The San Francisco Giants have to clear a lot of names from their roster by the end of Monday, as that’s the day when players on the 60-Day Injured List are reinstated on the 40-man roster. And while that will mean waiving a lot of players, it will likely also mean a series of small trades, where the Giants can recoup something — even something small — for losing a player.
They got started on that mission on Sunday night, when they traded second baseman Nate Furman to the Washington Nationals for Minor
Leaguer Tony Neubeck, a left-handed pitcher. ESPN’s Jeff Passan was first to report the news.
Furman was one of many young Giants players to make their Major League debut this season. The 25-year old lefty spent most of the year with AAA Sacramento, where he had a .791 OPS and a 113 wRC+, and got into 22 games in the Majors, where he hit .125/.243/.125 in 39 plate appearances.
But staying on the roster through the winter was always a bit of a long shot for Furman. Even with Luis Arráez traded, the Giants figure to have second base covered next year with Casey Schmitt and Marcelo Mayer, and Furman doesn’t play any other positions, or provide much defensive value.
Rather than designating Furman for assignment, the Giants were able to work out a trade, though it’s very minor. Neubeck, a 23-year old who played college ball at Indiana, was an undrafted free agent this summer, and has played in just three Minor League games, all in Low-A (though one of those three games was in the playoffs, and thus doesn’t show up on his stat sheet). He pitched well in those games, racking up 13 strikeouts in nine innings. And, critically, he isn’t on the 40-man roster.
Hopefully Furman, who came to the Giants in the Alex Cobb trade, can get some run in Washington, playing for a Nationals team that figures to try out a lot of young players this year.
