SF Giants News: Middle infielder agrees to a minor league deal with the Royals

A former SF Giants middle infielder has found a new home for 2023 as the Kansas City Royals announced that they have signed veteran Matt Duffy to a minor league contract. This includes an invite to spring training.

SF Giants News: Middle infielder agrees to a minor league deal with the Royals

Duffy was drafted in the 18th round of the 2012 draft by the Giants out of Long Beach State University. San Francisco's success with the draft has been so poor in recent seasons that the right-handed bat represents one of the most impactful infielders that the Giants have drafted in the last 15 years.

In no way is that a slight at Duffy as he has put together a nice career. He debuted with the Giants as a 23-year-old in 2014, posting a .602 OPS in 64 plate appearances as a rookie. However, he was added to the postseason roster and helped the Giants win their third championship in five seasons.

The 32-year-old really blossomed in the following season as he slashed .295/.334/.428 (108 OPS+) with 12 home runs, 77 RBI, and 77 runs in 612 plate appearances for the Giants. He finished as the runner-up to Kris Bryant in the NL Rookie of the Year voting that season, but he finished well ahead of Joc Pederson as well.

The Giants hoped that Duffy would hold down an infield position for years to come but that did not come to fruition as he was shipped to the Tampa Bay Rays along with two prospects in exchange for left-handed hurler Matt Moore.

This became a polarizing move as Duffy quickly became a popular player among Giants fans. And, who could forget Duffy's oversized cat, Skeeter, who also became very popular among baseball fans.

Duffy battled hamstring, Achilles, and back ailments during his time with Tampa Bay, appearing in just 199 games across four seasons. Since then, the World Series winning has played for the Chiago Cubs and the Los Angeles Angels.

He joins a Royals team that went 65-97 last year, so Duffy has a good shot at making the club and carving out a nice role, especially after utility infielder Adalberto Mondesí was shipped to the Boston Red Sox this winter. Duffy has never been able to regain the magic from his 2015 season, but he remains very popular with Giants fans to this day.