The San Francisco Giants have to clean some house before they can welcome Carlos Beltran to their squad, leading the team to release veteran outfielder Pat Burrell and option rookie Brandon Belt back to Fresno (again) per a team source.
Beltran, whose acquisition for top pitching prospect Zack Wheeler is still officially pending, needs to be put on the Giants 40-man roster before he can be put on the active 25-man roster, meaning the team needs to open two roster spots. The team must activate Burrell from the DL before waiving him, giving them room to put Beltran in his place. The Giants will then send Brandon Belt back Fresno to move Beltran onto the active roster.
Belt told CSN's Mychael Urban that going back to Fresno was "the first thing that popped into my mind" when he heard Beltran was joining the team, even as the team holds on to guys like Emmanuel Burriss who isn't much more than a glorified pinch runner and Mark DeRosa who may or may not contribute to the Giants this season. I don't think yo-yoing Belt back-and-forth between triple-A and The Show is a great idea, but that's neither here nor there; I don't manage the defending World Champions.
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