Giants avoid arb with Moronta; not Solano

The Giants completed the process with one of their two remaining arbitration-eligible players on Friday, reaching a one-year agreement with right-hander Reyes Moronta and exchanging salary figures with second baseman Donovan Solano.

A source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand that Moronta’s deal is worth $695,000 and that Solano filed for $3.9 million, while the Giants countered with $3.25 million, making it likely that both sides will head to a hearing. At that point, a panel of arbitrators will select either the salary figure of the player or the club after hearing arguments from both sides.

It was once common for teams and players to continue negotiating contracts right up until the day of their arbitration hearings. In recent years, that practice has become less frequent, and if a deal isn’t reached prior to the arbitration submission deadline it is often assumed the sides will head to arbitration.

“I would expect us to go to a hearing with anybody we don't settle with tomorrow,” president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said on Thursday.

The Giants haven’t had an arbitration hearing since 2004, when newly acquired catcher A.J. Pierzynski beat them and was awarded a $3.5 million salary. The Giants had offered $2.25 million.

Solano was one of 13 arbitration-eligible players around the Majors who did not reach an agreement and exchanged salary figures with his club on Friday. The 33-year-old veteran captured his first career Silver Slugger Award in 2020 after batting .326 with an .828 OPS over 54 games during the pandemic-shortened season. He is entering his third and final year of arbitration and will be eligible for free agency at the end of the 2021 campaign.

The Giants previously reached agreements with their six other arbitration-eligible players: Alex Dickerson ($2.1 million), Darin Ruf ($1.275 million), Austin Slater ($1.15 million), Jarlín García ($950,000), Wandy Peralta ($925,000) and Trevor Gott ($700,000).

Giants sign 34 international prospects
The Giants unveiled their 2021 international signing class on Friday, which is headlined by Venezuelan shortstop Diego Velásquez, who was ranked No. 22 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 International Prospects list. The Giants’ haul featured 34 players, including 19 from Venezuela, 11 from the Dominican Republic and one each from Curacao, Colombia, Mexico and Panama.

According to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez, the switch-hitting Velásquez agreed to a $1 million deal with the Giants, who had a bonus pool of $5,348,100. The Giants signed another shortstop, Ramón Peralta of the Dominican Republic, for $600,000, per Sanchez.

Jackson, Alcántara added on Minor League deals
The Giants announced that they’ve signed right-hander Jay Jackson and infielder/outfielder Arismendy Alcantara to Minor League deals with invitations to Major League Spring Training on Friday.

Jackson, 33, has a 4.67 ERA over 34 career relief appearances in the Majors. He spent the 2020 campaign pitching for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan, where he logged a 3.86 ERA over seven games. He figures to be in the mix for a spot in the Giants’ bullpen, which is short on experienced right-handed relief options. San Francisco added Matt Wisler and John Brebbia this offseason, but Brebbia is expected to miss the beginning of the season as he rehabs from Tommy John surgery.

Alcántara, 29, broke into the Majors with the Cubs in 2014, but he hasn’t played in the big leagues since '17. He spent the bulk of the '19 campaign at the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse, batting .294 with an .866 OPS and 13 home runs over 92 games.