San Francisco Giants: Is Carlos Gonzalez worth a flier?

Could former Colorado Rockies star Carlos Gonzalez be next to take a ride on the San Francisco Giants outfield carousel?

The San Francisco Giants have not been shy about adding outside outfield help this season.

At this point, any time an intriguing name becomes available on the waiver wire or in outright free agency, one can’t help but wonder if he’ll inevitably end up wearing a Giants jersey.

Which brings us to this bit of news:

The 33-year-old is is a long way from being the three-time All-Star and former NL batting title winner we saw in his prime, but it looked like he still had something left in the tank last season.

In what turned out to be his final season with the Colorado Rockies, he posted a 99 OPS+ with 32 doubles, 16 home runs and 64 RBI while staying healthy enough to tally 504 plate appearances.

Despite that solid production, he was one of many veterans to suffer from a slow-moving free agent market, and he wound up settling for a minor league deal from the Cleveland Indians on March 19.

After hitting .348/.483/.522 in six games at Triple-A, he was called up to join outfield-needy Cleveland where he has seen regular playing time in left field.

However, a middling .210/.282/.276 line with two home runs and a 28.2 percent strikeout rate in 117 plate appearances was not enough for him to hang onto his job. After he was designated for assignment last week, he was given his outright release after clearing waivers on Sunday.

That means any team can sign him in free agency, and that’s where the Giants could have some level of interest.

If he’s willing to sign a minor league deal and head back to Triple-A for the time being, there might not be a more attractive landing spot than San Francisco, at least in terms of the likelihood that he will play his way onto the MLB roster at some point.

It would be a no-risk, potential-reward move by Farhan Zaidi if CarGo is willing to ride the bus down in the minors until an opportunity presents itself or he forces the team’s hand with strong play.

Stay tuned, San Francisco Giants fans.