The Giants have sent right-hander Wilkin Ramos outright to Triple-A Sacramento, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week.
Ramos, 25, just had his contract selected by San Francisco in June. That was his first time getting a big league roster spot. That means this is his first career outright and he is nowhere close to three years of big league service time. Therefore, he does not have the right to elect free agency.
Presumably, the Giants are pleased with that outcome. They signed Ramos to a minor league deal in the offseason. He began the season at Triple-A and got out to a hot start. Through the end of May, he had thrown 27 innings with six earned runs allowed, giving him a flat ERA of 2.00. His 23.5% strikeout rate and 6.1% walk rate were both better than average, while his 61.4% ground ball rate was about 20 ticks better than par.
The Giants were intrigued enough to give him a roster spot on the first day of June, though his initial MLB audition didn’t work out. In his first appearance, he allowed two earned runs in two innings. In his second, he faced four batters and they all reached. Three of them came around to score, bumping Ramos’s ERA to 22.50. He was then optioned back to Triple-A and allowed nine earned runs in 5 2/3 innings before being designated for assignment.
Though the month of June obviously wasn’t good for Ramos, he showed enough early promise to seem like a viable big league arm prior to that. The Giants can keep him around without using a roster spot and see if he gets back on track.
Photo courtesy of Michael McLoone, Imagn Images
