SF Giants bolster minor league depth with trade for pitcher

The SF Giants have completed a pair of trades with the Atlanta Braves this offseason. The first was a deal that sent reliever Jay Jackson to the Braves, whereas the second in an unrelated move, was to acquire minor league pitching prospect Tanner Andrews.

SF Giants bolster minor league depth with trade for pitcher

Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group was the first to report the move and he indicated that San Francisco would be sending over cash considerations to the Braves in exchange for Andrews.

The Giants lost some quality pitching depth in the upper minors on Wednesday when Jon Duplantier (Los Angeles Dodgers), Conner Menez (Chicago Cubs), and Matt Seelinger (Philadelphia Phillies) were all plucked away in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 draft.

Interestingly, the Giants signed Duplantier to a minor league pact just a few days ago, but it appears that his stay in the organization will be a brief one. With all that being said, the front office will need to rebuild organizational pitching depth and they began that process by acquiring Andrews on Thursday.

The right-handed hurler was selected in the 10th round of the 2018 draft by the Miami Marlins out of Purdue University. The Braves just picked up Andrews a couple of days before the Rule 5 draft, but he will be switching uniforms yet again.

In three seasons since being drafted, the 26-year-old pitching prospect has registered a 3.78 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 7.9 K/9, and a 3.20 SO/W ratio while reaching as high as Double-A. Durability seems to be a question mark given that he has completed just 164.1 innings, including only 5.2 innings in 2021, in that time.

The durability concerns will not disappear anytime soon as Andrews underwent Tommy John surgery last summer, so he is set to miss a significant portion of the 2022 season. When he does return, it seems likely that he will make a permanent move to the bullpen.

The Giants ran thin on organizational pitching depth as the 2021 season came to a close, so the front office will be tasked with rounding out the major league rotation as well as ensuring that the minor league affiliates have enough depth in case of injuries or promotions. The Andrews acquisition is not one that makes headlines in the offseason, but one that will be sure to help a Giants affiliate down the stretch next season.