Tyson Ross. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
With the return of baseball comes the harsh reality that nearly all minor leaguers and fringe players will not be returning to baseball. Or at least their current teams.
Ahead of Sunday’s deadline for deciding on the 60-man player pool, the Giants began releasing players who will not be included and will have no where to play within the organization during a pandemic. Veteran righties Tyson Ross and Nick Vincent and outfield hope Jamie Westbrook were released Friday afternoon. There will be many more to follow.
Ross, a 33-year-old Berkeley native, was attempting another comeback after missing much of last season with ulnar neuritis in his elbow in a career that already had seen surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. Ross, who pitched his first three seasons in the majors with the A’s, was in camp 1.0 on a minor league deal and allowed three runs in 3 2/3 innings in the Cactus League. The Giants are awfully deep with possibilities in the bullpen and rotation, and Ross and Vincent were victims.
Vincent, a 33-year-old righty, was in his second stint with the Giants, having thrown 30 2/3 innings last year with San Francisco before being DFA’d. They brought him back for camp, in which he allowed seven earned runs in four innings and will not get a chance with the Giants to right himself.
Westbrook, a 25-year-old who reached Triple-A with Arizona last year, was a minor league signing who impressed early in camp but was behind many on the Giants’ outfield depth chart. He was reassigned to minor league camp March 6 and likely would have been a Triple-A Sacramento outfielder if being a Triple-A Sacramento outfielder were a thing this year.