SF Giants announce third wave of roster cuts including top infield prospect

The SF Giants announced a third wave of roster cuts on Saturday. This wave consisted of three players including top middle infield prospect Marco Luciano according to Maria I. Guardado of MLB.Com.

SF Giants announce third wave of roster cuts including top infield prospect

The other two cuts were a pair of pitchers in Raymond Burgos and Jorge Guzmán. The Giants announced a wave of cuts on Friday, so it was a bit of a surprise to see them trim the camp roster even further just 24 hours later.

In effect, Luciano was optioned to Triple-A, whereas Burgos and Guzmán were reassigned to minor league camp. The result is the same, but the transaction with Luciano requires an official roster move given that he is on the 40-man roster.

This brings the total of players on the 40-man roster in camp to 37. Luciano sustained a lower back stress fracture while playing in winter ball, so he never got into game action this spring as he continued to recover from the injury.

San Francisco was initially quiet about the specifics of his injury and it was a mild surprise when the severity of it was announced. That said, the 21-year-old prospect was beginning to ramp up baseball activity before being optioned. The hope is that he is ready to go when the season begins.

Luciano will likely begin the year in Double-A after a successful stint in High-A in 2022, slashing .263/.339/.459 with 10 home runs, 30 RBI, and 27 runs in 230 plate appearances for the Eugene Emeralds. He received a late-season promotion to Double-A where he recorded one hit in eight at-bats for the Richmond Flying Squirrels during their playoff run.

Neither Raymond Burgos nor Jorge Guzmán received a long look in the Cactus league before being reassigned. Burgos yielded one earned run with three strikeouts across two innings, whereas Guzmán did not allow a run in 2.2 frames while recording five strikeouts. The latter was once a top prospect and someone to monitor this season.

For now, all three players will finish the spring in minor league camp. And, they will have a shot at more playing time to get ready for the season.