Giants Select Eddys Leonard

The Giants announced that they have selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Eddys Leonard. Francys Romero of BeisbolFR reported the move prior to the official announcement. The Giants traded six players on deadline day and then activated five guys to fill those spots, so they played last night’s game a man short. They had one opening on the active roster and three on the 40-man, so no corresponding move was required for this.

Leonard, 25, will be making his major league debut whenever he gets into a game although this won’t be his first time on a 40-man roster. An international signing of the Dodgers out of Venezuela, that club gave him a roster spot in November of 2021 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He had always been a good hitter in the minors and had a fine season at High-A in 2022 but struggled early in 2023 and got designated for assignment in July of that year.

He was flipped to the Tigers for cash considerations. Detroit held him through the end of the 2024 season but Leonard had exhausted his option seasons by then and still hadn’t received a call to the big leagues. He was designated for assignment and non-tendered. Since then, he has bounced around the league on minor league deals with Detroit, Atlanta, Milwaukee and San Francisco.

He is having a pretty good year on the farm. He started the year as non-roster depth with the Brewers. He stepped to the plate 288 times for Triple-A Nashville, hitting 12 home runs with solid walk and strikeout rates of 9.7% and 19.1%, respectively. He hit .287/.371/.502, which led to a 128 wRC+, indicating he was 28% above league average. He was released in mid-July. Since he was playing well, that was presumably because his deal had some sort of opt-out. He then signed with the Giants and played eight games for Triple-A Sacramento. He only had four hits in 33 plate appearances but all four were homers.

Defensively, Leonard has experience at every position on the diamond outside of the battery. The Giants just traded second baseman Luis Arraez and outfielder Heliot Ramos. The club’s injured list currently houses infielders Matt Chapman, Casey Schmitt and Marcelo Mayer as well as outfielders Harrison Bader, Victor Bericoto and Jonah Cox. Leonard gives them cover at a number of spots. If he finds some playing time, he will see if his success as a minor league hitter can carry over to the big leagues.