Rule 5 pick Bergen seeking path to Majors

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Travis Bergen had hoped his impressive 2018 campaign would be eye-catching enough to prompt the Blue Jays to add him to their 40-man roster in November. Despite posting a 0.95 ERA over 56 2/3 innings between Class A Advanced Dunedin and Double-A New Hampshire, Bergen found himself victim to Toronto’s roster crunch and was omitted, leaving him exposed to December’s Rule 5 Draft.

While disappointed by the Blue Jays’ decision, Bergen knew the development could beckon a new opportunity elsewhere. Less than a month later, the Giants scooped him up in the Rule 5 Draft and pledged to give the 25-year-old left-hander a shot to compete for a bullpen job this spring.

“I was thrilled,” Bergen said. “It’s just going to be such a great opportunity with a great organization. I was over-the-moon happy.”

The Giants were unusually active during the Major League phase of last year’s Rule 5 Draft, picking up Bergen and outfielder Drew Ferguson from the Astros. Assistant general manager Jeremy Shelley, who has worked for the Giants since 1994, said at the time that he could not recall another instance in which the club had made multiple selections during the annual event.

Teams pay $100,000 to make a selection in the Rule 5 Draft, but the player must be kept on the 25-man roster all season or be offered back to his original team for $50,000. The designation means that the Giants plan to give Bergen and Ferguson serious looks this spring and see if they can carve out roles for themselves on the Opening Day roster.

“I think anybody that’s going to be in San Diego on Opening Day is going to have to earn a spot,” Bergen said. “I’m thankful that I have a chance to earn a spot. All I can do is take it one day at a time and give it my best effort.”

A seventh-round Draft pick out of Kennesaw State in 2015, Bergen mixes a low-to-mid-90s fastball with a curveball and averaged 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings in 2018. He has not pitched above Double-A, but president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said he was impressed by how Bergen threw the ball in his first live batting practice session on Tuesday.

“He really knows his game,” Zaidi said. “He knows that his fastball up in the zone plays. He’s a very confident, self-assured guy. He’s been really impressive so far in camp.”

The Giants plan on carrying three left-handed relievers for most of 2019, and while Will Smith and Tony Watson already have two spots locked up, Bergen will be among the contenders for the third.

Zaidi is also high on the 26-year-old Ferguson, who can play all three outfield spots and potentially give the Giants a second right-handed-hitting center fielder behind Cameron Maybin. A 19th-round Draft pick out of Belmont University in 2015, Ferguson is a career .297 hitter with a .393 on-base percentage in the Minors. In 2018, he batted .305 with an .866 OPS and four home runs in 65 games with Triple-A Fresno.

“Ferguson is a guy that can run and defend, and those are valuable skills in a guy coming off the bench,” Zaidi said. “Just from a pitch-by-pitch, plate discipline standpoint, he rates as good as anybody in the organization as far as swinging at strikes and taking balls. When guys ask him, he talks about that. That’s his goal. Swing at strikes, take balls and get on base. He definitely has that mindset.”