Opening Day is just five days away for the San Francisco Giants, and the camp cuts are coming as fast and furious as my favorite modern movie franchise. The big news came on Thursday, when the Giants optioned top prospect Bryce Eldridge to AAA Sacramento, along with Grant McCray and Tyler Fitzgerald. That ended the camp-long question of whether or not Eldridge would make the roster for March 25’s Netflix special.
But more news came on Friday, when the Giants made their seventh round of camp cuts. This time, rather than optioning a trio of rostered players, the Giants reassigned a trio of non-roster invitees to Minor League camp: outfielder Victor Bericoto, right-hander Gregory Santos, and infielder Osleivis Basabe.
The biggest name here is Bericoto, who had an absolute breakout of a performance in his first Spring Training, which resulted in being named the 2026 Barney Nugent Award winner shortly before being reassigned. Bittersweet day!
Bericoto, a right-handed hitter who signed with the Giants in the same international period as Luis Matos and Marco Luciano (and who re-signed on a Minor League contract this past offseason after reaching free agency), was positively dynamic in Cactus League play, while manning both left and right field. In 19 games he hit a blistering 18-38 with a team-best three home runs as well as three doubles, while sporting a 1.264 OPS and a 221 wRC+. He also posted some of the most impressive exit velocities on the team, while striking out just seven times.
To the naked eye, then, it might seem like the Giants are making an error by reassigning him instead of giving him a spot on the Opening Day roster, especially since the players in the running for the fourth outfield spot — Matos, Will Brennan, Drew Gilbert, and Jared Oliva — aren’t exactly tearing holes in the box scores. But Bericoto, who recently turned 24, was never seriously in play for an Opening Day assignment. Spring Training numbers should always be taken with a grain of salt, and as exceptional as his were, it bears noting that he drew just one walk, rocked a hilariously unsustainable .517 BABIP, and did the bulk of his damage against fellow Minor Leaguers and NRIs. Most importantly, Bericoto has just 11 games in AAA to his name (during which time he hit just .196/.196/.283) so, despite his performance, he’s in need of some further development.
Still and all, he opened eyes, and certainly impressed his teammates, coaches, and front office. Given how unproven that aforementioned quartet is — plus McCray and Jerar Encarnación — there will almost certainly be a roster spot for Bericoto in a few months if he hits well with AAA Sacramento.
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While Bericoto was the most notable name given his spring, the most surprising of the three cuts was Santos. I’ve spent the offseason telling anyone who will listen that I think Santos — who was signed and developed by the Giants before being cut three years ago, and re-signed to a Minor League deal this past offseason — will end up being the team’s best reliever this year. I’m sticking with that, though it will take him a little while to get there, apparently.
Santos struggled with command this spring, walking five batters — while striking out just two — in 3.1 innings, leading to a 5.40 ERA and a 7.87 FIP. That shouldn’t be incredibly surprising, given that there’s rust to wash off: injuries have limited him to just 26.2 innings between both the Majors and the Minors over the last two seasons combined. The bright side is, when he finds his rhythm, command shouldn’t be a big concern: the 26-year old walked just 2.3 batters per nine innings during his breakout season with the Chicago White Sox in 2023, which is an astonishingly low number for a player who regularly clips triple digits with his fastball.
Given the lack of heat that the Giants have in the bullpen after trading Camilo Doval and seeing Randy Rodríguez suffer an injury — and given that fastball velocity is the primary barrier for entry in MLB bullpens these days — it feels like a matter of when, not if Santos will be a high-leverage reliever for this team.
As for Basabe, he had a great camp, but never really had a chance of making the team. The 25-year old right-handed hitter played his usual excellent defense across the infield, while really showing out with the bat, as he hit 12-31 with two triples, four doubles, and one walk, for a 1.051 OPS and a 167 wRC+. With Casey Schmitt and Christian Koss entrenched as the backup infielders — and Fitzgerald on the 40-man roster — the usually light-hitting Basabe (who is Matos’ cousin) was always ticketed for depth in Sacramento. But he played well enough that the organization will likely be quite comfortable bringing him up should injuries create a need.
The Giants are now down to 39 players in Major League camp: 34 rostered players, and five non-roster invitees (pitchers Michael Fulmer, Caleb Kilian, and Joey Lucchesi; catcher Eric Haase; and outfielder Oliva). They’ll have to trim 13 more names between now and Wednesday.
