San Francisco Giants: It’s time to give Mac Williamson another shot

As the San Francisco Giants continue to search for answers offensively, it might be time to give former prospect Mac Williamson another shot.

The San Francisco Giants have been searching for offensive help all season.

They currently rank near the bottom of the MLB pack in team batting average (.210, 29th), OPS (.617, 30th), home runs (24, t-26th) and runs scored (90, 28th).

Those issues have been especially prevalent at the corner outfield spots:

• LF: 99 AB, .152/.227/.202, 1 HR, 4 RBI,
• RF: 108 AB, .213/.263/.343, 3 HR, 13 RBI

The team has already added a pair of outfielders on the trade market, acquiring Kevin Pillar from the Toronto Blue Jays and Tyler Austin from the Minnesota Twins.

And now it sounds like they might not be finished dealing.

Before they go out and trade for another stopgap veteran or fringe player on the waiver wire, they might first want to take another look at an in-house option in Mac Williamson.

In a somewhat surprising move, the 28-year-old was designated for assignment at the conclusion of spring training. However, he went unclaimed on waivers and was sent to Triple-A to start the season.

He showed some intriguing offensive potential when he was called up last April, going 6-for-19 with three home runs in five games before a concussion abruptly stopped his breakout short.

In the end, he wound up hitting .213/.295/.383 with four home runs and 11 RBI in 105 plate appearances in 2018, and Giants fans were left wondering what could have been.

The decision to expose him to the waiver wire made it clear the Giants were ready to move on, but Williamson is now making a strong case to once again be part of the big league outfield picture with a scorching start for Triple-A Sacramento.

Through 15 games, he’s hitting .371/.394/.613 with three doubles, four home runs and 12 RBI in 66 plate appearances.

That includes this towering home run on Saturday:

He’s no longer on the 40-man roster, so it would take a corresponding roster move to add him to the active roster.

But at this point, what do the Giants have to lose?

It’s worth exposing a fringe 40-man roster player like utility man Breyvic Valera or reliever Ray Black to waivers for the sake of seeing if Williamson can carry that level of production over to the MLB level.

Maybe he can recapture some of that magic he showed last season when he caught lightning in a bottle for a brief five-game span. At the very least, he deserves a shot before the team explores another outside addition.