SF Giants place a trio of veterans on irrevocable waivers

With FanGraphs giving the Giants a paltry 2.7% chance of making the playoffs as of Wednesday, the SF Giants are now in the market for offloading salary. Just a day after having a home run robbed by Brewers center fielder Blake Perkins, Thairo Estrada finds himself one of three Giants to be placed on release waivers by the team. Lefty relievers Taylor Rogers and Tyler Matzek join him according to Grant Brisbee and Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic.

SF Giants place a trio of veterans on irrevocable waivers

While Matzek was an obvious candidate to be placed on waivers, Estrada and, to a lesser degree, Rogers are relatively surprising.

Once a big part of the Giants’ position player core, they now seem willing to part ways with Estrada for a mere $810K in savings, which is what another team would owe him for the rest of the year were they to put a claim on him. Such a sum is practically a rounding error for MLB teams, and amounts to organizational chump change. If he goes unclaimed, he will still finish out the season as a member of the Giants, but it’s clear he’s not in the organization’s plans for next season.

Due to the nature of arbitration, Estrada will be due a modest raise on this year’s $4.7MM salary next season, probably to around $5.5MM. He technically has two more seasons of team control after this one, but if the Giants part ways with him in the offseason, they’ll be under no obligation to pay that roughly $5.5MM sum and Estrada would be free to sign with another team, most likely at a lower rate.

Estrada is still just 28 and has been a productive Giant, but has been a black hole in the lineup this season. Though he hit .266/.320/.416 (105 wRC+) in three seasons between 2021-23, his line has cratered to .216/.246/.345 (64 wRC+) this year in 94 games.

The veteran infielder has also only stolen two bases a year after swiping 23, which is disappointing enough, but the on-base percentage is what has truly tanked his value. His .246 mark in that regard is third-worst in all of baseball, ahead of only Eddie Rosario and Adam Duvall among those with at least 300 plate appearances.

If Estrada is claimed and leaves the team before the calendar flips to September, the Giants are apparently ready to roll with some combination of Casey Schmitt, Brett Wisely or Marco Luciano at the keystone. Cavan Biggio is also in the organization after flaming out with the Blue Jays and could conceivably be added to the 40-man if Estrada’s departure created an opening.

Taylor Rogers is the other interesting player to be put on waivers, but he’s a bit less likely to be claimed simply due to how much he’s owed. He’s in the second year of a three-year, $33MM contract and is still owed $2.07 million for the rest of the season, in addition to $12 million for next year.

The lefty pitcher has quietly had his best season as a Giant this year, putting up a 2.45 ERA while punching out 10.34 batters per nine over 51.1 innings, but that doesn’t mean the $12 million he’ll be earning next year looks attractive. It would be a real shame to have to break the Rogers twins up, but the Giants aren’t looking to offload these three because they care how anyone feels about it – it all comes down to cold, hard cash.