S.F. Giants Claim Reliever From A's

It's a Sweet deal for the Giants, and a sour one for the A's

The A's and Giants keep getting oh-so-close to making a trade, but alas, today is not the day. Oakland announced that the San Francisco Giants had claimed Devin Sweet from the A's earlier today. Sweet had been placed on waivers by the team in order to make room for former Giants closer Trevor Gott, whom Oakland signed over the weekend. 

The A's and Giants came real close to making a big leaguer for big leaguer deal during the season when S.F. sent Sean Newcomb to the A's in exchange for Trenton Brooks. Both players were in Triple-A at the time. That was also the first player player-for-player trade between the two teams since 1990. 

As for today's news, Devin Sweet held a 10.38 ERA in seven appearances spanning 8 2/3 innings last season after being claimed off waivers from the Seattle Mariners at the beginning of September. His first three innings with Oakland were scoreless, then he allowed eight runs over his next 3 2/3 innings which led to him being optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas. 

In the minors he held a 2.25 ERA in 44 innings of work, though 35 of those innings were in Double-A with Seattle. 

Sweet has been hurt by the long ball the past three seasons, giving up 35 home runs in 190 1/3 innings, including four long balls in his 8 2/3 in the Majors. 

The right-hander will be entering his age 27 season in 2024 and has two options remaining, so he is a reliever that can get a look in San Francisco but also be sent back down to Sacramento if needed without fear of losing him on waivers to another team. 

Sweet boasts a 93 mile per hour fastball, which he throws 50% of the time with his 77 mph changeup and his 86 mph slider splitting the rest of his pitch usage in the big leagues. 

The Giants have had success in recent seasons unlocking pitchers, so we'll see if their coaching staff can work their magic once again.