Catcher Aramis Garcia Has Tools For The Trade

When deciding which players to protect from the Rule 5 draft by placing them on the 40-man roster, a team must consider how much it values those players and—almost equally important—how much other teams value those players.

In other words, a club is more likely to protect a player if it believes another team would be willing to keep that player on its 25-man roster for the season, regardless of his upside.

A promising catcher typically rates as someone other teams covet. That’s part of the reasoning why the Giants figure to place 24-year-old Aramis Garcia on their 40-man roster later this month.

Garcia spent the bulk of 2017 at high Class A San Jose. For the season, he hit .274/.323/.485 with 17 home runs in 103 games, including 22 games at Double-A Richmond.

General manager Bobby Evans said Ramirez has been “a good hitter at every level . . . but ultimately he’s a big, strong, physical catcher. (He) shows soft hands and the ability to play the position. That’s what you’re looking for.”

A 2014 second-round pick from Florida International, Garcia endured a frightening injury with San Jose in May 2016 when he slid into second base, trying to break up a double play, and received facial fractures after colliding with the second baseman’s knee.

That cost Garcia about two months in 2016, but he rebounded nicely both at the plate and behind it in 2017.

“He’s just got a really great presence,” Evans said of Garcia. “He’s got good size (6-foot-2, 220 pounds). He shows an aptitude for the position. (Pitchers) like throwing to him. He exudes confidence and builds trust with his pitchers.”

GIANTICS

• Giants manager Bruce Bochy’s coaching staff has undergone a major revamping. Longtime pitching coach Dave Righetti, longtime bullpen coach Mark Gardner and assistant hitting coach Steve Decker have taken jobs in other parts of the organization. The Giants let go of third base coach Phil Nevin. Longtime bench coach Ron Wotus moves to third base coach. Hitting coach Hensley Meulens replaces Wotus as bench coach. The Giants hired Alonzo Powell, who had been the Astros’ assistant hitting coach, as their hitting coach and hired former San Francisco reliever Matt Herges as bullpen coach. The Giants named former Athletics pitching coach Curt Young as their new pitching coach on Nov. 3.