Wait, isn’t that what the Giants are famous for? Oh well…I’m sure they’ll counter with yet another reclamation project in short order.