Giants Add More Players to 40-man Roster

With the deadline to protect players for the Rule 5 draft pending the San Francisco Giants have made some final moves.  Today the Giants outrighted first baseman Brett Pill to Fresno, therefore removing him from the 40-man roster, and they released pitcher Waldis Joaquin.  By opening two spots on the 40-man roster the Giants were able to purchase the contracts of right-handed pitchers Jose Casilla and Steve Edlefsen as well as left-handed pitcher Clayton Tanner.

These moves come two days after the Giants purchased the contracts of infielder Ehire Adrianza and outfielder Thomas Neal to protect them in the Rule 5 draft.

Here is some information about the players that were involved in the moves today from the Giants press release:

Casilla, who is the younger brother to Giants relief pitcher Santiago, spent the 2010 campaign at Class A Augusta forging a 4-1 record with a 1.16 ERA and 14 saves in 46 relief appearances. The 21-year-old right-hander was named to his first All-Star team in 2010, making the South Atlantic League's squad. 

The five-year professional has logged a 15-6 record with a 2.33 ERA and 26 saves in 97 relief appearances. He was signed by the Giants as a non-drafted free agent in 2006.

Edlefsen posted a 7-2 record with a 2.38 ERA and six saves in 49 relief appearances in his second season at Triple-A Fresno. The 2010 PCL All-Star has quickly climbed San Francisco's organizational ladder since being drafted by the club in the 16th round of the 2007 Draft. In parts of just two seasons at the Triple-A level, the 26-year-old has gone 12-2 with a 2.39 ERA and eight saves in 71 relief outings.

A native of Minneapolis, Edlefsen has posted a record of 25-8 with a 2.46 ERA and 17 saves in 156 relief appearances in his four seasons at the Minor League level.

Tanner, 22, went 9-9 with a 3.68 ERA in 27 starting assignments for Double-A Richmond in 2010. The left-hander, who was named to the Eastern League All-Star team, finished ninth in the league in ERA.

Born in Mona Vale, Australia, Tanner grew up in the Bay Area and graduated from De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) High School. In five seasons at the minor league level, he's gone 45-33 with a 3.53 ERA in 117 games (100 starts).

Pill, 26, batted .275 (143-for-520) with 34 doubles, 16 home runs and 84 RBI at Triple-A Fresno in 2010.

Joaquin, 23, appeared in just four games with the Giants this season, allowing six runs (five earned) in 4 2/3 innings. He spent the majority of the 2010 season with Triple-A Fresno, going 1-2 with a 4.93 ERA in 23 games (five starts). He underwent surgery on his lower back (microdiscectomy) on Nov. 10.

 After all these moves have been made the Giants currently have 37 players on the 40-man roster which would lend one to think that they can only add three major leaguers in free agency.  Here is the current 40-man roster after these moves:

Pitchers (18) -- Jeremy Affeldt, Madison Bumgarner, Matt Cain, Jose Casilla, Santiago Casilla, Steve Edlefsen, Alex Hinshaw, Tim Lincecum, Javier Lopez, Ramon Ramirez, Chris Ray, Sergio Romo, Dan Runzler, Jonathan Sanchez, Henry Sosa, Clayton Tanner, Brian Wilson, Barry Zito.

Catchers (2) -- Buster Posey, Eli Whiteside.

Infielders (8) -- Ehire Adrianza, Emmanuel Burriss, Mike Fontenot, Conor Gillaspie, Travis Ishikawa, Ryan Rohlinger, Freddy Sanchez, Pablo Sandoval.

Outfielders (9) -- Mark DeRosa, Darren Ford, Thomas Neal, Francisco Peguero, Cody Ross, Aaron Rowand, Nate Schierholtz, Andres Torres, Eugenio Velez.

Jason Hill Now a Jacksonville Jaguar

Former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jason Hill has been picked up by the Jacksonville Jaguars.  The Jaguars were awarded the waiver claim which allowed them to get him after he was cut by the 49ers earlier this week.

Hill was released in the beginning of the season but was resigned when Ted Ginn Jr. went down with his injury.  Hill, who grew up in San Francisco, has played in 32 games with the 49ers and has 40 receptions for 413 yards and four touchdowns.

Dolphins Take OL Matt Kopa from 49ers Practice Squad

The Miami Dolphins have done it again.  They stole another practice squad player from the San Francisco 49ers. 

According to the National Football Post, the Dolphins have signed offensive lineman Matt Kopa from the 49ers practice squad.  Kopa, a local Elk Grove High School product, played at Stanford.

This is the second time that the Dolphins have taken a practice squad player from the 49ers.  Running back Kory Sheets, was taken from the squad last year.

49ers Sign Lance Long & DeShawn Wynn to Practice Squad; Release Bahktiari & Caulcrick

The San Francisco 49ers made some moves yesterday to adjust the practice squad and address some positional needs.  They signed WR Lance Long and RB DeShawn Wynn to the practice squad and cut LB Eric Bahktiari and FB Jehuu Caulcrick.

DeShawn Wynn, a Florida Gator, was originally drafted in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers.  He has played in 20 career games rushing for 332 yards and five touchdowns.

Lance Long has played in eight career games and has recorded 20 receptions for 178 yards along with six kickoff returns for 106 yards.  He was originally signed as a undrafted free agent by the Arizona Cardinals in 2008 and then later released.  He has since been with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Jacksonville Jaguars.  He played collegiately at Mississippi State.

Giants Decline SS Edgar Renteria's Option

No surprise here.  The San Francisco Giants declined the $10.5 million option on World Series MVP Edgar Renteria.  Instead they will pay him $500,000 as part of the buyout. 

This move is not surprising as Renteria has very little left in the tank.  Although he played like the Renteria of past years in the playoffs, most of his strong performance was due to the amount of time he sat on the bench in the regular season.  At this point in his career, if he does not retire, he is a bench player who could possibly play one or two times a week.

The word is that Renteria is considering retirement at this point.  Personally, I think that is a great move.  Not just because he drove me nuts all season and I think he has nothing left.  But I think it would be a nice story to see a player retire while he can still play and not continue to embarras himself.  If Renteria choses to retire he can do so as a World Series Champion and World Series MVP.  That's about as good as it gets.

49ers Add Another Buckeye, Linebacker Thaddeus Gibson

While the San Francisco 49ers players were making thier way back from London, the front office was busy on waiver claim Monday.  Today, they picked up linebacker Thaddeus Gibson off of waivers from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Gibson, who was drafted by the Steelers in the fourth-round out of Ohio State.  He had never made it on the active roster all season. 

Gibson played defensive-end in college and translates to outside linebacker in the 3-4, a position that the 49ers are already stacked at.

With the addition of Gibson, the 49ers now have five former Buckeye's on the roster.  The other four are Nate Clements, Troy Smith, Ted Ginn, and Alex Boone.

49ers Sign FB Jehuu Caulcrick to Practice Squad

When the San Francisco 49ers promoted S Chris Maragos from the practice squad last week that left a spot open for another player.  The 49ers filled that spot today when they resigned FB Jehuu Caulcrick to the squad.  This is the second week in a row that Caulcrick has been signed to the 49ers practice squad.

I wonder if he gets a signing bonus everytime....

49ers Place S Curtis Taylor on IR; Promote Chris Maragos

The San Francisco 49ers have announced today that they placed S Curtis Taylor on the IR list and have promoted S Chris Maragos from the practice squad to the active roster.  This move had been speculated on since last week when Taylor injured his quadriceps muscle in the Philadelphia Eagles game.

49ers make roster moves, sign S C.J. Spillman

The San Francisco 49ers claimed safety C.J. Spillman off waivers from the San Diego Chargers. Spillman was cut by the Chargers earlier this week after playing five games this season with the team.

To make room for Spillman the 49ers waived CB Tramaine Brock. If he clears waivers then the 49ers will likely sign him to the practice squad. In order to sign Brock, the 49ers waived FB Jehuu Caulcrick.

Spillman (6-0, 199), was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played in five games as a rookie (1 start), totaling seven tackles.

Born in Louisville, KY, Spillman graduated from Marshall University where he was a two-time second-team All-Conference USA honoree, totaling 319 career tackles and three interceptions.

49ers promote LB Keaton Kristick

The San Francisco 49ers have replaced recently released S Michael Lewis on the roster. To fill a huge need at inside linebacker the 49ers promoted LB Keaton Kristick to the active roster from the team’s practice squad.

The 49ers originally signed Kristick as an undrafted free agent earlier this year.

In a corresponding move to promoting Kristick, the 49ers signed former Colts tight end Colin Coherty to the practice squad. Cloherty, is a catching tight end from Brown University, who played for the Colts last season and only played in one game and made one catch.

The 49ers lost linebacker Bruce Davis to the Raiders as they signed Davis off the 49ers practice squad. This leaves the 49ers with one open practice squad spot.
Courtesy San Francisco 49ers media services

49ers release safety Michael Lewis

After requesting the San Francisco 49ers to give him his release late last week, safety Michael Lewis got what he wanted.

In a press release, the 49ers announced they have released safety Michael Lewis.

“I want to thank Michael for his hard work and leadership as a 49er,” Mike Singletary said in a statement released by the 49ers. “We wish him and his family all the best.”

The 49ers have also announced that Taylor Mays would be the starting strong safety going forward.

Michael Lewis signed with the 49ers as a free agent in 2007. During that time he has totaled 381 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and 3 interceptions.

Trent Edwards not going to the 49ers

There was rumors on Twitter this morning that the San Francisco 49ers could possibly place a waiver claim on former Buffalo Bills quarterback Trent Edwards.  It was being suggested that since they are 0-3 there was a good chance they could win the claim.

According to Jason La Canfora, the 49ers did not put the claim in and the Jacksonville Jaguars won the claim.

Thank God!!!

Not quite sure why people would think the 49ers would take Edwards since he is similar to what the 49ers already have in Alex Smith and David Carr.

49ers sign CB Tramaine Brock, waive LB Diryal Briggs

With so many question marks about the health of their cornerbacks coming into their Monday Night Football matchup against the New Orleans Saints, the San Francisco 49ers signed cornerback Tramaine Brock off their practice squad and waived linebacker Diyral Briggs.

On the 49ers final injury report they listed cornerbacks William James (ankle) and Phillip Adams (hamstring).

Diyral Briggs became expendable after the return of Ahmad Brooks, who missed much of the pre-season and the first regular season game with a lacerated kidney.

Inactive list will be posted once it is made official.

Week 2: Saints @ 49ers Friday Injury Report

Very interesting that CB Phillip Adams was added onto the injury report.  Hopefully, his hamstring does not get worse before the Monday night game.  There is no way the 49ers can afford for him to not play especially with all those 4 WR sets that the Saints roll out.


Injury Report:

New Orleans
Did Not Participate: RB Chris Ivory (knee), OT Zach Strief (knee), LB Anthony Waters (hamstring)
Full Participation: LB Jonathan Vilma (groin)

San Francisco
Out: OC Eric Heitmann (fibula)
Did Not Participate: WR Ted Ginn (knee), CB William James (ankle), OG Chilo Rachal (stinger), TE Delanie Walker (personal reasons)
Limited Participation: WR Kyle Williams (ankle), LB Patrick Willis (knee, thumb), CB Phillip Adams (hamstring), LB Ahmad Brooks (elbow)
Full Participation: OG Adam Snyder (illness), OT Alex Boone (calf)

With Ted Ginn out, 49ers sign Jason Hill

The injury to wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. appears to be more serious than originally thought.  Ginn sprained his MCL during the Seahawks game on Sunday and is expected to miss the Monday night game and more.  With Ginn not playing that would have given the 49ers only healthy three wide receivers (Michael Crabtree, Josh Morgan, Dominique Ziegler).  The 49ers fifth wide receiver, Kyle Williams is also injured and will not play.

With the injury to Ginn the 49ers made a move.  They signed Jason Hill, a receiver who drafted by the 49ers in 2007 and recently cut by the 49ers.  They also had to cut cornerback Tramaine Brock from the 53-man roster to make room for Hill and they cut linebacker Bruce Davis from the practice squad in hopes of signing Brock to the practice squad.  

With Ginn not able to play Mike Singletary will likely have cornerback Phillip Adams return punts and have wide receiver Josh Morgan return kicks.

Warriors sign swingman Rodney Carney

It's been rather quiet in Warriorland which is probably a good thing, for the Warriors.  The only real news is that Stephen Curry has been playing with Team USA and appears to be doing well.

But, who knows--no one appears to be watching.

The silence has stopped.  The Warriors have announced that they have signed for 76er, Rodney Carney, to a contract.  Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.

Here's the press release:

The Golden State Warriors have signed free agent guard/forward Rodney Carney to a contract, the team announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.

Carney, 26, appeared in 68 games for the Philadelphia 76ers last season, averaging 4.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 12.6 minutes per contest, while shooting 40.1% (113-282 FG) from the field, 30.4% (41-135 3FG) from three-point range and 82.5% (52-63 FT) from the free throw line. He tallied a season-high 16 points in 20 minutes at Golden State on February 23.

Originally selected by the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the 2006 NBA Draft (#16 overall) out of the University of Memphis, Carney was traded to Philadelphia in a draft night deal and has spent three of his four NBA campaigns with the 76ers. Overall, he owns career averages of 6.1 points and 2.0 rebounds in 272 regular-season games with Philadelphia and Minnesota.

Carney will wear uniform #25. 

The signing of Carney leaves the Warriors with about one more roster spot available and according to a source close to Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com that spot could go to center Louis Amundson.

The Warriors have also shown interest in guard Jannero Pargo for their backup PG spot and it was reported that Pargo and the Warriors agreed on a deal, but that deal never came to fruition.

Was releasing Nate Davis the right move?

Mike Singletary made it be known, a few times, that he was not impressed with Nate Davis' work ethic and even questioned whether he would make the team.

"That's a question mark.  It will be a topic of conversation..."

The question was whether the public comments were a motivational tool or Singletary had truly gone sour on Davis. Singletary has been known to use press conferences as motivation for players (see Davis, Vernon).

In related news, the 49ers released Davis and signed former Ohio State QB, Troy Smith.

Singletary has been less than thrilled with his backup QBs and when asked about his comfort level he said:

"When you say comfortable, I'll put it this way," he said. "I feel good about Alex Smith. I feel very good about where he's at. I think we have to do a great job of protecting our starting quarterback. When it comes to David Carr, I think David Carr is a guy that I could grow to feel comfortable with. I think he's a guy that has a good command of the offense. I think he understands, I just think that he's still thinking a lot and he's still having to get the rhythm and all the other things, but I think David Carr, I could grow to feel comfortable with him."

That's not exactly praising words for Nate Davis or David Carr.  After those comments it was no doubt that Singletary sent Trent Baalke shopping for a new QB.

The question was would it be Carr or Davis that would be cut.  Personally, I would have thought they would cut Carr.  He has a higher salary and you already know what you have with him.

That move speaks more to Singletary's lack of confidence in current starter, Alex Smith, then his frustration and lack of confidence in his backups.

The whole "why did we cut Nate Davis" sentiment could be all for not.  It's possible he is nothing more than a gunslinger who will never make it in the NFL but why stop the "Nate Davis project" early.  When he was drafted the 49ers brass stated he was a three-year project but then he was cut after the first year and a half.

Morning Links

Every year there are good stories in the NFL about how a player beats the odds to make it to the NFL.  Sometimes those players are drafted in the sixth or seventh round and sometimes those players are undrafted.  

The 49ers have one of those this year, CB Tramaine Brock.

Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area, writes and interesting column about CB Tramaine Brock and how he made it to the NFL by earning a spot on the 49ers' 53-man roster.

Here's your morning links, after the jump.

Former Spartan, Jarron Gilbert cut by the Bears

YouTube sensation and former San Jose State Spartan Jarron Gilbert has been cut by Chicago Bears.  Apparently, being able to jump out of a pool is not a skill than transfers well to the NFL.

It was first reported that Gilbert had been claimed by the Jets but since they won the claim on Marcus Dixon they pulled back their claim on Gilbert.  This now makes Gilbert a free agent.

Gilbert was a third-round pick in 2009 who played in 4 games last year and got one tackle.

Another 49er to the Seahawks

The Seahawks have become "49ers North" with their recent acquisitions of Kentwan Balmer, Brandon Jones (has since been released), and now RB Michael Robinson, according to Brian McIntyre.  Michael Robinson was originally drafted by former GM Scot McCloughan, who consequently works for the Seahawks now, and former head coach Mike Nolan.

Although Robinson turned out to be a very good special teams player he never worked out as a running back.  The Seahawks are so short on talent at this point they are adding anyone of value they can find.