SF Giants add 2-time Gold Glove winner and top pitching prospect to finalize Opening Day roster

The SF Giants had a busy morning on Thursday as they finalized the Opening Day roster. They made several moves including adding both Nick Ahmed and Landen Roupp to the active roster.

SF Giants add 2-time Gold Glove winner and top pitching prospect to finalize Opening Day roster

Ethan Small was transferred to the 60-day injured list with an oblique strain, whereas Alex Cobb (hip) and Sean Hjelle (elbow strain) were placed on the 15-day injured list.

The move to the 60-day injured list for Small opened up a spot on the 40-man roster. The Giants opened up another spot by designating Cooper Hummel for assignment. Hummel is a multi-positional catcher who hits from the left side and has one minor league option remaining. That could hold value for another team, but rosters are full at this point, so the Giants hope to sneak him through waivers.

They filled those spots by adding both Nick Ahmed and Landen Roupp to the active roster. Ahmed came into camp on a minor league deal and performed better than Marco Luciano in spring training to overtake the starting shortstop gig. Luciano was optioned to Triple-A. On the other hand, Ahmed solidifies the defense on the left side of the infield along with Matt Chapman.

Roupp came into came as a non-roster invitee but he is considered one of the Giants' better pitching prospects. The 25-year-old pitcher yielded just two earned runs with 13 strikeouts against four walks in eight Cactus League innings.

The last of the moves involved recalling Erik Miller, reassigning Daulton Jefferies, and releasing Pablo Sandoval. Miller competed with several players including Small, Amir Garrett, and Juan Sánchez for the second lefty reliever role in the bullpen. He had an inside track given that he was already on the 40-man roster. Miller did make his major league debut on Thursday, tossing one scoreless inning in the Giants 6-4 loss to the San Diego Padres.

Jefferies seemed like a potential candidate to make the club as a bulk-innings reliever. He allowed just four earned runs with 16 strikeouts against three walks in 14 innings during spring training. The former top pitching prospect will report to Sacramento and could become an option for the Giants if he performs in Triple-A.