GIANTS BEAT Cain out of rotation again

Matt Cain has been removed from the rotation, again. This time for good, it seems.

Chris Stratton will take his place when he comes off the disabled list to start Saturday against the Diamondbacks.

In the final year of his $127.5 million contract, Cain is 3-9 with a 5.37 ERA, and opponents are hitting .312 against him.

There’s no way the Giants will exercise Cain’s 2018 option for $21 million. He has a $7.5 million buyout.

Getting pulled from the rotation is nothing new for Cain, who lost his starting job in September, making his final 2016 appearances out of the bullpen. It happened again this season when Madison

Bumgarner was reinstated from the disabled list, but Cain quickly was reinserted after

Johnny Cueto was shelved. “Things have a way of working out, as I always say. He’ll be ready,” manager Bruce

Bochy said. The preference is to keep Cain in the bullpen to give younger starters a look. Starting with Stratton.

“Hopefully, it’s the rest of the season,” Bochy said when asked how long Stratton will start.

The right-hander has made four appearances with the Giants (two in April, two in July) and has given up 12 runs in 14 innings. He has made one start, giving up five runs in 62⁄3 innings in Detroit on July 6.

Bochy said Stratton has the “equipment to be a 4 or 5 starter.” The Giants’ top pick (20th overall) in the 2012 draft, Stratton has a 4.19 ERA in three seasons at Triple-A Sacramento.

John Shea is The San Francisco Chronicle’s national baseball writer.