A surprise on both counts.
It has been a surprising day of transactions for the San Francisco Giants. Buster Posey exercised Bob Melvin’s 2026 option. Wilmer Flores will be playing third base tonight, and that’s because Christian Koss had to go on the injured list with a hamstring strain. Taking his place? Not another infielder — it’s outfielder Luis Matos!
I was behind the curve in learning that Koss had been hurt last night, but now that I know I can only assume it has something to do with that fan interference that robbed him of a home run. Somebody needs to ask Torey Lovullo how this fan, who has made the same play multiple times now, wound up on his coaching staff. Is he an old roommate? Friend of a friend? Team investor? It’s clear he works for the team, right?
This mystery dude has been turning the tide for the Diamondbacks for years now! Can you imagine the thrill this guy has had! He’s David against Goliath (major leaguers)! And now he’s taken out Christian Koss! And you can imagine the domino effect this could have. Koss misses time, then somebody steps up and plays him out of a spot, et cetera et cetera. Anyway, that fan is awful enough. I guess I don’t need to imagine more scenarios to make him worse. But it does grind my gears knowing this guy is walking around very happy.
I guess I don’t need to imagine how the Giants landed on the current roster construction, either. There’s not a silver bullet in the minor leagues who can step up and provide depth and maybe they’ll just need to see Wilmer Flores off of first base a couple of times to understand that they need a different option. On the other hand, I remember back in 2022 that the Giants were 20-8 when Wilmer Flores started the game at third base.
This very much feels like an “F it. We ball.” situation where the spirit of Buster Posey’s playing days have inspired him to test what the guys currently on the team are capable of — after all, they’ve worked hard and played well enough to be here. Might as well test the limits. Just biding time until Matt Chapman’s return. In Buster We Trust, right?
Meanwhile, Matos had an excellent June for Triple-A Sacramento. He slashed .282/.333/.482 in 85 plate appearances, which included 4 homers, 5 doubles, 6 stolen bases and 6 walks against just 10 strikeouts. The Giants are the seventh-worst team in MLB this season against left-handed pitching with a 77 wRC+. Compare that to their results against right-handed pitching on the season — 100 wRC+, league average — and you can see why the team has struggled but also why Matos remains a tantalizing option to strengthen a weakness.