SF Giants add former New York Mets reliever on a minors pact

The SF Giants bolstered bullpen depth in the upper minors. They signed former New York Mets reliever Alex Carrillo to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A, per the team's transaction log.

The move adds more swing-and-miss stuff to the bullpen depth chart. They also targeted that when they claimed Eric Cerantola off of waivers from the Kansas City Royals. His stay on the 40-man roster was brief, as he cleared waivers and accepted a minor league assignment during the All-Star break.

The bullpen has been everyone's favorite topic this year. Nearly everyone questioned the composition heading into the season, and their concerns have been validated.

While the bullpen has struggled in a lot of ways, it is extremely light on swing-and-miss stuff. That unit has a 7.8 K/9 in 2026, which is the fifth-lowest mark in baseball. They also have one of the highest walk rates in baseball at 4.3 BB/9. It is a bad combination of giving away too many free passes, and not getting hitters to swing and miss.

Latest SF Giants addition brings a good trait to the table, but with some poor control as well

The bullpen tends to be the most fluid part of any roster, but the Giants will need to make sweeping changes to get better results. That will not happen within the season, but they can at least target specific traits.

The addition of Alex Carrillo gives the Giants more swing-and-miss stuff on the bullpen depth chart. He began his career as an undrafted free agent with the Texas Rangers in 2019. That proved to be a short stint, as he was released the following year.

For several years, the right-handed reliever pitched in independent ball. He latched in with the Mets in 2024. From there, he made a rapid ascent through the upper minors and even pitched his way onto the Mets roster last season.

Carrillo only made a handful of appearances with New York. Across three minor league seasons, he has posted a 4.30 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 13.6 K/9, and a 1.87 SO/W rate. While most of his topline numbers are not great, teams will always be drawn to high strikeout numbers like that.

On the mound, the 29-year-old pitcher throws from a low, three-quarters arm slot. He features an upper 90's four-seam fastball with a mid 80's slider and a low 90's splitter. The secondary pitches generate healthy whiff rates. He will tally a lot of strikeouts and a lot of walks.

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