SAN FRANCISCO -- Part of being an effective baseball executive is getting the right read on the market, and Farhan Zaidi certainly has done that over the past week.
For the second time in two days, the Giants had an outfielder clear waivers, allowing him to join the Triple-A roster. Michael Reed cleared and was outrighted, and while he initially opted to become a free agent -- as was his right -- the Giants re-signed him. Reed was headed to join Triple-A Sacramento, and Mac Wlliamson should arrive Saturday.
Reed had a rough week after being a surprise addition to the Opening Day roster, going 0-for-8 with six strikeouts. But the Giants were willing to take another look at a player who had a .446 on-base percentage in the minors last season and is one of the few in the upper levels of the organization who can truly play center field.
More than anything, the Giants have just added depth. Williamson will get a shot to find his 2018 swing in Triple-A, where the outfield is now pretty crowded. Reed and Williamson join Austin Slater, Mike Gerber, Anthony Garcia, Henry Ramos and Mike Yastrzemski. Slater will play a lot of first base moving forward. The Giants will hope that one of the outfield lottery tickets gets hot.
