3 SF Giants who could lose their 40-man roster spot

As Opening Day approaches, the SF Giants will soon set their active roster for the regular season. With some obvious spots up for competition, the team’s front office will likely need to clear space on the 40-man roster. Usually, teams can place players who have suffered severe injuries on the 60-day injured list to clear space for new additions, but the Giants have already placed John Brebbia, Tyler Beede, and Dedniel Núñez on the 60-day IL.

Without any space on the 40-man roster, the Giants will have to designate a player for assignment if they want to add someone like Jason Krizan, Silvino Bracho, Nick Tropeano, Dominic Leone, or Scott Kazmir to the big-league roster. While it’s unlikely that the team will add more than a couple of those players, that would still displace two current members of the 40-man roster. If that happens, who is most at risk of losing their spot?

3 SF Giants who could lose their 40-man roster spot
1. Darin Ruf

Darin Ruf was one of the best stories on the Giants roster last season. Less than a year later, it’s hard to see him in San Francisco for the entire 2021 season. The 34-year old was exceptional at the plate last season, posting a .276/.370/.517 triple-slash, primarily against southpaws. Still, a career-high .322 BABIP and 23.8% home run-to-flyball rate suggest he was a beneficiary of some good luck.

Don’t get it twisted. Expected statistics, like xwOBA, rate Ruf as a squarely above-average hitter. Even if Brandon Belt starts the season on the injured list, Wilmer Flores, Jason Vosler, Tommy La Stella, LaMonte Wade Jr, and even Buster Posey are comfortable at first base with similar offensive profiles. Whenever Belt returns to his position as the everyday first baseman, it becomes harder to envision Ruf finding consistent at-bats.

This spring, Ruf has received the second-most plate appearances of any player on the Giants (right behind Vosler). While Vosler is hitting over .300, Ruf has struck out in over 30% of his plate appearances and generated a meager .229/.364/.371 triple-slash. If San Francisco did not have other options, Ruf has looked competent enough to earn an MLB roster spot. However, with so much competition in camp, he has to outhit the other players to make up for his defensive limitations. He has not done that.

Ruf would almost assuredly be claimed off waivers by another team. For Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, he might create some intriguing trade opportunities to acquire a lottery-ticket prospect from another organization. Zaidi has shown a tendency to be aggressive on the trade market towards the end of spring training and early into the regular season. Ruf, who remains under team control through arbitration for two years beyond 2021, seems like a piece he could look to move.

3 SF Giants who could lose their 40-man roster spot
3. Wandy Peralta

Like Davis, I get the sense I remain higher on Wandy Peralta than the Giants’ front office. Peralta is a unique reliever with a legitimate three-pitch mix and plus slider. However, inconsistent command and a fastball that plays below its mid-90s velocity have prevented him from becoming a high-leverage option. Now in a crowded bullpen mix, Peralta needed a strong spring to solidify his spot in the bullpen.

Instead, while players like Tropeano, Bracho, Leone, and many other holdovers from last year’s pitching staff performed well, Peralta has posted an 8.53 ERA across seven appearances. While Peralta has struck out 10 batters against just three walks, opponents have consistently squared him up, blasting two home runs and 10 hits. Peralta’s ERA could easily be even worse, but three of his nine runs allowed are unearned.

Peralta seems like an obvious victim of small-sample size bad luck. His opponents’ BABIP is .444, and his groundout-to-air out rate is 4.00, suggesting an unsustainable amount of fly balls against him are landing in the outfield. Still, another factor could be working against Peralta: he’s a southpaw.

Lefties Jake McGee, Sam Selman, and Jarlin Garcia all seem more firmly entrenched in the bullpen, and the majority of the organization’s depth options (Conner Menez, Caleb Baragar, Kazmir, and Anthony Banda) are southpaws as well. The Giants front office was willing to dedicate a disproportionate amount of roster spots to left-handed pitchers last season, but with a deeper and more balanced pen, that might no longer be the case.

Peralta was a solid middle reliever in San Francisco last season and seemed to find a sweet spot as a long reliever late in the season. However, without experience as a starter, like Tropeano, Baragar, Menez, or Banda, or the high-leverage track-record of someone like Leone, the Giants might prefer someone else in his 40-man roster spot. Again, it’s hard to imagine Peralta clearing waivers. That could open the door for a minor trade to a team with far fewer proven bullpen options.

The SF Giants have built an impressive amount of depth over Farhan Zaidi’s tenure. Consequently, it’s harder to envision the organization retaining players on their 40-man roster if they designate them for assignment. Still, it seems likely that at least one player will have to be added to the 40-man by Opening Day, which could put Darin Ruf, Jaylin Davis, or Wandy Peralta’s future in San Francisco at risk.