SF Giants: Former Infield Prospect is Now a Free Agent

Former SF Giants infielder Charlie Culberson is now a free agent after the Atlanta Braves outrighted him off of the 40-man roster.

The former SF Giants infield prospect was placed on waivers in September but did not get claimed. He remained with the Braves organization and was added back to the roster during the Braves playoff run.

Culberson joined Pablo Sandoval, Adam Duvall, Will Smith, and Mark Melancon on a Braves roster that was loaded with former Giants players.

On the year, the right-handed bat record just one hit in seven at-bats before being placed on waivers. Once he was added back to the roster for the postseason, he did not see much more activity, but he did collect two hits in three at-bats in the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Culberson, now 31-years-old, was originally drafted by the Giants in the first round of the 2007 draft. He made a gradual ascent through the minor league ranks before debuting with the club in 2012. As a rookie, he registered three hits in 22 at-bats while striking out seven times.

However, his Giants tenure proved to be a short one as he was traded to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Marco Scutaro before the July 31 trade deadline. This proved to be a shrewd move by the Giants as Scutaro posted a .362 batting average with San Francisco down the stretch while leading them to their second title in three years.

In addition to the Giants, Rockies, and Braves, the Georgia native carved out a role with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2016-2017.

In his eight-year career, the right-handed bat has slashed a .249/293/.391 line with 23 home runs and 111 RBI. Teams love the versatility that Culberson brings to the table as he has experience all around the diamond as well the corner outfield spots. He has also yielded just one run across 3.1 frames on the mound.

This is going to be a tough free-agent market as teams have quickly proven to be unwilling to spend on quality players to offset the revenues lost from the COVID-19 pandemic. With that being said, Culberson should have no problem landing a minor league deal for a team in need of infield depth.

The SF Giants could be an option as Culberson was acquired by the Dodgers when Farhan Zaidi was the general manager. That said, the minor league free-agent market is a tough area to speculate.

The former first-round pick has carved out a nice career so far and will test the free-agent waters to find a match for next season.