The end of a very tall era.
In a cruel twist for all who enjoy wordplay, the tallest player in MLB history is no longer a member of the San Francisco Giants. On Wednesday, the team announced that they had designated for assignment 6’11 right-handed pitcher Sean Hjelle.
The news came as the team made a trade with the New York Mets official, sending Tyler Rogers to the Big Apple in exchange for pitchers Blade Tidwell and José Buttó, and outfielder Drew Gilbert. Because Tidwell and Buttó are both on the 40-man roster, the Giants needed to clear a spot, and Hjelle became a victim of the numbers game.
After a strong 2024, in which he spent the entire season in the Majors, the writing was on the wall for Hjelle when he was optioned during Spring Training, showing that the new front office didn’t value him quite as much as the old one. With the front office making velocity a priority — and Hjelle’s being in short supply in AAA — it was hard to see him getting many opportunities and, indeed, he was brought up to the Majors mostly to patch holes on the roster here and there.
Unfortunately, he didn’t patch them well, as he accrued a 7.80 ERA in 12 outings. The underlying metrics weren’t much better, with Hjelle having a 5.16 FIP, and 11 strikeouts against nine walks in 15 innings. Along the way, MLB also investigated Hjelle after allegations of abuse and child neglect from his wife, though the findings of the investigation, if it’s complete, haven’t been made public. Add in the fact that this is Hjelle’s final year with an option, and it felt clear that his roster days were limited.
Hjelle had a long run in the organization, after being the team’s second-round pick in 2018, the final draft that Bobby Evans oversaw. He’s one of five players from that class to make it to Oracle Park, joining first-rounder Joey Bart, fifth-rounder Keaton Winn, 11th-rounder David Villar, and 31st-rounder Ryan Walker. A pair of other players (third-rounder Jake Wong and 26th-rounder Jacob Lopez) made the Majors after joining other organizations, while 36th-rounder Bryan Hoeing didn’t sign, wasn’t drafted in the seventh round the next year by the Marlins, and has since made the Majors.
The Giants will now have an opportunity to work out a trade for Hjelle and, if they don’t, he’ll be placed on waivers. If he clears those waivers, he can be outrighted back to Sacramento.