There was once a time when Marco Luciano seemed to be on track to become a star in a San Francisco Giants jersey. For nearly half of the 2020’s, he had the traits to become great. 

Now, he is pursuing a Major League opportunity with the Pittsburgh Pirates after the Giants cast him on waivers. So, what happened? 

Recently, The Athletic’s Grant Brisbee chronicled Luciano’s fall from grace in the organization. 

“From 2020 to 2024, Marco Luciano was one of the best prospects in baseball, regularly ranking in the top quarter of most top 100 prospect lists,” Brisbee wrote. “He had everything: youth, exit velocity, power, bat speed and more bat speed. Considering the disastrous history of the organization’s international program over the last few decades, you weren’t wrong to think San Francisco Giants fans were owed a success story.” 

“The Giants announced Friday that Luciano was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates. There was no corresponding move, and the 40-man roster now stands at 39. This means the Giants decided that it was time for Luciano to go. This wasn’t like a longtime prospect leaving as a minor league free agent, and it wasn’t him getting traded at the deadline. It wasn’t even him getting designated for assignment to make room for someone acquired at the deadline. This was the 24-year-old former future cornerstone of Giants baseball, on the curb, with a “FREE” sign taped to him.” 

Luciano signed with the Giants as a 16-year-old star and the second-best prospect in baseball in rankings by MLB.com and Baseball America. In 2019, he earned Baseball America Rookie-level All-Star honors as the designated hitter in the Arizona Complex League after tying for fourth place in home runs (10, tying for sixth in RBIs (38) and leading the AZL with 46 runs scored. 

The years to follow also showed incredible promise, despite injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic hindering Luciano’s progress. He made his MLB debut on July 26, 2023, and appeared in 13 games.  

In 2024, Luciano entered Spring Training as the favorite to start at shortstop. However, he only played 27 games that led to largely disastrous results.  

Luciano was out of options and his chances of making the 40-man roster were not promising. With all of this in mind, Brisbee detailed another reason why the Giants wanted out. 

“If there’s a working theory, it has to do with the Rule 5 Draft,” Brisbee wrote. “Which will be held Wednesday at the Winter Meetings. The Giants need to build a bullpen, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they had big plans for the draft. To be eligible to participate in that draft, they needed a roster spot open, and Luciano was always going to be one of the players to go when a roster spot was needed.” 

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