SF Giants acquire OF Cal Stevenson in minor trade with Athletics

The SF Giants acquired outfielder Cal Stevenson from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for cash considerations on Wednesday morning.
SF Giants acquire OF Cal Stevenson in minor trade with Athletics
SF Giants acquire OF Cal Stevenson in minor trade with Athletics /

The SF Giants acquired outfielder Cal Stevenson in a trade with the Oakland Athletics for cash considerations on Wednesday morning. The A's had designated Stevenson for assignment last week. To clear a space on the 40-man roster for Stevenson, the Giants designated left-handed pitcher Sam Long for assignment. Following the trade, Stevenson was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento. This is the second minor trade the Giants have made this season for a fringe big-league outfielder. They acquired Matt Beaty from the Royals back on Opening Day.

Stevenson was a 10th-round pick by the Toronto Blue Jays back in 2018 and was traded twice throughout his minor league career, going from Toronto to the Tampa Bay Rays organization before he was traded to the A's in 2022. After he was acquired by Oakland, Stevenson made his big-league debut with the Athletics last season. He struggled mightily in 71 plate appearances, hitting .167/.261/.217 with 23 strikeouts and eight walks.

Now 26, Stevenson's profile should sound familiar to Giants fans who have grown accustomed to president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi's churn of the 40-man roster.

A Fremont, California native, Stevenson has had an excellent approach in the minors, walking more than he's struck out over his minor-league career. He has above-average speed, which plays well in center field and allows him to play all three outfield positions. However, he has struggled to generate extra-base hits throughout his career in the minors, raising questions about whether his offensive game will ever translate to the highest level. Over his Triple-A career, Stevenson has hit .289/.397/.414 with 51 walks and 57 strikeouts in 336 plate appearances.

It's worth noting that Stevenson, a left-handed hitter, has showcased extreme platoon splits at times in the minor leagues. Last season, between Triple-A and his stint in the majors, Stevenson posted an abysmal .167/.256/.218 triple-slash against southpaws while striking out in more than 25% of his plate appearances. Against righties, on the other hand, he hit .293/.400/.427 with an 18.8% strikeout rate and a 15.0% walk rate.

After being traded for the third time in his career, Cal Stevenson will head to the Giants Triple-A affiliate where he will look to earn another big-league opportunity. Still, it seems like an indictment of the SF Giants organization that they have now turned to players who were let go by the Royals and Athletics, two of the worst teams in MLB early this season. Granted, the Orioles were one of the worst teams in the league when they parted with outfielder Mike Yastrzemski back in 2019.


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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).