The Giants announced that infielder David Villar cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A. Villar was designated for assignment earlier this week.
Because this is Villar’s first career outright assignment, he doesn’t yet have the ability to opt into free agency rather than accept the assignment to Triple-A. Villar now has that ability going forward in his career, perhaps making for some future transactional wrangling since he is also out of minor league options. That out-of-options status is what required the Giants to DFA Villar, as the club had to first expose him to waivers before sending him down to the minors.
An 11th-round pick for the Giants in the 2018 draft, Villar had a nice rookie season in 2022, hitting .231/.331/.455 with nine home runs over 181 plate appearances. Most of his playing time that year came at third base, but once J.D. Davis took the bulk of the hot corner work in 2023, Villar spent more time at first and second base during his time in the majors. With Matt Chapman taking over third base in 2024 and the Giants’ infield becoming even more crowded with options, Villar played only first base over his 11 MLB games last season.
A lack of offensive production was the larger reason Villar couldn’t find a spot anywhere in the lineup. He hit only .145/.236/.315 over 140 PA in 2023, and then .257/.270/.457 in 37 PA in 2024. San Francisco often cycled Villar up and down from Triple-A for depth purposes during his time with the club, but now that his minor league options have been exhausted, the Giants chose to move onto bench players with more roster flexibility.
