The Giants announced Tuesday that infielder David Villar has been designated for assignment in order to open a roster spot for Lou Trivino, whose contract has been selected. Trivino will make San Francisco’s Opening Day roster.
The writing has been on the wall for the out-of-options Villar for some time. The Giants extended Matt Chapman late last year, blocking Villar at third base. He’s struggled in limited big league playing time and isn’t a backup option at shortstop like fellow infielders Casey Schmitt and Brett Wisely — both of whom also have minor league options remaining.
That has led to the perception that Villar has been essentially auditioning for other clubs this spring, but he didn’t do much to help his cause on that front. He struck out in 36.7% of his plate appearances and hit .200/.265/.444 in Cactus League play.
Now that he’s been designated for assignment, the Giants will have five days to see if any club has trade interest. The DFA limbo period can last a week but the waiver process can take 48 hours, leaving five days for trade talks.
In addition to that poor showing this spring, Villar has hit .170/.243/.346 over the past two major league seasons while striking out 32.8% of the time. For any club to be interested, they would have to look past that. He had a strong showing in 2022, putting up a .231/.331/.455 line. Though even then, he was punched out at a 32% clip. He has also continued to hit in Triple-A, even while struggling in the big leagues. He slashed .265/.365/.465 at that level over the past two seasons. He struck out 26.1% of the time in that span but also drew walks at a 12.7% clip.
The strikeouts are a concern but Villar can bounce around to the non-shortstop infield positions and has less than a year of service time. If some club were willing to take a shot and then got a breakout, they could theoretically control him through the 2030 season.
As for Trivino, the 33-year-old reliever has some good work on his track record but has been beset by injuries for a while. In his 284 2/3 innings, he has allowed 3.86 earned runs per nine. His 10.6% walk rate is a bit high but he has punched out 24.5% of batters faced while getting grounders on 47.4% of balls in play.
He hasn’t pitched in a big league game since 2022, however. He underwent Tommy John surgery early in 2023, wiping out that season. In 2024, further elbow inflammation and a shoulder issue prevented him from getting back on the mound.
That meant he had to settle for a minor league deal with the Giants, one that came with a reported salary of $1.5MM if he made the team. He made the decision fairly easy for the club by throwing 9 1/3 scoreless innings in the spring. His four walks were a bit much but perhaps not surprising for a guy who missed the past two seasons. He also struck out 10 opponents and got grounders at a 55.6% clip.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
