San Francisco Giants Call on Chase d’Arnaud to fill in for Panik

The San Francisco Giants organizational depth has been tested in the 2018 season, and another injury to a key player will challenge that depth even further.

With Joe Panik injuring his groin, the San Francisco Giants have called up infielder Chase d’Arnaud from AAA Sacramento to fill in for another injured player. d’Arnaud has been impressive for the River Cats this season. He was hitting .292 (74-for-253) with 12 home runs and a .393 on-base percentage. He has stolen 15 bases in 18 tries.

He also hit 14 doubles and scored 54 runs in that span. d’Arnaud would have started the Pacific Coast League All-Star Game at shortstop but will play in the major leagues instead–a tradeoff he’ll probably accept.Now, the Giants are hoping he can be the same prolific on-base guy in the big leagues.

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The mysterious injury bug hit the Giants again on Friday night against the St. Louis Cardinals. In the fourth, Panik hit a two-out single to keep the inning alive. The next batter Gorkys Hernandez hit a double down the left field line that ordinarily would have easily scored Panik, but he suddenly slowed down heading into third base.Turned out, Panik strained his groin and will now be out for at least three weeks.

The Giants placed Panik on the 10-day disabled list and called up d’Arnaud on Saturday. San Francisco signed d’Arnaud to a minor league deal before the season and invited him to spring training. The 31-year-old infielder had a great spring training. He batted .286 with a .359 on-base percentage in 35 at-bats. He was 6-for-6 in stolen base opportunities. d’Arnaud played for five other major league teams in his career, hitting .223 in 194 major league games.

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Manager Bruce Bochy said before Saturday’s game he liked d’Arnaud because he can play all over the diamond and can steal a base. In his major league career, he has logged time all around the infield and outfield.

He will serve in a super utility role for the Giants. With Pablo Sandoval, Alen Hanson, and Kelby Tomlinson helping out in the infield while key players are injured, the Giants have shown more organizational depth in years past. Chase d’Arnaud has a decent glove, can get on-base, steal a base, and give the Giants some speed.