SF Giants non-tender trio of intriguing relief pitching prospects

The SF Giants non-tendered relief-pitching prospects Cole Waites, Thomas Szapucki, and José Cruz on Friday.

While the SF Giants tendered contracts or agreed to extensions with all the arbitration-eligible players on their roster, they did opt to non-tender three players who were on the 40-man roster. The Giants non-tendered right-handed relief pitcher Cole Waites, right-handed reliever José Cruz, and left-handed reliever Thomas Szapucki. All three showed promise in the Giants organization in 2022 but struggled with a variety of issues in 2023. Now all three are free agents.

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

Szapucki was an early standout with the Giants after he was acquired in the Darin Ruf trade from the Mets at the 2022 trade deadline. The Giants shifted Szapucki from starting to a relief role and he seemed to turn a corner in his development. He struck out 15 batters in 8.1 innings pitched at Triple-A Sacramento before he was promoted to San Francisco. In the big leagues, Szapucki posted a 1.98 ERA with the Giants, recording 16 strikeouts in 13.2 innings pitched while allowing just four walks and 12 hits. However, Szapucki has not pitched since as he's tried to recover from surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome in his throwing arm.

In 2022, Waites shot through the minor leagues, racking up 76 strikeouts in 41.2 innings pitched between High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A with a 1.94 ERA before receiving his first-career MLB call up. He looked like a viable middle reliever in his short stint. However, he took a major step back in 2023. He ultimately made just three MLB appearances this, allowing five runs across 2.1 innings pitched. At Triple-A, he posted a 6.16 ERA with 27 walks and 32 strikeouts in 30.2 innings pitched (32 appearances). Ultimately, he was sidelined by injury and underwent his second career UCL surgery, which will likely keep him off the field for all of 2024.

Right along the same lines, Cruz had a breakout 2022 season at Single-A San Jose. He struck out 86 hitters in 52 1/3 innings and was arguably the best relief pitcher in the California League. While he was still far away from the majors, the Giants added Cruz to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. The Giants presumably expected Cruz to take another step forward in 2023, but his command instead regressed. He was dominant at High-A to start the season, but posted a 6.66 ERA with 38 walks in 44.1 innings pitched after he was promoted to Double-A. Still only 23 with an impressive arsenal of pitches, Cruz remains an intriguing prospect.

It's not uncommon for teams to come to verbal agreements on minor-league contracts with players they plan to non-tender prior to the deadline. It would not be surprising at all to see the SF Giants re-sign any of the three pitchers they non-tendered on Friday. All three still have the potential to be impactful big-league arms, even if injury or player development hiccups might make that further away than the front office believed at this time a year ago.