San Francisco Giants: A look at the 2018 Non Roster Invites

Infielders

Orlando Calixte

We actually have a pretty good idea of who Calixte is. Except last year, the Giants viewed him as an outfielder. Thankfully they’re done with those experiments, after he, Aaron Hill, and Eduardo Nunez got run well out of position. This year, Calixte is going to be viewed as a middle infielder, which is where he initially broke into the big league ranks with the Royals.

Calixte had a .143 average in 45 AB’s with the big league club last year. He was awful in the outfield when it came to defense. In Sacramento, where he spent most of his time in 2017, he compiled a .247 average and .704 OPS. He did pop 14 homers, but anybody can do that in the PCL. Defensively he can play all over the middle of the infield, so if things got really bad he could hop in. Calixte’s ceiling is likely the same as Juaqin Arias’. Frankly, Ehire Adrianza would be a better option there, but this is what they’re stuck with.

Chase d’Arnaud

Chase d’Arnaud is the brother of Travis d’Arnaud, the Met’s catcher. Chase’s bat is even worse than Calixte’s so again, I’m not really feeling this. He feels more like a career 4A player than a big league bench help.

In 450 AB’s at the big league level, d’Arnaud has a .223 average and a .594 OPS. Again, not bright. AAA he has roughly a .260 average and an OPS hovering around .700. Career 4-A guy? Yes sir(or Ma’am). Is he going to help at the big league leve? Likely not. You can catch him in Sacramento though!

Alen Hanson

Hanson is intriguing because of his somewhat ridiculous speed. The infielder has 205 career stolen bases in the minor leagues. He’s bounced around the league and around the minors since he started out in 2010. He actually has had better success in the minors than the previous two guys, and if the Giants want to keep someone on the bench that they can put in to pinch run or play late inning defense, Hanson might be the guy. I give him a better chance to get game time in 2018 than the previous two.

Kyle Jensen

Kyle Jensen is a known minor league slugger. In 2016, he hit 30 homers with the D-Backs’ AAA team, the Reno Aces. He did not play anywhere in 2017 as he dealt with injury. Jensen has 178 career homers in the minor leagues, and a good batting average of sorts. He’s 29, and if he can get himself going, he could actually help out the Giants bench squad a bit. Jensen has played in the outfield mostly, but got more run at 1B in 2016.

Also, Jensen’s listing in the infield screams 1B/PH potential. If the Giants viewed Chris Shaw as a 1B option anymore, he’d be listed here and Jensen potentially in the outfield. So for now, Jensen is looking to make it as a 1B/PH guy and I wouldn’t put it past him to impress a bit in Spring Training. Now, getting the roster spot would be another thing, but Jensen’s addition to the ST fold means Shaw is destined for the OF.

Josh Rutledge

Rutledge is a well known guy in the die-hard circles of the NL West. Rutledge came up with the Rockies, but has only played more than 100 big league games in a season once. The often injured middle infielder could bring some valuable depth though, if Kelby Tomlinson were to regress. Rutledge will be an intriguing add to the fold in spring, but things are more about “if he’s healthy” than “does he have the ability.” If he is actually healthy, he might be making the Giants’ roster at some point. He and Jensen are my best chances to make the big league roster out of this group of Infield invitee’s.