The business of baseball always goes on, so on Thursday, as they sat in the middle of one of the biggest baseball stories of the year, the Giants had to complete a minor trade.
The Giants acquired right-hander Kade McClure from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for right-hander Gregory Santos, who was designated for assignment earlier this week when the club needed a 40-man roster spot for Sean Manaea.
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McClure, 26, spent all of last season with Triple-A Charlotte, primarily pitching out of the bullpen but also making five starts. He had a 4.97 ERA and 1.41 WHIP, but did strike out 96 batters in 87 innings. Overall, McClure has a 4.03 ERA in the minors with an average of just about one strikeout per inning. The Louisville alum was taken in the sixth round of the 2017 MLB Draft.
Santos, 23, was sure to get claimed had the Giants not worked out a trade. The big right-hander has a triple-digits fastball and hard slider, but command issues have kept him from breaking through. In 5 2/3 innings the last two years, Santos gave up eight hits, including three homers. He also walked five.
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Santos once looked like a big part of the bullpen's future, and he was added to the 40-man roster at the same time as reliever Camilo Doval and right-hander Kervin Castro, all three of whom debuted in 2021. Castro was thought to be the safest bet of the three and Santos initially might have had the highest ceiling, but while Doval has developed into one of the best young closers in the game, the other two have been DFA'd in recent months.
