The Giants are cutting ties with infielder Tommy La Stella after a disappointing two-year tenure.
La Stella, who turns 34 before Opening Day, is owed $11.5 million in 2023. Pushing him off the 40-man roster clears a spot for left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers, who signed a three-year $33 million contract.
Injuries limited La Stella to 76 games in 2021 and 60 in 2022. He underwent surgery on both of his Achilles heels in October of 2021; the Giants had initially announced just one of the procedures. The operations significantly hurt La Stella’s ability to play the field — the natural second baseman played three games at second, three more at first and six at third base last year when he wasn’t designated hitting.
If La Stella clears waivers and is released, he’ll become a free agent. The Giants would then be responsible for his $11.5 million salary.
San Francisco signed La Stella to a backloaded three-year, $18.75 million contract before 2021. It was the first three-year deal the Giants under president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi agreed to. He’d been an All-Star in 2019 for the Angels, when he hit .295 with 16 home runs.
But for the Giants, La Stella struggled to stay on the field and produce when healthy. In 136 games as a Giant, he hit .245 with an OPS+ of 86 (league average is 100).
When the Giants placed him on the injured list last October to end his season, he didn’t travel with the team. Manager Gabe Kapler reiterated then that La Stella is “still very much a part of the team.”
“The last conversation (with La Stella) was as you’d might expect,” Kapler said Oct. 3, “Let’s get ready for 23, work your ass off and put yourself in a position to be a great baseball player for the Giants next year.”
As of now, the Giants’ infielders include Brandon Crawford, Thairo Estrada, Wilmer Flores, J.D. Davis, David Villar and LaMonte Wade Jr.. Brett Wisely and Isan Días, two left-handed second baseman, are also on the active roster.