Monday's lineup change would get a young SF Giants outfielder more playing time

SF Giants manager Bob Melvin shuffled the lineup on Monday. Young outfielder Luis Matos moved to the DH spot, which would open up some playing time for him if they continue that approach.

Monday's lineup change would get a young SF Giants outfielder more playing time

Lineup changes are notable due in large part to Melvin not making many this season. He has generally rode out the same lineup, and switched in some reserves on the final game of the series.

However, Monday's lineup change was the first game of the series, and likely in response to the struggling offense. In particular, the Giants have gotten very little production out of first base with LaMonte Wade Jr. taking the bulk of the reps.

The left-handed bat has posted a .491 OPS with one home run and 13 RBI in 127 plate appearances this season. While it would be easy to say it is early, he did struggle in the second half of last season, too. The team's patience might be wearing thin.

Jerar Encarnación began a rehab assignment over the weekend and is due back later this month. When he returns, there could be a pretty long runway for playing time at first base.

Encarnación is relatively unproven, but he did make a lot of loud contact toward the end of last season. The Giants are hopeful that the loud contact will translate to above-average offensive production.

In the meantime, the Giants might be trying get more offense out of the lineup. The lineup has struggled to a .681 OPS in 11 games this month while the pitching staff has been strong. Despite the quality pitching, the Giants are only 5-6 in May, and have hit their first losing streak of the season.

The move would give Luis Matos more playing time. He has seen sporadic playing time because the current outfield alignment has been the strength of the offense. There just has not been much playing time available. Plus, Melvin does not leverage all 26 players on the roster all that well in the first place.

Matos has a .585 OPS with three home runs and four RBI in 60 plate appearances this year. His chase rate has marginally improved and he is not pulling the ball as much as he did last season.

The production has not been great, but it is also a tough role for a young outfielder. More than anything, getting him two weeks of run time is better than sitting on the bench for five games every week.