Chris Shaw, Aramis Garcia, Jordan Humphreys Claimed From SF Giants

The SF Giants lost three players through waivers on Wednesday. Cleveland claimed Jordan Humphreys, the Texas Rangers claimed Aramis Garcia, and Baltimore Orioles claimed Chris Shaw.

As the SF Giants prepared themselves for the Rule 5 draft last Friday, the team designated right-handed pitcher Jordan Humphreys, first baseman Chris Shaw, and catcher Aramis Garcia for assignment to clear space for other prospects. On Wednesday, all three were claimed by other organizations.

Humphreys was claimed by Cleveland. Acquired by the Giants this season in a trade with the New York Mets for outfielder Billy Hamilton, The 24-year old righty has dealt with a slew of injuries and health remains a concern, but he has been incredibly effective in the lower minor leagues. Humphreys ranked as the 23rd best prospect in the Giants system.

After not pitching in 2018 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Humphreys only managed 2 innings with the Mets rookie-ball affiliate in 2019. Following the end of the minor league season, Humphreys played in the Arizona Fall League, a hotbed of prospect talent. He made 4 appearances and was flashing the prospect potential he’d shown early in his career.

In his limited sample last year, he was sitting 90-93 mph with his fastball and flashed an above-average slider. According to a pro scout who saw him in Arizona, “he has back-end rotation floor… swing and miss stuff is there. Like the upside and coaches spoke well about his makeup, hard worker.” Most pundits though, see Humphreys more as a back-end piece.

Shaw was claimed by the Baltimore Orioles. Drafted in the supplemental first round of the 2015 MLB draft out of Boston College, power has always been his carrying tool. Limited to first base and left field, Shaw will have to hit his way to a big-league job.

In 82 career MLB plate appearances, Shaw struck out 31 times and posted a meager .466 OPS. Needless to say, it was understandable why the Giants designated him given their glut of corner bats. However, Baltimore is betting that Shaw’s career .280/.328/.538 line at Triple-A could transfer to the next level.

Finally, Garcia was claimed by the Texas Rangers. Garcia was the Giants second-round pick in the 2016 draft and dealt with injuries throughout his progression to the major leagues, but never seemed overmatched. While he missed all of 2020 due to injury, Garcia is a competent defensive catcher with some pop (.419 career slugging percentage in 37 MLB games) capable of at least becoming a solid backup.

It’s a credit to SF Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi that after taking a job in charge of a team without depth, other organizations are now targetting the fringes of the Giants roster. Of course, the team would rather have kept Chris Shaw, Jordan Humphreys, and Aramis Garcia in the organization, but they will now join the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland, and Texas Rangers respective 40-man rosters.