Giants trade reliever Coonrod for Phillies pitching prospect
The San Francisco Giants are counting on a slew of inexperienced relief pitchers to form an improved bullpen in manager Gabe Kapler’s second season with the club.
That group will no longer include righthanded reliever Sam Coonrod, who was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies Saturday in exchange for pitching prospect Carson Ragsdale. The transaction frees up a 40-man roster spot for the Giants and also gives them a chance to develop an intriguing arm in Ragsdale, a 6-foot-8 right-hander who was selected in the fourth round of the 2020 draft by the Phillies.
Coonrod posted a 9.82 ERA in 18 games and became one of the most easily recognizable pitchers for the Giants last season, but it wasn’t his late-season struggles that drew widespread attention. Coonrod’s refusal to take a knee during a moment of unity at Dodger Stadium prior to the Giants’ Opening Day game and his criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement following a summer of civil unrest across the United States garnered notice far outside the baseball community.
“I’m a Christian,” Coonrod said at the time. “I can’t get on board on a couple of things I’ve read about Black Lives Matter, how they lean toward Marxism and said some negative things about the nuclear family.”
Kapler defended Coonrod’s right to express himself, even though Coonrod’s sentiments regarding the Black Lives Matter movement did not align with the manager’s.
“Sam and I have spoken every day and I support him expressing himself and sharing his beliefs,” Kapler said. “I support all of our players sharing their thoughts and it means we’re able to have a conversation about really important topics when we’re constantly communicating. Sam said that he’s going to be talking to people about these issues more because of last night’s events and I’m happy to share my position with him.”
The Giants initially selected Coonrod in the fifth round of the 2014 MLB Draft and groomed him as a starter before he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017. The hard-throwing right-hander made his major league debut in 2019 and pitched in several high-leverage situations in 2020, but dealt with significant command issues late in the year.
Coonrod finished the 2020 season with three saves, but gave up a combined five runs in his final two appearances, which both contributed to a late-season collapse that cost the Giants a chance to secure a postseason berth.
Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi is expected to address the trade at 1 p.m. Saturday. This story will be updated to include Zaidi’s comments and more details on the transaction.