Giants cut ties with struggling Gerardo Parra

Marc Lancaster

Giants cut ties with struggling Gerardo Parra image

The last-place Giants are cutting loose veteran outfielder Gerardo Parra. 

The team announced Friday it has designated the 32-year-old outfielder for assignment, effectively ending his time with the club. That move cleared the way to summon hot-hitting outfielder Mike Gerber from Triple-A Sacramento.  

MORE: Watch 'ChangeUp,' a new MLB live whiparound show on DAZN

The Giants also put catcher Erik Kratz on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain and called up right-hander Tyler Beede to replace him on the roster. Beede was scheduled to start Friday against the Reds. 

Parra signed a minor league deal with San Francisco just before the start of spring training. He had a slash line of .198/.278/.267 through 30 games. 

With attendance down dramatically and the team last in the NL West at 13-18 entering Friday's games, the Giants decided to give Gerber a shot in the majors at Parra's expense. San Francisco's left fielders had a .485 OPS with one home run this season through 31 games. 

Gerber, 26, is slashing .357/.402/.655 with six home runs in just 21 games at Triple-A. He made his major league debut with the Tigers last season, going 4 for 42 in limited time, and was claimed off waivers by the Giants in December. 

Parra is in his 11th major league season and previously played for the Rockies, Orioles, Brewers and Diamondbacks. 

Marc Lancaster

Marc Lancaster Photo

Marc Lancaster joined The Sporting News in 2022 after working closely with TSN for five years as an editor for the company now known as Stats Perform. He previously worked as an editor at The Washington Times, AOL’s FanHouse.com and the old CNNSportsIllustrated.com, and as a beat writer covering the Tampa Bay Rays, Cincinnati Reds, and University of Georgia football and women’s basketball. A Georgia graduate, he has been a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2013.