3 SF Giants players on the 40-man roster who are out of minor league options

Some Giants players will be facing more pressure than others to perform in the Cactus League.

Michael Swinehart

Sep 11, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants designated hitter Jerar Encarnacion (59) gestures as he runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images / John Hefti-Imagn Images

Buster Posey made a public comment last week to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic in which he said, “we feel pretty set with the roster the way it is right now”. Whether that’s a bluff or truly there are no more external additions in the offing, a few SF Giants players will be entering camp without any minor league options.

3 SF Giants players on the 40-man roster who are out of minor league options

Each player gets three minor league options. Option year is probably a more correct term as players can be optioned as many as five times in a season. Being optioned does not necessarily burn an option year.

If a player spends at least 20 days in the minors after being optioned, then he loses that option year. In rare instances, players can be awarded a fourth option year. Randy Rodríguez looks to be a beneficiary of this as he still has one minor league option remaining after using one in each of the past three seasons.

Once a player is out of options, the clock begins to tick. This is why it would behoove the Giants to get as much of an evaluation as possible on Luis Matos and Marco Luciano this season. The Giants want to avoid being in a position next year where either is out of options without a defined role.

Players without options who are enter spring training could be playing for a different team by the end of camp. That is because they need to make the team or be placed on waivers. The good news is that this is a problem for all 30 teams, so the beginning of the season is the best time to sneak a player through waivers.

1. Jerar Encarnación

Encarnación got into 35 games as a Giant last year, two seasons after making his major league debut with the Marlins in 2022. He showed enough promise to work his way into the potential DH mix for this season, but not so much that an external replacement is out of the question.

He and Wilmer Flores, barring a late-career resurgence from Wilmer or an unexpected step forward from Encarnación, make the Giants’ projected DH production among the weakest in the league. The right-handed bat's .248/.277/.425 line with San Francisco last season was six percent below league-average per wRC+, and that .277 on-base percentage looks especially untenable.

Encarnación was much better in his short showing with Sacramento, however, putting up an excellent .352/.438/.616 line in a near-identical 33 games. The Giants will be closely following his spring production, and fans should be too. He will need to hit, a lot, to carve out a role with this team.

3 SF Giants players on the 40-man roster who are out of minor league options

2. David Villar

There was a brief period when David Villar seemed to be slugging his way into the Giants’ long-term plans, but now it would be something of a long shot for him to break camp with the club. The corner infielder has hit 15 bombs in his 109 games with the team dating back to 2022, but the vast majority of his good production came in his rookie 2022 season.

Since then, he has hit only .170/.243/.346 in 57 big-league games, and even his numbers were a long way away from his career highs in Sacramento. Villar is no longer on the younger side at 28, and without any minor league options remaining, it’s unlikely any team would be willing to commit an MLB roster spot to him at this point. Most likely, he will clear waivers and be outrighted back to Sacramento if he fails to win a job as Matt Chapman’s backup out of spring.

3. Sam Huff

Sam Huff is probably the second-most likely in-house candidate to be Patrick Bailey’s backup, behind veteran Tom Murphy. Huff is quite a bit younger than Murphy but no less challenging to project. He is a bat-first option similar to Murphy, but that’s not necessarily a problem considering Bailey is so advanced behind the plate. Both Huff and Murphy hit from the right side, so either player is a natural platoon complement to Bailey.

Having just turned 27 last month, Huff has hit .258/.313/.455 in 78 career games, but he has never been someone the Rangers gave much leeway at the major league level, probably because of his limited defensive skillset. In 249 career AAA games his .265/.343/.489 line is reasonably impressive for a catcher, but with Murphy already having a guaranteed deal, Huff would have to have a big showing this spring to crack the roster. The Giants are likely not ruling that out from happening after bringing in an out-of-options Huff to the mix.

Note: Heliot Ramos is also out of options but not at risk of losing a roster spot. He enters spring training penciled in as the everyday left fielder. Joey Lucchesi is also out of options but is joining the Giants as a non-roster invitee. If he does not make the club, he could join the Giants' Triple-A affiliate.

Michael Swinehart

Michael Swinehart is a Contributor to Around the Foghorn. He grew up in Solano County and has followed the Giants since he was a kid. While today his writing focuses on the Giants, he previously helped cover all teams writing for Off the Bench Baseball. He's been to games at six different MLB stadiums and has a personal goal of visiting at least one new park each year. He is currently based in the Portland metro area, where he lives with his wife and two dogs.