Could 2024 SF Giants All-Star be playing himself out of a roster spot?

Heliot Ramos is off to a slow start, but maybe it is not a slow start. Maybe it is a continuation of a trend. The 2024 SF Giants NL All-Star had struggled badly at the plate since the middle of last season.

Could 2024 SF Giants All-Star be playing himself out of a roster spot?

In fairness to Ramos, he is not the only Giants outfielder struggling. In fact, the Giants' outfield is the worst in baseball in several respects. This is not exactly how they drew it up before the season began.

The outfield is hitting .184/.219/.259 (36 wRC+) while being worth -1.4 fWAR so far this season. Ramos has contributed to that, as well as Jung Hoo Lee and Harrison Bader.

The Giants have invested a lot of money into this roster, so while it is still early in the season, they may need to be more reactionary. There are a few fungible roles in the everyday lineup, as many of the starters are locked into long-term deals.

This is not true for Ramos. He should enter his first season of arbitration next winter, but could play his way out of a roster spot before then. Since July 1 of 2025, the right-handed bat is hitting .235/.294/.329 (78 wRC+) with a 6.1 percent walk rate, 23.8 percent strikeout rate, and .094 ISO in 395 plate appearances. Why July 1? That is just a clean cutoff date.

Ramos is not only striking out a lot, but he is struggling badly in terms of both reaching base and hitting for power. The power is the one true standout tool in his profile, and if that goes, there is not much left over.

So, this may not be a slow start. It may be a continuation of a trend that stretches back into last season. How much patience will the Giants have? Patience may be quickly wearing thin, as Ramos was not in Tuesday night's lineup against the Cincinnati Reds.

There is one recent precedent for this. When LaMonte Wade Jr. struggled at the start of last season. It was not just a slow start but a continuation of a trend. Going back to July 1 of 2024, the left-handed bat struggled to a .617 OPS across 394 plate appearances until the Giants finally parted ways with him in early June of last year.

Ramos' .623 OPS since the middle of last year is eerily similar to what Wade Jr. had put up. The Giants remained patient with Wade Jr. Perhaps, even too patient.

They are not going to cut ties with Ramos soon, but the results speak for themselves. This just may be who he is now. There could be a subtle downshift in playing time. If the results do not improve soon, they may need to consider all their options.

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