3 SF Giants players who could lose their roster spot after Jorge Soler signing

Sean Hjelle

Finally, we come to the portion where we have to just decide who the most expendable player on the Giants' 40-man roster is. There are some strong candidates with Bart, David Villar, Brett Wisely, and TJ Hopkins all having arguments for the honor. However, Sean Hjelle is a name that sticks out as a guy that was going to have to really battle to even get on the big-league radar in 2024, even without the need to make roster room.

The 6'11" righty came with a lot of promise when he was selected at the top of the second round of the 2018 draft. However, after dominating the lower levels of the minor leagues, Hjelle struggled to miss bats in Triple-A. Those struggles were simply amplified when he made it to the big leagues, as he has posted a 6.17 ERA in 23 appearances (all out of the bullpen) with the Giants.

Perhaps Hjelle simply needs to stick in the rotation and take advantage of a change of scenery. He is certainly very talented and has a frame that teams can dream on. The issue is that the Giants haven't been able to unlock that potential in him, and no one realistically expects him to be a part of San Francisco's rotation long-term.

It is still far more likely that the Giants will simply add some guys to the injured list once that option is available to them and then slot Soler in for now. However, as the spring goes on and the Giants have to make more and more decisions regarding who to keep and who to let go, they may just decide to cut the last guy on the 40-man instead of overthinking it. Unfortunately, Hjelle is on the shortlist for that distinction.

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