Giants Select Mauricio Llovera, Designate Dalton Guthrie For Assignment

The Giants announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Mauricio Llovera, with righty Keaton Winn optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, outfielder Dalton Guthrie was designated for assignment.

Llovera, 27, pitched for the Giants last year, posting a 4.41 ERA in 16 1/3 innings. He was non-tendered at season’s end and returned on a minor league deal. He’s thrown 22 2/3 innings in the minors this year with a 3.97 ERA, striking out 31.5% of opponents while walking just 6.5%.

Those strong peripherals will get him another shot at getting outs at the big league level. He’s out of options, which means he can’t be sent back down to the minors without being exposed to waivers. But he has just under a year of service time, meaning the Giants could keep him around for future seasons if he manages to stick.

Guthrie, 27, just came over about two weeks ago, acquired from the Phillies in a cash deal after he was designated for assignment. He appeared in 14 big league games with the Phils last year and hit .333/.500/.476 but 23 games this year amounted to a line of just .167/.286/.208. Between the two clubs, he’s hit .279/.362/.443 at Triple-A this year for a wRC+ of 101.

He has the ability to play all three outfield positions and has also played the three infield spots to the left of first base. He still has a full slate of options and less than a year of service time. Given those factors and the offense he’s shown at times, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him garner interest from other clubs. The Giants will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers.