The 2023 MLB season was a rough year for the San Francisco Giants who had their first losing season since 2020 and fired their Manager of four years Gabe Kapler. When the Giants and their new Manager Bob Melvin arrive in Scottsdale, Arizona for 2024 Spring Training, there will be a South Jersey High School Graduate on the field with the National League West Team.

Giants' Pitchers and Catchers are scheduled to report for Spring Training on Thursday, February 15th, and joining the group will be Oakcrest High School Graduate Cody Stashak. The soon-to-be 30-year-old Right Handed Pitcher signed a Minor League Contract this offseason and he is being given an opportunity to show the Giants he belongs in their plans for the 2024 season.

Because Stashak is not currently on the Giants' 40-man roster and was given a Spring Training Non-Roster Invite, there is no guarantee he will be with the Major League Baseball team for Opening Day.  But for the 6'2" Pitcher who went to High School in Mays Landing, New Jersey he cannot pass up this opportunity to show he still has a Baseball Future following a rollercoaster last couple of years.

Oakcrest High School Graduate Cody Stashak was drafted by the Minnesota Twins
(Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
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After playing College Baseball at St. John's University in New York, Cody Stashak was selected in the 13th Round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins. After pitching four years in the Twins Minor League System, Stashak finally got called up the the Major Leagues in 2019.

As a Rookie, Stashak pitched in 18 games with a 3.24 ERA and earned a spot on the Twins Postseason roster, appearing in two games during the 2019 MLB Playoffs.  But the solid 2019 and 2020 seasons would be the high points of Stashak's career because Injuries would derail his Baseball Life.

After 11 games pitched during the 2022 MLB season for the Twins, Cody Stashak had to undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder.  In the aftermath of his surgery, Stashak was not retained by the Twins organization and he had no MLB offers ahead of the 2023 season.

MLB Pitcher Cody Stashak from South Jersey is at 2024 Giants Spring Training Camp
(Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
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Once he finished rehabbing from his shoulder surgery, Stashak pitched with the Lancaster Barnstormers in the Atlantic League and caught the attention of the San Francisco Giants organization.  Stashak first signed with the Giants in August of 2023 and even though he had a rough five games with San Francisco's Triple-A Team, the South Jersey Pitcher showed enough to earn a Minor League Deal for the 2024 Baseball Season.

In Scottsdale, Arizona at Giants Spring Training Camp, Cody Stashak will have the opportunity that he is not just fully recovered from his Shoulder Surgery in 2022 but also can be an asset to the organization this upcoming season. Even if Stashak doesn't make the Giants Opening Day Roster, he can establish himself as one of the top options to be called up.

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Gallery Credit: Josh Hennig

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