Once-promising SF Giants outfielder's future with team in doubt after demotion

The SF Giants called up top prospect Bryce Eldridge to the big leagues on Monday and in a corresponding move they optioned outfielder Luis Matos to Triple-A. This move throws Matos' future with the Giants into question.

Matos has had an odd year with San Francisco. He made the club out of spring training but seemed ill-suited for a bench role so he was sent back to Triple-A and has been back and forth between Triple-A and the majors all season.

SF Giants may have tough decision to make on Luis Matos next year

He has always seemed like a guy who would benefit from seeing an extended period of time in the lineup where he could establish a rhythm and it seemed that opportunity finally presented itself after the team traded away outfielder Mike Yastrzemski at the trade deadline.

Matos did see increased opportunity and he took advantage as he got on a hot streak at the plate and seemed to be grabbing hold of right field duties for the rest of the season. He was even showing off a high contact rate which is something president of baseball operations Buster Posey has wanted to see more of from the team.

And yet, he now finds himself back in Triple-A. Part of this has to do with the emergence of Drew Gilbert and the energy he has provided to the team. It also has to do with the fact that Matos has just three hits in his last 21 at-bats with the Giants and had seemed to cool off from the heater he was on. On the season he is slashing .221/.266/.424 with eight home runs and 22 runs batted in across 57 games.

Now, it will be interesting to see if Matos has a future with the Giants. There is a world in which he never plays another game for San Francisco because he will enter next season without any minor league options as our own Jeff Young noted on social media.

That would mean, assuming he remains with the team throughout the offseason and is not traded or let go, Matos would have to make the team out of spring training next year otherwise he would be designated for assignment and could be claimed by another team.

With Gilbert proving to be a spark plug for the club, he could very well have the upper hand on that fourth outfielder spot going into next season.

Matos has shown promise and has displayed flashes over each of the last three seasons that could lead one to believe he has the requisite talent to be an everyday outfielder at the big league level. Yet, he just has not remained consistent enough to stay in the big leagues which is why the 23-year-old's future with San Francisco is in doubt.

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