Orioles roll the dice on former top SF Giants prospect with waiver claim

The Baltimore Orioles have claimed former SF Giants top prospect Marco Luciano off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Now, Luciano will see if he can have success in orange and black of a different variety on the east coast.

The Giants moved on from Luciano earlier in the offseason as he was claimed off waivers by the Pirates in exchange for nothing. But, as often happens with waiver claims this time of year, Luciano was on the move not long after that.

Former SF Giants top prospect finds new home with the Orioles

There was some thought that maybe the Giants would give Luciano another chance in 2026, at the very least maybe in spring training to see if he could snag a roster spot. But the fact he was out of minor league options and really did not have a clear path to making the team is why the Giants decided to pull the plug.

It was a pretty stark fall from grace for Luciano after he was considered by many to be the heir apparent to Brandon Crawford at shortstop following the 2023 season. But a rough 2024 really derailed things as he never established himself and was so poor defensively that he was converted into an outfielder.

San Francisco has cut ties with a number of fringe outfielders this offseason. They added both Joey Wiemer and Justin Dean on waiver claims but then cut them both loose as well. They also just lost Wade Meckler on a waiver claim to the Los Angeles Angels, another fringe outfielder who likely had no path to making the big league team.

Since the Giants have not added a legitimate big league outfielder to the mix, right field remains wide open as of right now. With how things currently stand, Drew Gilbert, Luis Matos, and Jerar Encarnacion are the three favorites for playing time in right field.

There is still time for the team to make a move, but it seems unlikely that they will be players in the deep end of the free agent pool for the likes of Kyle Tucker or Cody Bellinger.

The Orioles will be hoping they can tap into the potential and talent that Luciano has but was never able to fully take advantage of while he was with the Giants. All the Giants can do is try to move on after another top prospect went sideways on them.