Giants protect pair of righty prospects ahead of Rule 5 Draft

The Giants added pitching prospects Carson Seymour and Carson Ragsdale to the 40-man roster on Tuesday, protecting the pair of right-handers from the Rule 5 Draft next month.

Right-hander Kai-Wei Teng was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, which is full heading into Friday’s tender deadline.

Seymour, who is ranked San Francisco’s No. 23 prospect per MLB Pipeline, recorded a 4.82 ERA over 29 appearances (28 starts) at Triple-A Sacramento in 2024. A sixth-round Draft pick of the Mets in 2021, Seymour was acquired by the Giants as part of the Darin Ruf trade in 2022. The 25-year-old relies primarily on his mid-to-upper-90s fastball and his upper-80s slider/cutter, which he used to rack up 132 strikeouts over 134 1/3 innings this year.

Ragsdale, 26, struggled with injuries earlier in his career but he managed to stay healthy this year, posting a 4.18 ERA over 27 appearances (26 starts) between Double-A Richmond and Triple-A Sacramento. He was a fourth-round Draft pick of the Phillies in 2020 before he was acquired by the Giants in a 2021 trade that sent Sam Coonrod to Philly.

Ragdale’s best pitch is a low 80s curveball with power and plenty of depth, though he also creates good extension with his 6-foot-8 frame that helps play up his mid-90s fastball.

Seymour and Ragsdale will likely be stretched out as starters and report to Spring Training as rotation options for the Giants, though they could also be candidates to pitch out of the bullpen in 2025. They’ll join a talented stable of arms that currently includes Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, Keaton Winn, Hayden Birdsong and Landen Roupp.

Players signed at age 18 or younger must be added to 40-man rosters within five seasons or they become eligible to be selected by other organizations through the Rule 5 Draft. Players signed at 19 years or older have to be protected within four seasons. Clubs pay $100,000 to select a player in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. If that player doesn't stay on the 26-man roster for the full season, he must be offered back to his former team for $50,000.

Two Rule 5-eligible prospects on the Giants’ Top 30 list were left unprotected on Tuesday: shortstop Aeverson Arteaga (No. 11) and catcher Onil Perez (No. 28). Both will be available to be selected by another team during the Rule 5 Draft, which will occur on Dec. 11 at the Winter Meetings in Dallas. Still, neither Arteaga nor Perez has played above High-A Eugene, which could make it challenging for another team to keep them on their Major League roster for the entire season.

Evans, Berry set to advise Posey

At the General Mangers Meetings in San Antonio, Texas, earlier this month, Buster Posey was asked if he was leaning on any mentors to help him navigate his transition to the Giants’ new president of baseball operations.

The first two names Posey mentioned were former Giants GM Bobby Evans and his former CAA agent Jeff Berry, both of whom are now expected to join the organization as front-office advisors, according to a report from ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

“I still talk to Bobby Evans,” Posey said. “I think my former agent, Jeff Berry, is a valuable voice for me, just to kind of help me see the other side of the negotiation table.”

Evans first joined the Giants as an administrative assistant in 1994, emerging as a top lieutenant to former executive vice president Brian Sabean before being elevated to the GM job in 2015. Evans served as the Giants’ GM for four seasons, though the club went only 308-340 over that span, resulting in his dismissal at the end of the 2018 campaign.

Berry represented Posey throughout the star catcher’s 12-year playing career, but he chose to leave CAA earlier this year. Posey has mostly turned to familiar names to build out his front office, as he also promoted Zack Minasian to GM and named former outfielder Randy Winn the Giants’ new vice president of player development.