San Francisco Giants Winter League Report

Sep 4, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants second baseman

(13) turns a double play ahead of the slide by San Diego Padres left fielder

(5) during the fifth inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

MLB veteran, shortstop Joaquin Arias got into a few games in the Dominican winter league, hitting .255/.286/.277 over 47 at bats. Arias has played 327 games in the majors since 2006 when he broke in with the Rangers at the age of 21.

25-year-old third baseman Adam Duvall spent the winter in Venezuela, hitting .297/.327/.490 with seven doubles and seven home runs in 145 at bats. Duvall had a solid season in Double-A Richmond in 2014 with 44 extra-base hits and a .465 slugging percentage.

Jesus Galindo, 23, Tyler Graham, 30, and Javier Herrera, 28, all got some playing time in Venezuela this offseason. Of the three outfielders, Graham has the longest history with San Francisco, going all the way back to 2006 when he was drafted. Graham had a big league cup of coffee with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2012 but spent 2013 in independent leagues as well as the Mexican League. Graham played nine games in Venezuela while Galindo played 12 games, hitting just .212. Galindo played for Class-A Augusta and stole 48 bases despite only playing in 89 games. Herrera played the most of the three but hit only .176/.356/.265 with La Guaira in Venezuela after a very solid season in Richmond with 56 extra-base hits (including 16 home runs) and 23 stolen bases.

Mario Lisson, 29, a veteran minor league third baseman was a regular his Venezuelan winter league team, playing 60 games and hitting .278/.367/.521 with 16 home runs. Lisson played 66 games in the Mexican league in 2013, hitting .260/.345/.465.

27 year old Ryan Lollis and 31 year old (Happy Birthday!) Mark Minicozzi were teammates on the Richmond Flying Squirrels and again for Zuli in Venezuela. Lollis hit just .182/.250/.272 in 44 at bats while Minocozzi hit .351/.413/.456 in 57 at bats.

27-year-old outfielder Juan Perez played in 40 games in the Dominican Winter League before playing in another five games with the Dominican team in the Caribbean Series. Perez made his big league debut in 2013 after hitting .291 with 10 home runs in Triple-A Fresno. He got 89 at bats in the big leagues and went home to the Dominican to rack up another 158 at bats, hitting .285/.350/.348 with 13 stolen bases there.

Veteran minor (and major) league catcher Guillermo Quiroz, 33, played in 32 games in Venezuela, hitting .286/.341/.393 after splitting the season between Triple-A Fresno and the majors. Quiroz re-signed as a minor league free agents, choosing to stay in the Giants’ organization.

Hector Sanchez, another backup catcher, played in 20 Venezuelan games, hitting .280/.329/.387 with two home runs in 75 at bats. Sanchez, 24, had 129 major league at bats with the Giants and hit .248/.300/.349 with three home runs.

Jun 28, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher J.C. Gutierrez (27) delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Royals won 9-3. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Edwin Escobar, a 21-year-old lefty, threw 26 innings in Venezuela, posting a 3.46 ERA with a 1.62 WHIP, 13 walks and 19 strikeouts in his home country this offseason. Escobar started 24 games between High-A San Jose and Double-A Richmond with a 2.80 ERA and 146 strikeouts in 128 2/3 innings.

27-year-old 6’5″ righty Justin Fitzgerald threw 15 1/3 innings in Venezuela, posting a 5.87 ERA with 10 runs surrendered. he walked seven and struck out 11 over his time there after season spent mostly as a starter with Triple-A Fresno.

The Giants signed reliever J.C. Gutierrez this offseason and has had excellent success pitching eight and a third innings in regular league play and another three innings in the Caribbean Series for Venezuela. Gutierrez threw 55 1/3 innings with the Royals and Angels combined in the big leagues in 2013.

Mitch Lively, 28, made 10 starts with Magallanes in the Venezuelan league, throwing 58 1/3 innings with a 1.70 ERA, 44 hits, 29 walks and 41 strikeouts.

Kameron Loe, 32, signed with the Giants this offseason after 26 2/3 MLB innings with three different clubs and a 7.09 ERA and 1.87 WHIP. The 6’8″ righty threw 27 innings over five starts for Escogido in the Dominican Winter League, giving up just three earned runs and not walking anyone while striking out 18.

32-year-old veteran righty Jean Machi spent the offseason at home in Venezuela after spending parts of the last two seasons in the majors. Machi had a 4.67 ERA in the Venezuelan regular season with 17 1/3 innings pitched and just five walks and 23 strikeouts. He threw another three innings in the Caribbean Series, surrendering one run on five hits and one walk with four strikeouts.

Daryl Maday, 28, also went down to Venezuela this offseason and threw 19 2/3 innings with a 5.85 ERA on 23 hits and 17 walks with 17 strikeouts. Maday pitched in Triple-A Fresno and Double-A Richmond with much better numbers at the lower level in 2013.

California native Edwin Quirarte, 27, pitched in Venezuela with much more success than Maday. In his third Double-A season, Quirarte had a 2.61 ERA, 1.30 WHIP with 28 walks and 44 strikeouts in 72 1/3 innings. In Venezuela, he only gave up four earned runs in 21 1/3 innings (1.69 ERA) with eight walks and 19 strikeouts.

Signed as a minor league free agent this offseason, Adam Reifer appeared in 21 Dominican Winter League games, throwing 19 1/3 innings with a 1.40 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 14 walks and 20 strikeouts. Reifer, a 27-year-old righty from San Dimas, California, pitched very effectively for New Orleans, the Marlins’ Triple-A affiliate with a 1.32 ERA and just 19 hits allowed in 41 innings. He did walk 25 batters but struck out 37.