Giants make a flurry of roster moves, activate a pair of veteran hitters
SAN FRANCISCO — Through the first six games of the season, the Giants showed impressive resilience en route to a 3-3 record, but struggled against right-handed starting pitchers and committed too many errors in the infield.
With 10% of the season behind them, the organization took steps to address its most pressing issues Thursday, reinstating corner infielders Evan Longoria and Brandon Belt from the injured list while adding another left-handed hitting outfielder, Steven Duggar, to the mix.
“I’m excited to come back to a team that I think is in a really good place right now and hopefully contribute,” Longoria said.
To clear space on the team’s 30-man roster, the Giants optioned outfielders Jaylin Davis and Joe
McCarthy to their alternate training site and designated righty reliever Dany Jimenez for assignment.
Designating Jimenez for assignment gives the Giants an open 40-man roster spot that could be filled soon if the organization elects to call up top prospect Joey Bart. Chadwick Tromp made his major league debut behind the plate on Wednesday, but it’s likely the Giants will soon option Tromp back to their alternate camp in Sacramento and pair Bart with switch-hitter Tyler Heineman at the catcher position.
Manager Gabe Kapler thinks both Belt and
Longoria will be critical additions to a lineup that has struggled against righthanders, but he said Wednesday their presences will immediately improve what’s an infield defense that had accounted for a major league-worst nine errors through San Francisco’s first five games.
Longoria is expected to join outfielder Mike Yastrzemski in an everyday role, but it’s unclear whether Kapler sees Belt as a fit against left-handed pitchers. Belt has historically been a regular starter for the Giants, but the early indication is he’ll platoon with the right-handed hitting Wilmer Flores at first base.
“Our excitement about Brandon getting back in the lineup tonight is twofold,” Kapler said. “One, it’s nice to have somebody in the middle of our lineup in the four-hole who can walk and do damage. No. 2, it’s nice to have somebody at first base who can play great defense.”
With the cancelation of the minor league baseball season, neither player went through a traditional rehab process so Thursday’s game against San Diego will mark their first live atbats against major leaguecaliber pitchers in more than a week.
“Nothing about this year is all that normal,” Longoria acknowledged. “There will be a little bit of a process. When we came back to summer camp, we didn’t have much time to work back into it and I felt like my at-bats were pretty good at the start of that as well.”
The return of two corner infielders will make it difficult for the Giants to find playing time for switch-hitter Pablo Sandoval, who is better suited to play first base at this point in his career. Sandoval survived the initial roster transactions, but he’ll need to improve upon his 2-for-15 start at the plate if he hopes to stick with the club for the remainder of the season.
The decision to option McCarthy doesn’t come as a surprise after the rookie outfielder started 0-for-10 this year, but sending Davis to the alternate camp was unexpected after Kapler spoke extensively during summer workouts about the team’s commitment to giving Davis an extended opportunity to secure regular playing time.
Davis led all Giants position players with an average exit velocity of 102, placing him in the top one percentile of all major league hitters through the first week of the season. The right-handed hitting outfielder’s biggest issue, however, was putting enough balls in play as he only did so in six of his 12 at-bats.
“Jaylin’s focus on the work he’s doing in the cage is most important,” Kapler said. “When Jaylin makes more contact, he’s going to do more damage because of the things we’ve talked about like his engine.”