Contract deadline looming for a pair of veteran SF Giants players hoping to make the roster

The SF Giants should have some roster activity or clarity in the coming days. Lou Trivino and Max Stassi have opt-out decisions to consider by March 22, or five days before the Giants play the Cincinnati Reds on the road.

Contract deadline looming for a pair of veteran SF Giants players hoping to make the roster

Under the new CBA, MLB created uniform opt-out dates for players with over six years of service time who finished the previous year on a major league roster and agreed to a minor league deal. The first opt-out date is five days before the start of the regular season followed by May 1 and June 1.

I know the conditions sound like a mouthful, but this applies only to a handful of players around baseball. Trivino and Stassi are some of those players.

Stassi clears the six-year service time threshold with ease. Trivino is closer to the border but over the threshold. He has appeared in parts of only five seasons but has been accruing service time while on the injured list in recent seasons. In total, the veteran reliever has just over six years of service time.

Despite both Trivino and Stassi finishing last year on the injured list, they still finished the year on a major league roster, even if they did so while on the 60-day injured list. So, both qualify for these opt-out dates.

This should be a relatively easy decision for Trivino. If the Giants do not add him to the active roster, he can opt out in favor of free agency where he should see modest interest.

That seems unlikely as Trivino is making a strong case to break camp with the club. He has completed 7.1 scoreless frames with the Giants this spring. Plus, Bob Melvin managed Trivino for four seasons while they were with the A's. He has spoken positively about having the right-handed hurler in spring training with the Giants.

On the other hand, Stassi could be more of a question mark. Sam Huff has looked like the clear frontrunner to be the team's backup catcher to start the year. A big reason for that is Huff is already on the 40-man roster.

Stassi got off to a slow start, but has hit much better at the plate in recent games. Overall, he has recorded six hits, including two home runs, with six RBI in 20 at-bats.

The Giants hope that geography will be a factor in Stassi choosing to remain with the organization in the minors. The team's Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento is not far from his hometown of Yuba City.

Even if Stassi does not begin the year with the Giants, he could have a role with the club later in the year. That would depend on how Huff performs. Nevertheless, in the next couple of days, the Giants should have some clarity on Trivino and Stassi's status.