San Francisco Giants Sign Top Prospect From The Philadelphia Phillies Following
After signing a minor league contract, a pitcher who was once thought to be the Philadelphia Phillies’ future is back with the team he began the season with.
Spencer Howard, a right-handed pitcher, was once thought by the Philadelphia Phillies to be a key member of their starting rotation. Now, as he keeps bouncing around Major League Baseball, the franchise observes from a distance.
After agreeing to a minor-league contract with the San Francisco Giants, Howard pitched a scoreless inning for Triple-A Sacramento on Friday.
He began the season with the Giants and is back after choosing to sign a free agent contract on July 28 rather than taking a job with Triple-A Columbus.
On July 21, the Cleveland Guardians selected Howard for assignment. This time, the 28-year-old will try to return to the Major Leagues.
After the Phillies took him out of Cal Poly in the second round and he went on to throw the first no-hitter in Class-A Lakewood BlueClaws history, it has been more than three years since they moved him.
In 2020, Philadelphia brought him up, and he had a 5.92 ERA while going 1-2. After going 0-2 with a 5.72 ERA in 11 starts with the Phillies in 2021, he was moved to the Texas Rangers in exchange for a number of youngsters, notably starter Kyle Gibson.
In 10 games (eight starts) in 2022, he was 2-4 with a 7.41 ERA as a spot starter for the Rangers. In 2023, Howard had a rough start to the season and was traded by Texas in late July. Howard was acquired by the New York Yankees, although he was only with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for a month before being cut go.
He was plucked out of the lower leagues by the Giants in late September.
Despite not being included on San Francisco’s Opening Day roster, Howard was finally called up from Sacramento on May 28 and moved into a key relief role this season. Throughout his six appearances and 21.1 innings, he went 1-1 with a 3.80 ERA. He walked nine and struck out 21.
The product of San Luis Obispo, California, signed with the Giants during a period when they were having trouble with pitching injuries. In June, when San Francisco was playing the Rangers, he replaced Logan Webb in the starting lineup.
53 of Howard’s 4.2 innings were spent with strikes. With a 3-1 lead, he walked three and struck out two before leaving. He pitched 4.2 innings of scoreless relief against the Chicago Cubs in his final game with the Giants.
He was dealt to Cleveland on July 5 after being DFA’d by San Francisco on June 30. In five innings, he was 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA while pitching for the Guardians. He walked three and struck out six.
