José Sirí claimed off waivers by Giants

Among a handful of semi-expected roster cuts today...

...we got this bit of disappointing news:

Claimed off waivers from the Reds on February 3rd, Sirí brought former top prospect sheen and flashed tools that could make anyone dream. I mean marvel at this catch:

And that bat drop:

Unfortunately, Sirí’s approach at the plate remained raw and undisciplined in his brief time as a Mariner, striking out seven times over just 12 Cactus League plate appearances, with many coming on vicious, 110% effort swings. Yeah, small sample and spring training are both big caveats here, but per Baseball-Reference, Sirí’s average opponent quality worke out to just 6.0 - somewhere between Double-A and High-A. Not exactly what you want to see from someone who will be 25 come July.

While it was always a long shot that Sirí would see any real time in Seattle this year - let alone break camp with the big club - this claim is about as disappointing as a waiver claim can be. Sirí’s toolsy background, strong glove, and infectious personality made him a very easy guy to root for, even if he ultimately might not put it all together. A small silver lining is that this now opens a spot on the 40-man roster, which may come in handy if the club needs to add a reliever such as Aaron Fletcher or Sam Delaplane, or if another NRI such as Carlos González ends up breaking camp with the club in two weeks (!). As for Sirí, I’ll enjoy keeping tabs on him in San Francisco’s org, but will at least be grateful for the end of any Siri jokes. Seriously that’s not even how his name is pronounced.