SF Giants have quickly used up roster flexibility levers

The SF Giants have quickly used up some roster flexibility levers. With Randy Rodríguez, Jason Foley, and Rowan Wick being transferred to the 60-day injured list, the Giants are out of candidates to use this maneuver on for now.

SF Giants have quickly used up roster flexibility levers

Things can always change, and injuries are part of the game, especially around this time of year. Teams rarely get out of spring training without an injury or two popping up.

Teams usually have a roster glut around Opening Day as well. They have too many players they went to keep, and not enough spots to make that happen. The waiver wire is active around that time of year, and many teams hope that they can sneak players through to preserve depth.

For the Giants, they made may need to open up a spot or two on the 40-man roster by the end of camp. Michael Fulmer, Gregory Santos, and Eric Haase are some of the non-roster players in camp with major league experience.

It should be noted that I do not believe that any of the non-roster players have an automatic opt-out included in their deal. They could still have an opt-out clause of their contract, but the automatic opt-out is for players on minor league deals who have over six years of service time and finished last year on a major league roster. Fulmer has over six years of service time, but he finished last season on a minor league deal in the Seattle Mariners organization. This rule does not apply to any of the Giants' non-roster invitees.

Over the past couple of seasons, that automatic opt-out became a lever by the player to be added to the major league roster. For example, Lou Trivino had the opportunity to exercise that if the Giants decided not to add him to the Opening Day roster last year. He pitched well in camp, and earned a spot on the roster, even if his time was brief.

Depending on how this spring plays out, the Giants may need an extra roster spot or two to add non-roster players. The bullpen could be an open competition, so there is a case to be made that quite a few non-roster pitchers could pitch their way onto the Opening Day roster.

On the other hand, the Giants also have a handful of players who are entering this spring without any minor league options remaining. Some of them, including Luis Matos or Jerar Encarnación, have a tenuous hold on a roster spot, so they will need to perform to stick.

In the meantime, the Giants have used up the 60-day lever on all of their eligible players. There could be more added within the next six weeks, but for now, that lever has been used up.