Minor Moves: Gardeck, Marrero, Dominguez

The San Francisco Giants have conducted a trio of roster moves this past week, adding Ian Gardeck to the team’s 40-man roster and signing both Chris Marrero and Jose Dominguez to minor-league deals.

Gardeck, selected in the 16th round of by 2012 Draft by the Giants, has battled with injuries in his brief professional career. In 2014, Gardeck suffered from both a hip injury and a broken little toe, and last season the right-hander had to sit out the entire season due to Tommy John surgery. When healthy, he has shown promise as a reliever. Over 86.1 innings in 2015, Gardeck had a K/9 of 10.84 with a BB/9 of 2.50 with an ERA of 3.54 and an FIP of 2.88.

According to his Baseball America’s scouting report, the 25-year-old is known for the velocity on his fastball. In junior college, he hit triple digits and has consistently hit the high-90s with the heater. He complements his fastball with a solid slider thrown in the high 80s and low 90s and graded 70 on the 20 - 80 scale. Gardeck struggled with his mechanics early on in his professional career, but he has become much more consistent, walking fewer batters in his last full season in the minors.

The Chicago White Sox originally selected Gardeck in the eighth round of the 2011 draft, but he chose to transfer to Alabama to improve his draft stock. His decision had the opposite effect, as he dropped eight rounds, but luckily he found an organization which had the ability to develop young and raw arms. With San Francisco’s bullpen likely to start fresh with a couple of core pieces, Gardeck may find himself in the conversation around Spring Training.

Marrero, a former first-round pick by the Washington Nationals in 2006, hit well for Pawtucket Red Sox last season, totaling 23 home runs and 71 RBIs with a slash line of .284/.344/.494. The first baseman/outfielder nearly all of his professional career in the minor leagues and has struggled in his limited major league appearances. In 39 career games in the bigs, Marrero has a measly slash line of .232/.256/.272 with a WAR of -0.9. Although Marrero has played professionally for eleven seasons, he is still only 28 years of age and is coming off of his best season in the minor leagues.

Dominguez, 26, struggled last season in the majors, accumulating a 5.05 ERA with a BB/9 of 4.29 over 35.2 innings and a -0.5 WAR. The reliever’s calling card is his ability to throw heat, hitting the upper 90s with his fastball and the low 90s with a slider, but has struggled with control both in the majors and minors. San Francisco and Dominguez are a perfect match, as he has the potential to become a weapon is he improves his control, and the Giants have quite the track record of developing pitchers.

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