Former top prospect Marco Luciano claimed by Pirates, ending Giants tenure originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO — For five years, Marco Luciano was on the top 100 lists. He was the kind of player that front offices dream of building around, or trading in a blockbuster.
On Friday, the Giants lost him on a waiver claim.
Luciano’s time in San Francisco ended when he was claimed by the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team announced Friday. It’s a disappointing result for an organization that signed him out of the Dominican Republic but failed when it came to his development.
Luciano ended up playing just 41 games in San Francisco, hitting .217 with no homers. The Giants moved him to the outfield last offseason in hopes of jump-starting his career, but he had a .749 OPS in a hitter-friendly Triple-A league and his defense was viewed as poor. Luciano was out of options after the 2025 season and would not have been a real option for a 2026 roster spot next spring.
It was clear that the Giants would have to move Luciano this winter, but losing him for nothing shows how poorly he was managed over the years. The previous leadership in baseball operations kept Luciano at shortstop far too long, pushing back against the idea elsewhere in the industry — and even from some high-ranking Giants officials — that he needed to move to a corner spot or the outfield.
When he was given an extended look in 2024, Luciano struggled defensively. Still, the Giants put a high price on him in trades. For years, Luciano was brought up in potential blockbusters, including some that would have brought All-Star caliber pitchers to San Francisco, but the Giants held on, hoping that he would live up to his potential.
Instead, Luciano will join fellow former top prospect Joey Bart in Pittsburgh. It’s unclear if the outfield will work out for him, but he’s still just 24, and there has never been any question about his power.
Before the move, the Giants had 10 outfielders on their 40-man roster. Like Luciano, Luis Matos is out of options, and the new front office will have to, at some point, make a decision on his future, as well.
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