Schmitt returns to minors, Mathias called up

OAKLAND >> The rookie who started the Giants' youth movement this season had his first stint in the majors come to an end Sunday.

After a scalding hot start, infielder Casey Schmitt had been ice cold for weeks, and reached the end of his runway with the return of Thairo Estrada on Saturday.

Originally called up at the start of May, Schmitt was optioned back to Triple-A Sacramento for veteran utilityman and Bay Area native Mark Mathias.

The Giants hope that Schmitt, 23, will continue his development with regular playing time in the minors while adding a player capable of playing three infield spots to their major-league roster who can give them better at-bats.

Since being acquired from Seattle at the trade deadline, Mathias has two hits in 11 at-bats with Triple-A Sacramento but had also already drawn three walks. Manager Gabe Kapler said that he “can give us a quality, dependable at-bat, which Casey was struggling to provide.”

From the time he was called up on May 9 to the end of his first month in the majors, Schmitt was batting .325/.329/.470, a 116 wRC+ (league average: 100). Since the end of May, however, Schmitt was batting .120/.212/.162, a wRC+ of 10 (90% below league average).

Kapler delivered the news to Schmitt after Saturday's 2-1 loss, the fourth time in five games Schmitt wasn't in the starting lineup.

“What I mentioned to him is we need him to go play,” Kapler said. “He knows there's an element of performance that's going to keep you at the major league level that he's capable of. It just hasn't been there for the past calendar month or more.”

Pitchers took advantage of Schmitt's free-swinging approach. It infamously took the rookie 69 plate appearances to draw his first walk. He improved his plate discipline more recently, working consecutive nine- and 10-pitch at-bats on the last road trip, but with no results to show for it. Both those long at-bats ended in strikeouts.

The Giants stuck with him throughout his struggles to adjust to major-league pitching because of the versatility he provided with his glove, more than capably filling in at second, short and third. He'll split time in Sacramento with fellow top prospect Marco Luciano, who was sent down after a brief call-up to gain comfort at second.

Schmitt's call-up in May set off a run of quick promotions for the Giants' top prospects, followed shortly thereafter by Patrick Bailey and Luis Matos.

While it was a struggle for the better part of the past two months, Kapler doesn't believe it was detrimental to his development.

“A lot of growth happens when you're stumbling and looking for ways to pull yourself out of those struggles,” Kapler said. “I'm confident that there was a lot of player development that occurred.

The Giants are the sixth organization for Mathias since 2020, but probably the one he was most excited about joining.

Mathias, 29, was born in Santa Clara, attended Irvington High in Fremont and grew up rooting for the Giants. His favorite players, he said, were Barry Bonds, J.T. Snow and Rich Aurilia — and Brandon Crawford, whose locker here was just across the clubhouse.

“It's pretty crazy,” Mathias said of sharing a clubhouse with Crawford. “I introduced myself, but I look forward to picking his brain.”