SF Giants promote southpaw Thomas Szapucki, option reliever Zack Littell

A day after SF Giants reliever Zack Littell got into with manager Gabe Kapler, he was demoted to Triple-A and replaced by lefty Thomas Szapucki.

Marc Delucchi | Sep 13, 2022

SF Giants promote southpaw Thomas Szapucki, option reliever Zack Littell /

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San Francisco Giants

The SF Giants promoted left-handed reliever Thomas Szapucki from Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday. To create space on the active roster, the Giants optioned right-handed reliever Zack Littell to Triple-A. Littell's demotion is noteworthy given his vocal outburst towards manager Gabe Kapler when he was removed from Monday's 3-2 victory over Atlanta.

Szapucki was acquired from the Mets with the four-player package New York sent to the Giants for Darin Ruf. While Ruf is scuffling in The Big Apple, Szapucki has been fantastic since joining his new organization.

The Mets drafted Szapucki in the fifth round of the 2015 draft out of high school. The lefty developed in the Mets' farm system as a starting pitcher, reaching the big leagues last year. Szapucki was an effective starter with the Mets Triple-A affiliate this season, but was hammered in his lone big-league start.

SF Giants lefty Thomas Szapucki throws a pitch. (2022) — Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

The Giants have converted Szapucki into a full-time reliever since the trade. He has already made four relief appearances for them at the big-league level and has allowed just one run across four innings pitched with seven strikeouts and zero walks. In his brief time at Triple-A Sacramento, Szapucki has been even more dominant. In seven appearances with the River Cats, the southpaw has struck out 15 hitters in 8.1 innings pitched while allowing just one earned run (1.08 ERA) on seven hits and three walks.

Littell's future with the Giants is uncertain. A minor-league free-agent signing prior to last season, Littell was fantastic in San Francisco's bullpen last year, recording a 2.92 ERA with 63 strikeouts in 61.2 innings pitched.

However, as has been the case for several Giants relievers, Littell has been far less effective in 2022. Littell has a 5.08 ERA across 39 appearances this season with 39 strikeouts in 43.1 innings pitched. Eligible for arbitration this offseason, Littell might be one of the biggest non-tender candidates on the Giants.

The SF Giants already signaled a plan to give some young minor-league relievers opportunities instead of more proven veterans in the final weeks of the season. Over the past few days, they promoted hard-throwing righty Cole Waites and released veteran reliever Dominic Leone. Now recently acquired lefty Thomas Szapucki will have a chance to prove himself in place of Zack Littell.

Published Sep 13, 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).