Photo Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

San Francisco Giants Sign Longtime Arizona Diamondbacks Defensive Specialist

Originally posted on FanNation Fastball | By Sam Connon | Last updated 2/26/24

The San Francisco Giants have signed veteran shortstop Nick Ahmed to a minor league deal, the team announced Monday morning.

Ahmed has also earned an invitation to San Francisco's big league Spring Training camp in Arizona. In a pair of related moves, the Giants have reassigned left-handed pitchers Reggie Crawford and Thomas Szapucki to their minor league camp.

The 33-year-old Ahmed spent the past 10 seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Once a top prospect in Arizona's farm system, Ahmed eventually carved out a role as the Diamondbacks' everyday starting shortstop at the MLB level.

Ahmed was previously tied to the Miami Marlins earlier this month, but they wound up signing former All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson instead.

Per Giants The Giants have reassigned the following players to minor league camp:

LHP Reggie Crawford
LHP Thomas Szapucki

In addition, the Giants have signed IF Nick Ahmed to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) February 26, 2024

The Giants entered Spring Training with top prospect Marco Luciano projected to start at shortstop in 2024, considering longtime franchise mainstay Brandon Crawford remains a free agent. Luciano has just 14 MLB games under his belt, though, and he looked to be the only shortstop slated to make the club's Opening Day roster.

By adding Ahmed, San Francisco welcomes a veteran presence at the position, as well as high-level defense.

Ahmed is a career .234 hitter with a .664 lifetime OPS. He hit .212 with a .560 OPS across 72 games in 2023, and he hasn't exceeded five home runs or 38 RBI since 2019. He did average 18 home runs and 76 RBI between 2018 and 2019, but it has been quite a while since his bat showed that much promise.

In the field, meanwhile, Ahmed is a two-time Gold Glove winner. His 12.2 career WAR comes despite his 75 career OPS+, thanks in large part to his defensive acumen. Ahmed has averaged 15 defensive runs saved per 162 games in his career, and his 12.4 defensive WAR has been among the best in the NL since 2014.

Ahmed could help replace Crawford's glove, should he make the MLB roster, which would take some pressure off the younger Luciano. Of course, there is a whole month left of Cactus League play, and there are plenty of dominoes left to fall before Opening Day arrives.

This article first appeared on FanNation Fastball and was syndicated with permission.

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