Carson Whisenhunt and Jesús Rodríguez highlight 5th round of camp cuts

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 26: Jesús Rodriguez #79 of the San Francisco Giants bats during the seventh inning of the spring training game against the Colorado Rockies at Scottsdale Stadium on February 26, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Mike Christy/Getty Images) | Getty Images The San Francisco Giants have a whole lot of camp cuts to make in the next week. They entered Wednesday with 49 players still in Major League camp; next Wednesday, that number needs to be 26.

But they’re slowly chipping away at it. After cutting a pair of players on Tuesday , the Giants sent four more packing on Wednesday: left-handed pitcher Carson Whisenhunt and catcher Jesús Rodríguez, who were optioned, along with third baseman Parks Harber and infielder Buddy Kennedy, who were reassigned to Minor League camp. The difference in wording between those two is mostly inconsequential: it just means that Whisenhunt and Rodríguez are on the 40-man roster, while Harber and Kennedy are not.

Whisenhunt was always a long shot to make the Opening Day roster: he remains one of the team’s top starting pitching prospects, so the Giants likely want him to continue developing in that role, and he lacks the fastball velocity of some of his teammates like Hayden Birdsong, Blade Tidwell, and Keaton Winn, making him less of a fit in a bullpen role. His spring was up-and-down: on the one hand, he showed increased life with his fastball, boosting his velo and striking out 14 batters in 9. 1 innings.

On the other hand, he had trouble with location, and his fastball was often way too hittable: he gave up some of the loudest contact in camp, while allowing eight hits and eight walks, resulting in a 9. 64 ERA and a 3. 26 FIP.