Giants Baseball Insider

SF Giants sign former Guardians prospect Raymond Burgos to milb contract

The SF Giants signed left-handed pitcher Raymond Burgos to a minor-league contract that includes an invitation to big-league Spring Training.

Marc Delucchi

SF Giants sign former Guardians prospect Raymond Burgos to milb contract
SF Giants sign former Guardians prospect Raymond Burgos to milb contract /
In this story:

The SF Giants have signed left-handed pitcher Raymond Burgos to a minor-league contract with an invitation to MLB spring training. Burgos has spent his entire career in the Cleveland Guardians organization, but he has never pitched above High-A.

Cleveland Guardians prospect Raymond Burgos throws a pitch. (2022)
Raymond Burgos throws a pitch for Lake County. (2022) :: Chloe Trofatter / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Guardians drafted Burgos in the 18th round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of high school. Burgos' early-career development was stalled by UCL surgery which kept him from making his professional debut until 2018. Despite solid numbers, Burgos struggled to stay healthy with a starter's workload.


This season, Cleveland shifted Burgos to a multi-inning relief role to lessen his workload. It resulted in the best season of his career. Burgos recorded a 2.08 ERA in 37 appearances with 67 strikeouts and 22 walks in 65 innings pitched at High-A Lake County. He set a single-season career high in both appearances and innings pitched. Over his career, Burgos has a 3.04 ERA in 171.2 innings pitched with 184 strikeouts and 55 walks.

Burgos is a lanky 6'5'' southpaw who works from a low three-quarters arm slot. While Burgos has experimented with a slider, he primarily relies on a standard fastball/changeup/curveball mix. His curveball and changeup both have flashed plus potential with impressive movement.

Burgos' fastball tends to sit in the low-90s but has reached 93-96 mph in the past. Since the Giants offered Burgos an invitation to big-league camp, they likely will shift him to a more traditional relief role. Given his advanced feel for secondary pitches, the Giants are likely hoping that his fastball will sit in the mid-90s in shorter usage.

The SF Giants have had some good success with minor-league free-agent signings in recent years. After giving longtime Cleveland Guardians prospect Raymond Burgos an invitation to MLB Spring Training, the organization hopes Burgos can be the next success story in 2023.

Published
Marc Delucchi
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).

Home/San Francisco Giants News