SF Giants outright 2023 trade acquisition off of 40-man roster

The SF Giants swung one trade at the deadline, acquiring veteran bat A.J. Pollock and infielder Mark Mathias from the Seattle Mariners. The Giants released Pollock after just six plate appearances and have now sent Mathias outright to Triple-A, per the team's transaction log.

SF Giants outright 2023 trade acquisition off of 40-man roster

Both players had similarly brief career arcs with the Giants. Pollock recorded six hitless at-bats before landing on the injured list and being released before he returned. On the other hand, Mathias tallied two hits in 10 at-bats before landing on the injured list with a shoulder strain.

The 29-year-old was immediately transferred to the 60-day injured list, ending his season. This is Mathias' second time being outrighted off of the 40-man roster. Ordinarily, he would have an option to reject a Triple-A assignment but this is a moot point since he is eligible to reach free agency due to having more than six years of minor league service time.

There is a possibility that the right-handed bat remains with San Francisco. He was born in Santa Clara and attended Irvington High School in Fremont, so the local ties might be enough to keep him in the organization on a minor league deal.

That trade became an unfortunate turning point in the Giants' 2023 season. The team was comfortably in the playoff mix at the trade deadline but the season took a nosedive in the final two months of the year. This was no fault of Pollock or Mathias, but if the front office was going to make a trade, it needed to be a bigger move than this.

The Giants had hoped that Mathias would help raise the offensive floor at shortstop. Giants shortstops had struggled to the tune of a .577 OPS this past season, so getting more offense from the position was clearly a need.

Mathias had registered a .708 OPS in 199 plate appearances in parts of three seasons in the majors. This would have been a substantial improvement over what the Giants got at the position, but it never came to fruition. You can quickly and quietly close the ledger on this trade deadline move.