The Giants introduced Monday that they’ve signed veteran infielder Nick Ahmed to a minor league deal and invited him to spring coaching. Ahmed, a shopper of Excel Sports activities Administration, has lengthy been a division rival of the Giants, spending his total massive league profession with the D-backs till now.
San Francisco has reportedly been mulling quite a lot of veteran choices at shortstop. Ahmed will add a glove-first choice to their spring group. He’ll compete with prospect Marco Luciano, 25-year-old Casey Schmitt and 26-year-old Tyler Fitzgerald for enjoying time at that place. Ahmed was lately linked to the Cardinals as properly, the place he’d even have been competing with a younger prospect (Masyn Winn) for enjoying time, and the Marlins earlier than that. It’s not clear whether or not St. Louis or Miami ever made a proposal, however that’s largely moot now that Ahmed has signed on with the Giants.
The previous two seasons have been a battle for Ahmed, a two-time Gold Glove winner at shortstop. Shoulder surgical procedure in 2022 restricted him to simply 17 video games, and his already modest offensive manufacturing cratered upon returning in 2023. Ahmed hit simply .212/.257/.303 final yr, dropping taking part in time to Geraldo Perdomo. In September, the Diamondbacks designated Ahmed for task and launched him. It was an unceremonious finish to a 10-season tenure as Arizona’s main shortstop, however the veteran’s dwindling position and manufacturing prompted the group to maneuver on.
Within the 5 seasons previous to his shoulder surgical procedure, Ahmed had nonetheless been below-average on the plate, however not almost to the extent he was in ’23. From 2017-21, Ahmed tallied 2057 plate appearances and batted .242/.300/.402 (83 wRC+). As is to be anticipated from a right-handed hitter, he’s been much better in opposition to lefties in his profession, slashing .257/.309/.430 (93 wRC+).
Ahmed offsets his lackluster offensive output by taking part in protection in addition to nearly any participant within the sport. From ’17-’21, Ahmed’s 58 Defensive Runs Saved ranked fifth amongst all massive leaguers, no matter place. His 87 Outs Above Common, per Statcast, tied him with Francisco Lindor for essentially the most of any participant — shortstop or in any other case — within the massive leagues.
Whether or not Ahmed can return to these heights within the area stays to be seen, although final yr’s exhibiting in a small pattern was promising. He solely logged 488 innings within the area however nonetheless tallied 1 DRS, 6 OAA and a 1.6 Final Zone Ranking. The sometimes surehanded Ahmed did make an uncharacteristic eight errors in that small pattern, however his vary remained wonderful.
Extra to come back.
