Giants Have Active 24 Hours And Agree To Acquire Korean Infielder Hwang

The Giants had a busy 24 hours Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, as they agreed to sign Korean infielder Jae-gyun Hwang, who might have the biggest bat flip in the history of baseball, to a minor league deal, with an invite to Spring Training. The Giants also acquired veteran catcher Nick Hundley to a one-year, $2 million major-league deal, and they cleared room on the 40-man roster by designating infielder Ehire Adrianza for assignment.

Hwang, 29, had a .330 with 26 home runs for the Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball Organization last year. He also posted a .391 on-base percentage, as well as a .558 slugging percentage. Hwang will likely compete with Conor Gillaspie, who was a postseason hero for the Giants last season, for one of the backup infield positions, with the other likely going to Kelby Tomlinson. If Hwang makes the team, he could provide some late-inning power off the bench in close games.

The acquisition of Nick Hundley is a bit interesting, considering the fine job Trevor Brown did in his first full season in the big leagues as a backup to Buster Posey. Hundley first came up with the San Diego Padres in 2008, and remained there until 2014, when he was traded to Baltimore Orioles. Hundley then spent the last two seasons with the Colorado Rockies, where he hit .282 with 20 home runs in 186 games. Reports indicate that the Giants may want to get Brown some more seasoning in Triple-A. Though, perhaps, the Giants may want to limit Posey's time behind the plate and carry three catchers, which would not be a bad move.

There will be a lot of new faces in Mike Murphy's clubhouse in 2017, as well as a lot of competition for big-league jobs. With 19 days to go until pitchers and catchers report, the Giants seem to be quite comfortable with the team they have going into the season.