It’s a big week for last-minute minor-league signings across Major League Baseball, but the San Francisco Giants just landed one with a more decorated resume than most.
Michael Fulmer was the 2016 American League Rookie of the Year for the Detroit Tigers, and he made the All-Star Game the next year. But a series of arm injuries interrupted that promising start to his career and eventually led to him becoming a reliever.
Fulmer only made one major league appearance last year and pitched at the Triple-A level for four organizations. He’s hoping another year of recovery after his latest arm injury will help him get back to a more permanent role in the majors, and the Giants’ spring training camp will be his proving ground in that regard.
According to the official transactions log on his MLB.com roster page, Fulmer signed a minor-league deal with the Giants on Wednesday. He received a non-roster invite to spring training in Arizona, which begins next week.
Fulmer underwent Tommy John surgery after the 2023 season and signed a unique two-year minor-league deal with the Boston Red Sox. He lost the competition for a bullpen job last year coming out of spring training, and after he debuted in an April mop-up outing in a blowout against the Tampa Bay Rays, Boston immediately designated him for assignment.
From that point on, Fulmer pitched in Triple-A for the Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs, and Seattle Mariners. He tallied a 3.39 ERA and struck out an impressive 86 batters in 66 1/3 Triple-A innings last year.
Two full years removed from his Tommy John procedure, Fulmer will join the Giants at camp with something to prove. He joins Caleb Kilian, Nick Margevicius, and Gregory Santos among Giants non-roster invites with past big-league experience on the mound.
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