Giants transactions update: lose 6 and add 1 in MiLB Rule 5 Draft

The San Francisco Giants lost six players in the Minor League phase of the Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday, including two 2021 River Cats.

Any minor league player not on a Triple-A team’s 38-man roster can be selected in the Minor League Rule 5 Draft, with $24,500 being paid to the player’s former team.

Left-hander Conner Menez (Cubs) and first baseman John Nogowski (Braves) were selected, as well as recent signee, righty Jon Duplantier (Dodgers) and three lower level minor leaguers: righty Matt Seelinger (Phillies), outfielder Vince Fernandez (Athletics), and infielder Jacob Gonzalez (Pirates).

The lone addition in the draft was outfielder Michael Gigliotti from Tampa Bay. The 2017 fourth round pick by Kansas City is a career .288 hitter in 184 MiLB games. He hit .203 with High-A Bowling Green in 2021. Gigliotti was a 2019 MiLB.com Organization All-Star and a 2017 Baseball America Rookie All-Star.

Menez, who pitched 3.0 innings in the River Cats’ first nine-inning no-hitter in franchise history on Sept. 3, leaves after six years in the San Francisco organization.

The Giants’ 14th round pick in 2016 out of The Master’s University in Santa Clarita, California, is 2-1 with a 4.04 ERA, 45 strikeouts, 1.30 WHIP, and .226 opposing batting average in 42.1 MLB innings.

Nogowski, who played eight games for Sacramento in 2021 after arriving on an MiLB deal, hit two home runs and had five RBIs for the River Cats. He is a career .233 hitter in 53 MLB games and has an .808 OPS in 181 Triple-A games.

Of the non-River Cats lost, Duplantier is likely the biggest name. The No. 73 prospect on MLB Pipeline in 2018 and 2019 signed an MiLB deal with San Francisco on Dec. 3.

The Giants also added righties Mauricio Llovera and Gray Fenter on MiLB deals on Dec. 3.

The 25-year-old Llovera transitioned from the rotation to the bullpen in 2021 with Philadelphia and is 1-0 in seven MLB appearances, with a 12.91 ERA and eight strikeouts in 7.2 innings. In 32 Triple-A games with Lehigh Valley, Llovera is 2-2 with a 3.46 ERA, 48 strikeouts, 1.25 WHIP, .212 opposing batting average, and five saves in 52.0 innings. He was named the GCL Player of the Month in Aug. of 2016.

Fenter, 25, has yet to reach Triple-A, but is 22-13 with a 3.78 ERA, 352 strikeouts, 1.25 WHIP, and .215 opposing batting average in 307.1 MiLB innings for the Baltimore organization. In 21 games for Double-A Bowie this season, Fenter was 6-4 with a 5.47 ERA, 86 strikeouts, 1.54 WHIP, and a .243 opposing batting average in 77.1 innings.