Gregory

Santos

Even though we’re nearing the end of spring camp, there weren’t any real surprises among this group of cuts. Basabe, 25, performed well during Cactus League play, hitting .387 (12-for-31) with four RBI and an 8/1 K/BB ratio. He’ll start the year off as extra outfield depth at Triple-A Sacramento.

San Francisco grabs another lottery ticket reliever with Santos heading to the Bay Area following an injury-plagued run with the Mariners where he made just 16 relief appearances over two seasons prior to being non-tendered last month. The 26-year-old durability is the primary concern at this stage of his career, but he’s an experienced high-leverage arm with a wipeout slider. He’ll compete in spring training for a spot in the Giants’ season-opening bullpen mix.

Santos, 26, was acquired by Seattle to be a high-leverage relief option in 2024, but injuries and ineffectiveness saw him become an obvious non-tender candidate. The 26-year-old will likely need to sign as a non-roster invite with his new club.

The 26-year-old right-hander has been sidelined since mid-April when he underwent a procedure to clean up loose cartilage on his right knee. He’s expected to need quite a few appearances in minor league games before he’s an option to join the Mariners’ bullpen.

Santos underwent right knee surgery on Tuesday and is facing a lengthy absence following the procedure. The 25-year-old righty has made just 16 relief appearances for the Mariners over the last two years due to injury. The procedural move frees up a spot on Seattle’s 40-man roster.

The knee issue is something that the Mariners have been managing for a while and the 25-year-old hurler made the decision to have the procedure done. No word on how long he’ll be shelved for afterwards. He has posted a brutal 5.14 ERA, 2.29 WHIP and a 0/8 K/BB ratio in seven innings with the Mariners this season.

Santos was acquired by the Mariners to be a high-leverage option in the winter of 2023, but he dealt with injuries in 2024, and the right-hander has struggled to a a 5.14 ERA with zero strikeouts against eight walks. The Mariners will hope he can get right in Tacoma, with Will Klein taking his spot on the roster.

Santos was limited to just eight late-season relief appearances last year during his Seattle debut due to lat and biceps issues. It’s a positive sign that the 25-year-old righty is feeling healthy in the lead up to spring training and he should help bolster the Mariners’ high-leverage mix behind incumbent closer Andrés Muñoz.

Santos was having velocity issues on his rehab assignment, which is why the Mariners were in no hurry to activated him. In his final appearance for Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday, he was down about 3-4 mph from where he was before going on the IL with biceps inflammation. He’ll probably pitch in low-leverage situations initially.

The good news is that Santos has pitched two scoreless innings on his rehab assignment as he recovers from biceps inflammation. The bad is that his velocity was off by about five mph last night, and it had Statcast classifying his fastballs as changeups.