Osleivis

Basabe

Basabe spent time on San Francisco’s 40-man roster last season but didn’t appear in the majors, slashing .249/.309/.412 with 14 homers and seven steals in 477 plate appearances over 125 games for Triple-A Sacramento. The 25-year-old was a notable prospect in Tampa Bay’s system a couple years ago and broke into the majors during the 2023 campaign when he got into 31 contests, hitting .218 (19-for-87) with one homer and 12 RBI. He’s merely emergency organizational depth at this juncture of his career.

No team put a claim in on the 24-year-old Basabe, who was viewed as a quality shortstop prospect a couple of years ago. He hit .296/.351/.426 in his first season in Triple-A in 2023 and played in 31 major league games for the Rays that year. Since then, though, he’s mostly struggled. The Giants acquired him over the winter after the Rays decided not to use a 40-man slot on him. Now no one thought he was worth having on the 40-man.

Basabe came over from the Rays in an offseason trade and hasn’t appeared in a game this year for San Francisco. The procedural move frees up a spot on the Giants’ 40-man roster for backup catcher Logan Porter.

Basabe was acquired from the Rays in February to add depth to the roster, and the 24-year-old will likely be up and down for the Giants in 2025.

The Rays had designated Basabe for assignment earlier this week, so the Giants swooped in and facilitated a trade. The 24-year-old was the ninth-ranked prospect in the Rays’ system last year and slashed .251/.309/.361 in 330 plate appearances with seven home runs and six steals in 78 games at Triple-A in 2024. He’s a strong defender at shortstop and third base, so he could compete for a back-up infield role in San Francisco.

The Rays acquired RHP Alex Faedo in a trade on Monday and needed to make room on their 40-man roster, so they’ll let Basabe go. The 24-year-old was the ninth-ranked prospect in the Rays’ system last year and made his MLB debut in 2023, hitting .218/.277/.310 in 94 plate appearances. In 78 games at Triple-A in 2024, Basabe slashed .251/.309/.361 in 330 plate appearances with seven home runs and six steals. He’s looking like a below-average offensive player but is a strong defender at either shortstop or third base, so somebody may take a chance on him.

No real surprises from this group. The 23-year-old Basabe made his MLB debut last year but hit .218/.277/.310 in 31 games with one home run. He had been hitting .296/.351/.426 in Triple-A with four home runs and 16 steals, so there is still the potential for him to be a solid MLB player, but his profile suggests more real-life value than fantasy value.

It’s undoubtedly a positive sign to see Basabe back in Tampa Bay’s lineup just a few days after suffering an apparent head injury on a head-first slide into earlier this week during a spring training game. The 23-year-old prospect, who made his major-league debut late last season, figures to be in the mix for a bench job this spring.

Basabe face-planted on the dive and was obviously shaken up as a result, but he was able to walk off on his own after a few minutes. Hopefully, it won’t prove to be a significant injury. The 23-year-old Basabe finished out last year in the majors, but he’s a long shot to make the Rays out of spring training.

Walls is expected to resume baseball activities in February, so consider him questionable for the opener. Barring a stunning change in the Wander Franco investigation, Walls figured to be the favorite to open 2024 as the Rays’ shortstop, though he’d have Osleivis Basabe and perhaps Junior Caminero nipping at his heels. Walls has hit just .189/.289/.304 in 991 plate appearances as a major leaguer, but because he’s so fantastic defensively, he’s been a valuable player anyway.