POSTED BY ANDREW BAGGARLY ON NOVEMBER 18TH, 2011 AT 9:20 PM | CATEGORIZED AS UNCATEGORIZED

The Giants added six players to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft, and the headliner is obvious: Former slugging first base prospect Angel Villalona, who hasn’t played in two years because he was charged with murder in the barroom slaying of a man in the Dominican Republic.

Villalona eventually had the charges dropped due to lack of evidence. It’s been reported that witnesses changed their stories. A few months ago, he sued the Giants in a Dominican court for $5 million for breach of contract. The team settled that suit. Now, apparently, Villalona is off the restricted list.

He still must re-establish a U.S. work visa, which is no sure thing. Without that, he cannot begin his baseball career again.

The Giants also protected OF Roger Kieschnick, 2B CHarlie Culberson, RHP Dan Otero, RHP Hector Correa and OF Tyler Graham. Of those, only Graham was a major surprise to me. He’s an overachiever but has plus-plus speed and is ultra-aggressive on the basepaths.

The club took two players off the 40-man, including another speedy center fielder. Darren “the Bullet” Ford had trouble staying healthy and couldn’t compete well enough at the plate. He got designated for assignment along with right-hander Waldis Joaquin. The Giants already did this once to Joaquin and ended up re-signing him. We’ll see if that happens again.

Check back for more in a bit.