Brett Wisely, a utility infielder who played in parts of three seasons for the SF Giants, was claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Braves on Thursday. They subsequently optioned him to Triple-A Gwinnett after scooping him up, with most of his playing time this season also having come at that level with the Giants organization. San Francisco had designated Wisely for assignment a few days ago to make room on the 40-man roster for Bryce Eldridge.
At the beginning of spring training, Wisely was thought by many to be a favorite for a bench role on the Opening Day roster. He was coming off a meager .238/.278/.345 line in 2024 (75 wRC+) but appeared in 91 games while playing every position except catcher and right field. He graded out well defensively in every spot he played, with most of his work coming in the middle infield.
Brett Wisely gets scooped up by Braves after SF Giants DFA him
Christian Koss ended up beating him for the utility spot after a strong spring and has only further cemented himself as the Giants’ best backup option, even leapfrogging Tyler Fitzgerald on the depth chart. Koss’ rookie line (.258/.298/.365, 87 wRC+) has been moderately better than Wisely’s limited contributions in 22 major league games this year (.208/.269/.354, 75 wRC+).
Though Atlanta may be intrigued by picking up a versatile young infielder on the cheap, Wisely is playing the last of his minor league option years with just two weeks to go in the season. He’ll be able to compete for a roster spot next spring with the Braves, but if they choose not to make room for him on the Opening Day roster, they’ll have to designate him just like the Giants did.
Wisely was perfectly fine depth to have on hand in Sacramento, but the problem is they’re in an identical situation with Marco Luciano, who will also have no minor league options remaining next year. Once one of the best prospects in the Giants’ system, Luciano has toiled away in the minors with little success. His 23 homers this season look nice, but his 30.1% strikeout rate and .217 average at the minor league level certainly do not.
The odds are against Luciano making the team next year either, with Koss and Fitzgerald more attractive internal candidates to back up Schmitt, Chapman, and Adames. With that in mind, parting ways with Wisely and giving him an opportunity elsewhere may have been, erm, wise.
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