The Giants announced Friday that they’ve designated right-hander Nick Tropeano for assignment. The move opens a spot on the roster for lefty Scott Kazmir, who will be reinstated from the restricted list. The 37-year-old Kazmir recently left the team to attend to a personal matter.
Tropeano, 30, has appeared in four games with the Giants and tossed six innings, holding opponents to just a run on four hits and two walks. He’s punched out two hitters as well. The former Angels righty was at one point a prospect of fair note, ranking well within both the Houston and Anaheim farm systems. He’s dealt with some injuries, most notably Tommy John surgery, but at his best, Tropeano has looked the part of a respectable fourth or fifth starter. From 2014-18, he pitched to a 4.15 ERA with a 21 percent strikeout rate and a 9.4 percent walk rate in 203 2/3 innings.
San Francisco will have a week to either trade Tropeano, place him on outright waivers or release him. He has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency should he go unclaimed, at which point he’d be able to seek new opportunities with another club — perhaps one with a more pressing pitching need. Then again, the Giants frequently shuffle their pitching mix, which could give Tropeano another opportunity before long if he opts to stick around.
As for Kazmir, he returned to the big leagues last month after a nearly half-decade absence from a major league mound. The now-37-year-old veteran figures to continue to work out of the bullpen as he looks to channel Rich Hill and reestablish himself as a credible big league hurler. He got off to a nice start, holding the Dodgers to a run in four sharp innings during his Giants debut. Los Angeles got some revenge in its next meeting, however, tagging Kazmir for a pair of runs in an inning of work.
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