DENVER -- The general consensus last week was that the Giants did pretty well in getting two solid prospects back in exchange for one month of Andrew McCutchen. They're wasting no time taking a look at the more advanced one.
Abiatal Avelino, a 23-year-old middle infielder, joined the big league roster Tuesday after spending the final three days of the minor league season with Triple-A Sacramento. Ryder Jones was also added in the final round of September additions.
Avelino is considered more advanced with the glove than with the bat and could see some time at shortstop this month as the Giants rest Brandon Crawford, who has been banged-up for much of the second half. He also will be used as a pinch-runner and potentially a pinch-hitter.
"He runs well. He has good actions at shortstop, a really good arm," manager Bruce Bochy said. "He looks comfortable out there. I have a guy I can use late in games to pinch-run or pinch-hit. He's got some pop. He's intriguing in that you can move him around similar to (Alen) Hanson."
Giants coaches kept a close eye on Avelino during batting practice and liked what they saw. He has a strong build for a middle infielder and showed off a very strong arm while doing drills at shortstop. There's also some flair to his game. He asked for backhanded plays to end his time at short and jumped and pumped his fist after making a play from deep in the hole. Bochy said there's a chance Avelino could make a start in Milwaukee this weekend.
Avelino will end up playing for four different teams at three levels this season. He broke out with 10 homers and a .945 OPS for Double-A Trenton this season but had a .663 OPS after his promotion to the Yankees' Triple-A squad. In three games for the River Cats, Avelino was 2-for-13 and stole two bases. Overall, he had a .767 OPS in the minors this season, with 15 homers, eight triples and 13 doubles. Avelino stole 27 bases in 33 attempts.
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As for Jones, the Giants know quite a bit about him after he played down the stretch last year, and he showed his power by homering in his only game up this season. For the next 23 games he'll serve as a backup at third and Brandon Belt's primary backup at first. With Belt battling a sore knee, Jones could see a few starts over the next month.
