River Cats and Giants Offseason Update (11/15-11/27) 

The MLB offseason has officially been underway for a few weeks.

Two former River Cats signed with other organizations, one was traded, two were added to the Giants’ 40-man roster, and one was re-signed to a minor league contract.

Additionally, the Giants signed three to minor league deals and acquired a potential power bat for the River Cats’ lineup.

40-Man roster additions

Righty Tristan Beck and infielder Isan Díaz (both of whom you can catch on the River Cats Nine Lives Podcast), were among the seven added to the Giants’ 40-man roster this month.

The 26-year-old Beck was selected by Atlanta in the fourth round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Stanford before being traded to San Francisco in 2019 as part of a package for righty Mark Melancon.

After an adjustment period to the hitter-friendly PCL, Beck became one of the River Cats’ most reliable arms. He earned the PCL Pitcher of the Week award on July 31 after striking out four while allowing one unearned run over 6.0 innings at Round Rock.

Overall, Beck was 5-8 with a 5.64 ERA, 97 strikeouts, and a 1.38 WHIP across 97.1 innings in his debut Triple-A season.

Díaz, the River Cats’ 2022 Most Exciting Player, had a flair for the dramatic after being acquired from Miami on April 30. He hit .275 with 60 runs, 12 doubles, 23 home runs, 61 RBIs, and a .951 OPS in 83 games with Sacramento.

San Francisco acquired infielder Brett Wisely, who was also added to the Giants’ 40-man roster, from Tampa Bay on Nov. 15 for Double-A outfielder Tristan Peters.

Wisely is a versatile infielder that reached Triple-A for the first time last season with Durham. The 23-year-old hit .273 across Double-A (112 games) and Triple-A (five games), with 87 runs, 25 doubles, 15 homers, 58 RBIs, and an .821 OPS.

He was selected in the 15th round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Gulf Coast Community College before earning an MiLB.com Organization All-Star nod in 2021, and Southern League Post-Season All-Star honors this past season.

MiLB signings

San Francisco re-signed four to Minor League contracts on Nov. 19, infielder Colton Welker, righty Drew Strotman, righty Sam Delaplane, and 2022 River Cats righty Mauricio Llovera.

Llovera, who was brought over from the Philadelphia organization on an MiLB deal last offseason, was superb for Sacramento in 2022, going 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA, 28 strikeouts, a 0.85 WHIP, and a .178 opposing batting average in 20.0 innings before being promoted to San Francisco. He followed that with a respectable 4.41 ERA, 20 strikeouts, a 1.35 WHIP, and a .219 opposing batting average in 16.1 MLB innings.

Strotman, the Rays’ fourth round pick in 2017 out of Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California, was 4-2 with a 6.32 ERA, 63 strikeouts, and a 1.75 WHIP in 55.2 innings with Triple-A Round Rock and St. Paul last year.

Welker is coming off an injury-shortened 2022. The former top prospect for the Rockies was an MiLB.com Organization All-Star in 2016. He hit .324 with nine runs, two homers, and seven RBIs in 10 games for Albuquerque last year before going on the injured list.

Delaplane has also battled injuries in his career, throwing 3.2 innings for Single-A San Jose in 2022 after having not pitched in affiliated ball since 2019, when he was named an MiLB.com Organization All-Star for Seattle.

Trades

In addition to acquiring Wisely, the Giants traded 2022 River Cats outfielder Steele Walker to the Detroit Tigers for cash on Nov. 15. Walker was originally acquired by San Francisco off waivers on Aug. 7 from Texas. The 26-year-old former second-rounder hit .247 with 10 runs, five doubles, two homers, and 14 RBIs in 25 games for the River Cats last season.

Former River Cats signing elsewhere

An important veteran in the 2022 River Cats clubhouse departed the organization on Nov. 22, with infielder Dixon Machado signing an MiLB deal with Houston.

Machado, a two-time MiLB.com Organization All-Star (2015 and 2016), hit .231 with 14 runs, six doubles, four homers, and 15 RBIs in 35 games with Sacramento, and also went 3-for-15 (.200) with a run for San Francisco in 2022.

To roundup the transaction report, 2017 River Cats infielder Juniel Querecuto signed an MiLB deal with St. Louis on Nov. 18 after hitting .256 with Louisville in 2022. Querecuto played 94 games for Sacramento, batting .232 with 26 runs, 11 doubles, two home runs, and 27 RBIs.