SF Giants News: Willie Calhoun, Jharel Cotton, and Matt Daniels

Former top prospect Willie Calhoun appeared briefly for the SF Giants in 2022 and the left-handed bat found a new home for 2023. According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.Com, Calhoun signed a minor league pact with the New York Yankees. This includes a camp invite.

SF Giants News: Willie Calhoun signs minor league deal with the New York Yankees

Calhoun came over to the Giants midway through the 2022 season in a deal that sent outfielder Steven Duggar to the Texas Rangers. Duggar suffered an oblique injury early in the season and was nearing activation, but San Francisco decided to ship him away.

At the time, Calhoun was not on the 40-man roster. He proved to a nice addition for the Sacramento River Cats as he slashed .291/.377/.453 (110 wRC+) with five home runs, 23 RBI, and 24 runs in 170 plate appearances. This included a fantastic 11.2 percent walk rate against a 12.9 percent strikeout rate.

The 28-year-old earned a late-season promotion to the Giants where he recorded one hit in eight at-bats. He was outrighted off of the 40-man roster near the end of the season and elected free agency.

SF Giants News: Veteran reliever Jharel Cotton finds a new home for 2023

Speaking of finding a new home for 2023, veteran reliever Jharel Cotton has signed a deal to join the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) according to multiple sources. The Giants roster was a revolving door for much of the season, but it was especially true in September.

Cotton was claimed off of waivers at the end of the season. To make room, Calhoun was outrighted off of the 40-man roster. The right-handed hurler posted a 6.75 ERA in five appearances for San Francisco. Of course, this was a very small sample and one bad outing affected the numbers.

Overall, Cotton had a nice season last year, posting a 3.56 ERA in 30 appearances split between the Minnesota Twins and the Giants. Oddly enough, he was designated for assignment and cleared waivers three times with the Twins. He elected to remain with the organization each time, but did not sneak through a fourth time as the Giants were awarded the claim.

SF Giants News: Matt Daniels announces departure from organization

Giants coordinator of pitching sciences Matt Daniels announced on Sunday that his time with San Francisco has come to an end:

Daniels was hired prior to the 2019 season. He came from the Driveline Baseball Program in Washington, which excels at improving player performance, especially when it comes to pitching.

At times, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what a person's impact is with an organization, but it was evident that Daniels played a role in revamping the Giants' approach to pitching. The organization was relatively behind in its use of technology to track and improve performance, but it was something that was present as soon as Daniels arrived.

Daniels worked throughout the organization, but his impact was felt on the major league staff as well. During his time with the Giants, San Francisco's pitching staff posted a 3.92 ERA, which ranked as the eighth-best mark in baseball.