SF Giants reportedly bring back a familiar face on a minor league deal

The SF Giants have already been dealt a couple of hits to their bullpen this spring, with left-handed Reiver Sanmartin set to miss at least three months due to a severe hip flexor strain and Joel Peguero suffering a hamstring strain.

SF Giants reportedly bring back a familiar face on a minor league deal

Most of the Giants’ offseason additions to the bullpen, including Sam Hentges, Jason Foley, and Rowan Wick, will all not be ready for Opening Day either – in fact, Hentges alone among that trio is likely to pitch at all in the first half. The door has opened for arms like Trevor McDonald and Michael Fulmer to push their way into the pen, but a familiar face will also be joining the competition.

Left-hander Joey Lucchesi, who quietly was one of the Giants’ more dependable relievers last year, is back with the team on a minor league deal that comes with a spring training invitation. Jon Heyman of the New York Post was the first to report the signing on Monday. Lucchesi pitched to a 3.76 ERA in 38+ innings with the Giants last year, albeit with a rather modest 18.8% k-rate.

The difficulty generating swing-and-miss is probably the biggest factor in his free agency extending several weeks into spring training like this, and that was actually his highest strikeout percentage since 2021. Tommy John surgery cost him the entire 2022 season, and he’s only combined for 95.1 innings over the last three seasons since then. Tyler Rogers, on the other hand, has thrown 221.2 innings of 2.60 ERA ball over the same time frame. Sure would be nice to have someone like him on our favorite team.

If Lucchesi can ramp up quickly enough, he’s now a prime candidate to be the second lefty in the bullpen alongside Matt Gage if Erik Miller isn’t quite ready to break camp on March 25th. If Miller is ready, Lucchesi could be the first man up from Sacramento if and when an injury occurs.

It was always a bit of a head-scratcher that the Giants chose to non-tender him back in November, when they reallocated the saved arbitration funds to Hentges soon thereafter. Now, they have both options, though Hentges obviously won’t be ready to go in the short term.

With Fulmer, McDonald and Gregory Santos delivering standout Cactus League performances and Lucchesi now back in the fold, the murky bullpen picture is now starting to become a bit clearer. It’s still a very underwhelming group, and it may be in the best interest of Giants fans to have their therapists’ number pre-dialed entering the ninth inning.

Whether Lucchesi starts the year in Sacramento or pushes someone else there, though, low-cost quality depth like him is nice to have around. Already pacing the Cactus League with a scorching hot 13-3 record, Monday’s signing was another bit of good news for the Giants.