The Giants have designated righty reliever Vinnie Chulk for assignment. Chulk has pitched in 27 games (0 starts) for the Giants this season and he was 0-3 with a 4.83 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. The Giants have recalled 25-year old righty reliever Sergio Romo to replace Chulk in the bullpen. Romo has pitched in 24 games in AA ball this season and he is 1-3 with 11 saves, a 4.00 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. Romo has whiffed 30 batters in 27 innings so it appears that he has good stuff.

The San Francisco Giants will likely put a ton of their players on the trade market. They will likely keep the starting rotation in tact but almost everyone else can be had for a price. The Giants need young position players in return for their veterans as the farm system is pretty weak right now. 3B Jose Castillo, 2B Ray Durham, C Bengie Molina, infielder Rich Aurilia, shortstop Omar Vizquel and 1B/OF Dan Ortmeier likely will be gone by the end of July if the Giants can find takers for them. Righty relievers Tyler Walker, Keiichi Yabu and Vinnie Chulk also might have new home parks soon. The Giants should not be waiting as they should be moving players right now.

The Braves want another outfielder with some pop and Randy Winn fits the bill. With starting oufielders Mark Kotsay and Matt Diaz out the Giants could probably get a good prospect like shortstop Brandon Hicks if they make a move sooner rather than later. Sure, Winn is one of the best players on the Giants but he wasn’t likely going to play with them much longer as the Giants weren’t likely to pick up his option for 2009. The 34-year old switch hitting Winn has played in 69 games for the Giants this season and he is 77 for 259 (.297 avg, .804 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 5 homers, 27 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Brandon Hicks is a 22-year old righty swinging shorstop. Hicks has played in 59 games in AA-ball this season and he is 56 for 223 (.251 avg, .869 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 13 homers, 38 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. If the Braves agreed to trade Hicks for Winn the Giants would have to jump at it.

The Giants will likely call up 25-year old lefty reliever Eugene Espineli soon if he keeps pitching like he is right now. He has pitched in 25 games (0 starts) in AAA ball this season and he is 1-0 with 1 save, a 1.34 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP. The most amazing thing about Espineli’s season to date is his control as he has only walked 4 batters in 40.1 innings this season. He deserves a chance to show what he can in the major leagues based on his pitching so far this season.

The Giants did everything they could to try to bury Ray Durham on the depth chart after his awful 2007 season but he has come back strong this year. Durham has played in 61 games for the Giants this season and he is 53 for 174 (.305 avg, .806 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 2 homers, 21 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Giants hope that Durham keeps playing well as they will likely have a fire sale in a few weeks in which all vets must go for kids.