Multiple former SF Giants minor leaguers become free agents

Since the Minor League Baseball season ended in early-October, players of a certain status in professional baseball have started making decisions about their future, including choosing to become free agents. In the first batch of those was four former SF Giants prospects, all from different organizations.

Of the four players, the only one who played with the Giants in 2022 was Mike Ford. The first baseman was one in a string of players acquired by the Giants in trades with the Seattle Mariners during the season, part of a season in which he racked up the frequent flyer miles.

Ford began the year in the minors with Seattle before the Giants picked him up for cash considerations. He spent one game in the big leagues with San Francisco, going 1-for-4 with two RBI in a May 1 loss to Washington, and less than two weeks later returned to the Mariners. Following 16 games where he hit .172 in the Emerald City, Ford was picked up by the Atlanta Braves on waivers. With the reigning World Series champions he was hitless in seven at-bats and got released, but he signed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and was a regular down the stretch, batting .231 with three homers in 28 games.

Anderson on the move again

The only other player of the bunch who has worn the Major League version of Orange and Black is Shaun Anderson. The hard-throwing right-hander was a 2017 acquisition by the Bobby Evans regime in the trade that sent Eduardo Nunez to Boston. He was then swapped to Minnesota before the 2021 campaign for Lamonte Wade Jr.

In between, Anderson made his MLB debut with San Francisco in 2019, where he started 16 games and pitched in 28 overall. He had some success as strictly a reliever in 2020 but has bounced around since then - pitching for three teams in 2021 and making just one appearance in the Majors this year, with Toronto.

The other pitcher, Dusten Knight, never appeared with the Giants but was a 2013 draftee of the team in the 28th round. Just making it to the big leagues is impressive for someone drafted that late, and Knight has done just that in short stints with Baltimore in 2021 and Tampa Bay in 2022.

Finally, infielder Yolmer Sanchez also became a free agent. He never played an official game in the Majors or Minor Leagues with the Giants, but only because the pandemic affected the 2020 season. The Giants signed him before that season but released him in August of that year. He spent time in the MLB ranks with Boston and the New York Mets in 2022.