Two big moves that were entirely expected.
On Tuesday, two days before Opening Day, the San Francisco Giants made a pair of significant roster moves, though neither move was at all surprising. Veteran right-handed reliever Lou Trivino — a non-roster invitee — was added to the roster, while third baseman/first baseman David Villar was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.
It’s the likely end of a long journey in a Giants jersey for Villar, who was open all camp about seeing the writing on the wall. With Matt Chapman locked up long-term at third base, a set platoon at first base, and not enough oomph in Villar’s bat to warrant a role as a full-time DH, it was matter of “when,” not “if” Villar, who is out of options, would get cut.
There’s a chance the Giants sneak Villar through waivers and outright him to AAA Sacramento, though I wouldn’t hold my breath. The industry is, reportedly, still fairly interested in the right-handed hitter, and the projection systems continue to be bullish on him: ZiPS projects the 28-year old for about 2.5 WAR if given a full season’s worth of plate appearances this year. I would guess that a few teams will come calling, and that the Giants are able to trade Villar for a modest return, as they did with Joey Bart this time last year.
The recent injury to Jerar Encarnación might have opened the door for Villar to stick around were he having a better spring, but he hit just .200/.265/.444 with a 36.7% strikeout rate in 49 plate appearances.
As for Trivino, he felt like the most likely non-roster invitee to make the team all through camp, in part because of his close relationship with manager Bob Melvin — the first four years of Trivino’s five-year career came while pitching for Melvin on the Oakland A’s. The 33-year old hasn’t pitched in the Majors since the 2022 season due to Tommy John surgery, but impressed all spring with a 0.00 ERA, a 2.89 FIP, and 10 strikeouts in 9.1 innings.
With the move, the Giants have now revealed their entire eight-man bullpen: Trivino, Hayden Birdsong, Randy Rodríguez, Spencer Bivens, Tyler Rogers, Camilo Doval, Erik Miller, and closer Ryan Walker. With the rotation — Logan Webb, Justin Verlander, Robbie Ray, Jordan Hicks, and Landen Roupp — also set, and Sam Huff named the backup catcher, there are only a few roster spots left to be filled. Assuming Luis Matos makes the roster as Mike Yastrzemski’s platoon partner, it would seem that all that’s left to do is pick a backup middle infielder, and one additional bench player to replace Encarnación.