San Francisco Giants: Who is minor league signing Cristhian Adames?

The San Francisco Giants added some infield depth to the Triple-A roster with a minor league signing on Friday.

Lacking in middle infield depth, the San Francisco Giants have leaned heavily on Levi Michael and Abiatal Avelino to man second base and shortstop at the Triple-A level this season.

While both players are having decent seasons, adding more depth to the mix is never a bad idea, especially since Avelino is part of the 40-man roster and figures to be called up at some point before the year is over.

With that in mind, the front office made an under-the-radar move on Friday to add another middle infield option to the mix.

In 12 games with the Chicago Cubs Triple-A affiliate this season, Adames hit .256/.375/.462 with two doubles and two home runs in 48 plate appearances. He also turned some heads with the club during spring training.

The 27-year-old spent the entire 2018 season playing at the Triple-A level in the Miami Marlins organization, batting .269/.324/.370 with 28 extra-base hits in 498 trips to the plate.

He’s seen extensive time at both second base and shortstop during his pro career, and he also brings some solid major league experience to the table.

Over parts of four seasons with the Colorado Rockies, he appeared in 166 games and batted .206/.283/.278, with the bulk of that action coming in 2016 when he spent most of the season on the active roster as a utility infielder.

While the offensive numbers leave a lot to be desired, he’s always been a solid defender, tallying 6 DRS in 461.2 career innings at shortstop.

He’s clearly behind the 24-year-old Avelino on the organizational depth chart, and Donovan Solano has done an excellent job filling the utility role at the MLB level all season. In other words, don’t expect to see Adames on the MLB roster any time soon.

Still, he’s a solid depth addition to round out the Triple-A roster, and the team’s up-and-coming pitchers will welcome having his glove behind them.