San Francisco Giants Reassign Five More Prospects to Minor League Camp

The San Francisco Giants continued the process of trimming down their roster as spring training turns the corner toward the regular season.

May 19, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; A baseball cap celebrating armed forces weekend is seen before the game between the San Francisco Giants and the Colorado Rockies at Oracle Park. | Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

Opening day for the San Francisco Giants is just a couple of weeks away, so the playing time is set to be distributed more to veterans as the ramp-to the regular season draws closer.

For that reason, many teams, including the Giants, continue to assign players to minor league camps as they must eventually be down to 26 players on the opening-day roster, along with the 40-man roster.

But it also means the cuts get harder. As the San Francisco Chronicle reported, five more players were reassigned to minor league camp.

Those players included infielder Sergio Alcantara, right-handed pitcher Justin Garza, left-handed pitcher Antonio Jimenez, left-handed pitcher Helcris Olivarez and catcher Adrian Sugastey.

The moves of Jimenez and Olivarez were noteworthy, the Chronicle reported, because the pair were in contention for a bullpen spot.

Jimenez was signed on a minor-league free agent deal in December. The 23-year-old Dominican Republic native was a part of the Tampa Bay Rays’ organization last year. In the minors, he went 4-0 with a 3.79 ERA in 41 games (one start) with two saves and six holds. He struck out 58 and walked 22 in 61.2 innings.

He has never pitched in the Majors before.

The Giants picked up Olivarez last season as a free agent after he was released by the Boston Red Sox organization. He spent the final two months of the season with the Arizona Complex League Giants and the Double-A Richmond Squirrels.

Along with his time at Double-A Portland, he went 1-1 with a 3.79 ERA in 16 games (five starts), with two holds. He struck out 51 and walked 53 in 38 innings. He didn’t pitch in the 2023 season due to injury. The 24-year-old is also a native of the Dominican Republic.

Garza has spent time in the Majors — part of 2021 with the Cleveland Guardians and part of 2023 with Boston. For his career he is 2-3 with a 5.74 ERA in 38 games (one start), with 46 strikeouts and 30 walks in 47 innings. He’ll be on stand-by in case San Francisco has an injury to deal with.

He spent last season in the Giants’ minor league system. Garza went 5-2 with a 3.60 ERA in 39 games, all in relief, with 63 strikeouts and 20 walks in 55 innings. He had two holds and four saves.

San Francisco will open the season on the road on March 27 at the Cincinnati Reds.