Giants add two pitchers to 40-man, protect them from Rule 5 Draft

Giants add two pitchers to 40-man, protect them from Rule 5 Draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — The first deadline of the Giants offseason proved to be a good one for the Carsons of the world.

The Giants added right-handers Carson Seymour and Carson Ragsdale to their 40-man roster Tuesday, protecting both from next month’s Rule 5 Draft. To clear a 40-man spot, San Francisco designated right-hander Kai-Wei Teng for assignment.

Seymour and Ragsdale both are starters who were in Triple-A last year and that profile often is popular during the Rule 5 Draft. They now are in a position to debut at the big league level next season; all three pitchers the Giants added last November — Teng, Erik Miller and Trevor McDonald — made their debuts in 2024.

Seymour was a non-roster invitee this spring along with another Carson (Whisenhunt) and then made 28 starts for Triple-A Sacramento. He had a 4.82 ERA overall but was at 3.92 in home games, which the Giants treat with extra weight given that much of the PCL resembles Coors Field.

Seymour, who finished the 2024 season as the Giants’ No. 23-ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline, struck out 132 batters in 134 1/3 innings and has averaged 9.6 strikeouts per nine overall in the minors. A sixth-round draft pick by the New York Mets in 2021, he was acquired in the 2022 deadline deal that sent Darin Ruf to the Mets and brought J.D. Davis and three young pitchers to the Giants.

Ragsdale was also acquired in a trade, coming over from the Philadelphia Phillies in 2021 in exchange for reliever Sam Coonrod. A fourth-round draft pick a year earlier, Ragsdale, who stands 6-foot-8, has a 4.07 ERA in the minors with 12.3 strikeouts per nine. He split last season between Double-A and Triple-A, posting a 4.18 ERA and striking out 147 batters in 120 2/3 innings.

A year ago at this time, Teng was the one hoping to break through. The righty was acquired in the Sam Dyson trade in 2019 and the Giants felt they got a steal, but he struggled in four MLB appearances last season and fell behind others in Triple-A.

The moves are the first made to the minor league system since the Giants put Randy Winn in charge of player development last week.

On Friday, president of baseball operations Buster Posey will make his first big decisions with the big league roster. That’s the deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players Mike Yastrzemski, LaMonte Wade Jr., Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers.

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