SF Giants cut ties with veteran left-handed bat after not making the Opening Day roster
Yoshi Tsutsugo came into SF Giants camp as a non-roster invitee but was quickly reassigned to minor league camp after just 10 at-bats. The veteran bat will be looking for a new home for 2024 after being released by San Francisco according to the team’s transaction log.
SF Giants cut ties with veteran left-handed bat after not making the Opening Day roster
Tsutsugo was one of the non-roster position players to follow this spring. The Giants’ list of non-roster position players did not include many of the team’s better prospects with outfield prospect Grant McCray being one of the few exceptions.
That said, Tsutsugo was arguably one of the more experienced non-roster options. Plus, the Giants like his at-bat quality even if there was not an obvious path for him to make the Opening Day roster.
The Giants originally signed him with one month left to go in the minor-league season in 2023. Those late-season minor league signings tend to morph into a pseudo, multi-year deal in a way. That was the case with the left-handed bat as he became a free agent in November but re-signed with the club in December.
Tsutsugo was an accomplished hitter in the NPB before coming stateside. In 10 NPB seasons primarily with the Yokohama Bay Stars, he posted a .910 OPS while eclipsing the 20-homer threshold in eight of 10 seasons. He was known for having an excellent eye at the plate, leading to a 13.3 percent walk rate and a .382 on-base percentage.
The Tampa Bay Rays signed him to a two-year, $12 million before the 2020 season. However, he never truly found his footing against major league pitching. He bounced around with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates after the Rays cut ties with him in 2021.
The 32-year-old was playing in the Atlantic League before joining the Giants last season. He was a candidate to be added to the Giants roster last year but sustained a fractured thumb in a game with the Sacramento River Cats.
In total, Tsutsugo tallied just one hit in 10 sporadic at-bats with the Giants this spring. The decision to cut ties with him likely is a mixture of not having enough space in the minors to keep him and to allow him to find a new home ahead of the upcoming season.
