Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
At a time when so little feels familiar, at least Farhan flier season is back and at full-blast.
Farhan Zaidi’s Giants added a couple more major league camp pieces on minor league deals Friday, bringing in righty reliever Jay Jackson and infielder/outfielder Arismendy Alcantara. Both have major league experience.
Jackson, a 33-year-old who briefly overlapped with Scott Harris with the Cubs, debuted in 2015 with the Padres, was released and then played with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in Nippon Professional Baseball. He returned to MLB in 2019 and threw 30 1/3 innings with the Padres with a 4.45 ERA. He posted numbers that should intrigue the Giants: 47 strikeouts and 18 walks. If they can help his command, his numbers look much better.
Last season Jackson spent at the Reds’ alternate site but was not called up. More unlikely players have appeared with the Giants, and he hopes to revive his winding career.
As does Alcantara, who has 167 games of major league experience from 2014-17, including a short stint with the A’s. The utilityman never hit enough to last, though, slashing .189/.235/.315 in 459 plate appearances, which brought him to Mexican League baseball in 2018. His 2019 campaign was spent in the minors with the Mets, and the Giants will hope they can unlock something in his 29-year-old, switch-hitting bat.