Giants Sign Hill, Hernandez, Heathcott to Minor-League Deals

AP Photo/Elise Amendola

As the offseason transitions from its free agency period to spring training, the San Francisco Giants have addressed their obvious lack of veteran backup middle infielders by signing 12-year veteran Aaron Hill to a minor-league contract.

Hill, 34, joins an already fierce competition for one or two spots on the bench. San Francisco’s front office was aggressive in stockpiling potential backup infielders this offseason, most notably signing Jimmy Rollins, Jae-gyun Hwang, Orlando Calixte, Gordon Beckham, and Juniel Querecuto while avoiding arbitration with Conor Gillaspie and retaining Kelby Tomlinson.

Even after the Giants designated Ehire Adrianza for assignment and Ramiro Peña packed his bags for Japan to avoid the impending logjam, the competition for a bench remains overcrowded.

Signing a plethora of players of different ages, backgrounds, and skills isn’t necessarily bad; the Giants learned last season that too much depth is never enough after Bruce Bochy had to insert backups into the starting lineup when injuries began to pile up.

But of all the offseason moves regarding the infield, San Francisco’s signing of Hill takes the cake for strangest.

If the Giants had to choose their major league roster tomorrow with no spring training games to use as guidance, almost any decision from the current pool of talent would be justifiable. San Francisco could select a swiss-army knife like Tomlinson or a clubhouse leader like Rollins with no problems and Hill further muddies an already unclear situation.

Hill is on the pricier side of backups too. Should he crack San Francisco’s roster, he’ll earn $2M plus the possibility of $1.425 in incentives, with an opt-out option if he does not make the team out of spring. For comparison, a younger alternative in Hwang coming off a career year in the KBO will earn $1.5M for making the roster and incentives of up to $1.6M.

Unlike Hill, Hwang has starter potential and can sneak his way into Bochy’s starting lineup at some point in the year should the combination of Gillaspie and Eduardo Núñez struggle or land on the disabled list.

The one-time All-Star had success at the plate with the Milwaukee Brewers before sputtering with the Boston Red Sox, hitting .283/.359/.421 with a wRC+ of 107 pre-trade and .218/.287/.290 with a wRC+ of 49 post-trade. His defensive ability won’t turn any heads this spring especially with declining mobility, further reducing his ranking among applicants.

All things being equal, Tomlinson is unequivocally the best option to bring off the bench because of his defensive versatility, speed, and the fact he is the only candidate who hit well in the last two seasons, but his youth combined with his options does not bode well for his short-term future.

San Francisco doesn’t hide their affinity for established veterans over their up-and-coming youth. Gillaspie, Rollins, and Hill are high atop the organization’s pre-spring training ranks, and Tomlinson, unfortunately, remains the odd man out.

Hill wasn’t the only ex-Diamondback to ink a deal with the Giants this week as former teammate David Hernandez agreed to a minor-league contract with the team as well.

Hernandez, 31, is fresh off his first full season following Tommy John surgery. Since his return to the show in mid-2015, the righty has posted an ERA of 3.98 and an FIP of 4.45 over 106.1 innings.

The veteran reliever has several glaring inadequacies, namely the low rate at which he generates ground balls (37.3% in 2016) and the somewhat high rate at which he allows home runs and walks (BB/9 of 3.6 and an HR/9 of 1.4 in the past two seasons), but he brings with him late-inning experience, a fastball which sits in the mid-90s, and a strikeout rate of 9.6.

San Francisco’s new look bullpen has a solid foundation with Mark Melancon, Hunter Strickland, Derek Law, and Will Smith and is merely looking for additional pieces to fortify their core. Hernandez will battle with George Kontos, Josh Osich, Cory Gearrin, and Bryan Morris for the remaining spots in the bullpen.

The Giants also agreed to a minor-league contract with former New York Yankee top prospect Slade Heathcott with an invitation to spring training.

The No. 2 prospect in New York’s farm system in both 2012 and 2013, Heathcott but has not met the expectations which come with such a ranking, hitting .266/.343/.390 over 1876 plate appearances in the minors.

Heathcott caught fire during his cup of coffee with the Yankees in 2015, hitting .400 with two home runs in 30 plate appearances, one of which was a go-ahead blast in the top of the ninth while tied against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Should the Giants roll with five outfielders, Gorkys Hernandez is the current favorite, but a strong performance could propel Heathcott into the discussion.

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