He’s back!
As expected, the San Francisco Giants made a roster move on Monday, ahead of their four-game home series against the San Diego Padres. And as expected, that roster move was to activate first baseman and corner outfielder Jerar Encarnación from the 60-Day Injured List. Encarnación, who had a strong spring but was injured right before the start of the season, will be active for the first time this season.
What was less expected was the player whose spot he took: outfielder Luis Matos, who was optioned to AAA Sacramento.
On the surface, the swap makes sense. Even though Matos played the hero in Sunday’s win with a gorgeous three-run home run, he’s been really struggling on offense this year, so you can understand why the Giants were keen to get him back to the Minors.
But it is a move that seems slightly out of character for the current front office. The team is, for now, sticking with LaMonte Wade Jr. (despite rumors that they’re ready to give up on him), and now have three right-handed hitting backup infielders — Encarnación, Casey Schmitt, and Christian Koss. More notably, the backup center fielder behind Jung Hoo Lee is now either Mike Yastrzemski or Heliot Ramos — two players who were not given a single inning in center field during Spring Training, let alone this season.
It’s certainly not a move that was anticipated. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle called it a “surprise,” and on Monday’s Giants Talk podcast, Alex Pavlovic and Cole Kuiper debated whether it would be Wade, Schmitt, or Koss who lost a job when Encarnación returned, with Matos not even being mentioned.
But the Matos surprise is secondary to the excitement of Encarnación returning to a lineup that is positively starved for both offense and power. The right-handed slugger was fantastic in his rehab appearance with Sacramento, hitting 8-23 with two home runs, two doubles, and three walks.
It’s unclear what role Encarnación will play, however. Will he just slide into Matos’ role as primarily a platoon right fielder, or will he get a chance to be more of an everyday player? For one day, at least, it will be the former, as he’s not in Monday’s opening lineup.