SF Giants finally move on from disappointing signing Tommy La Stella

The SF Giants finally designated Tommy La Stella for assignment, moving on from one of the biggest offseason acquisitions of Farhan Zaidi's tenure.

Marc Delucchi | Dec 30, 2022

SF Giants finally move on from disappointing signing Tommy La Stella /

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San Francisco Giants

The SF Giants added left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers to the 40-man roster earlier this week. To create room for Rogers, they designated infielder Tommy La Stella for assignment. La Stella was once handed the largest free-agent contract of Farhan Zaidi's tenure with the Giants. However, a series of injuries seemed to prevent him from ever living up to the team's expectations.

SF Giants infielder Tommy La Stella hits a sacrifice fly against the Twins. — SF Giants infielder Tommy La Stella. (2022) / Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

La Stella's days with the Giants have seemed numbered for quite some time. Giants beat writer Susan Slusser speculated that he would be released at some point this offseason and USA Today's Bob Nightengale later reported they were trying to trade La Stella earlier this offseason. Given his recent struggles, it makes sense that the Giants were unable to find an interested team and decided to move on.

La Stella was coming off the two best seasons of his career in the winter of 2020, when he signed a three-year, $18.75 million deal with the Giants. He had received his first career All-Star selection in 2019 and hit .289/.356/.471 with 21 home runs, 47 walks, and 40 strikeouts over that span.

In his two seasons with the Giants, La Stella struggled to stay healthy, never playing in at least half of the teams games. Moreover, a pair of Achilles surgeries took away from his already limited defensive versatility. Once a viable first, second, and third baseman, La Stella seemed best suited for designated hitting. Of course, hitting just .245/.297/.380 over the past two seasons with some of the worst strikeout and walk rates of his career, it's hard to justify putting him in the lineup.

Set to turn 34 in January, La Stella could be on the cusp of retirement. However, he will assuredly clear waivers and likely be released by the SF Giants in the coming week. As a free agent, Tommy La Stella could be an intriguing minor-league free agent signing for a team interested in seeing if his range of mobility has improved this offseason.

Published Dec 30, 2022

MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).