SF Giants re-sign minor league infielder, add former A's hard-throwing prospect

The SF Giants added some organizational depth over the past week. They reunited with veteran minor league infielder Brady Whalen and signed former Oakland A's pitching prospect Billy Sullivan, per the team's transaction log.

SF Giants re-sign minor league infielder, add former A's hard-throwing prospect

These are minor league deals, so it has no impact on the 40-man roster. Whalen has been assigned to the Sacramento River Cats and has already appeared in two games. The River Cats' roster has been depleted due to the rash of injuries on the major league club.

In Friday night's 10-5 win over the Colorado Rockies, the Giants' lineup included four players who had been regulars in Sacramento's lineup in the early going.

For Whalen, it is a return to familiar territory with the organization. The left-handed bat joined the Giants on a minor league deal last season after spending his first six seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals organization. He spent part of the 2023 season in Double-A and proved to be a serviceable option, posting a .737 OPS with five home runs in 156 plate appearances with the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

Whalen spent most of his time at the corner infield spots but was stretched out in the outfield as well. He began this year in the Atlantic League where he tallied a 1.162 OPS with four home runs in 72 plate appearances for the Lexington Legends.

On the other hand, the Giants added former A's pitching prospect Billy Sullivan after a brief foray into free agency. He was originally a 28th-round pick by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2017 draft out of St. Mark's High School in Delaware, but he did not sign. The Phillies did sign him a few years later before he was shipped to Oakland in a deal that netted Philadelphia Cristian Pache.

Sullivan has a 5.89 ERA with an 11.1 K/9 in parts of four minor league seasons. This includes a rough 2024 campaign in which he allowed seven earned runs in 5.1 frames. He was released by the A's in the middle of April, but he did not move far.

On the mound, he flashes a high 90's fastball with a quality slider, but his arsenal plays down due to well below-average command. The 25-year-old was assigned to the ACL Giants where he will presumably get ramped up to serve as an option in the upper minors.