SF Giants DFA corner outfielder bat, welcome back Luke Jackson

Luke Jackson's return was imminent after beginning a rehab assignment recently. The Giants activated the hard-throwing righty on Tuesday while optioning David Villar and designating Matt Beaty for assignment according to the team's transaction log.

SF Giants DFA corner outfielder bat, welcome back Luke Jackson

The Giants swung a last-minute trade with the Kansas City Royals to acquire Beaty for cash considerations prior to Opening Day. Despite having a solid spring training with the Royals, Beaty was not a candidate to make the team, so he was shipped to San Francisco and added to the 40-man roster.

This is a move that many questioned, especially as it initially meant that Bryce Johnson would not break camp with the club after performing well in the Cactus League. Of course, the Giants did quickly correct that oversight.

The reasoning for the move made some sense. Given that Giants manager Gabe Kapler likes to leverage platoon matchups, it was not hard to envision Beaty capturing some fringe role as a platoon bat.

The left-handed hitter has posted a .733 OPS against right-handed pitching throughout his five-year career. That is not the type of production that would work in the middle of the order, but one who could serve as a tough out in the bottom of the lineup.

For a lot of reasons, the Giants have been just fine against righties, posting a .759 OPS against them in 2023. Perhaps, the emergence of Blake Sabol, who fills a similar role on the roster, made having Beaty redundant.

Beaty recorded one hit in five at-bats with the Giants this year, but he did slash .272/.406/.447 with four home runs, 23 RBI, and 14 runs in 129 plate appearances with the Sacramento River Cats.

To bring back Luke Jackson, the Giants needed to create a spot on the 40-man roster and the active roster since he was placed on the 60-day injured list at the beginning of the year. They created a spot on the active roster by optioning David Villar and opened a spot on the 40-man roster by placing Beaty on waivers.

The veteran reliever was recovering from Tommy John surgery. He tallied a scoreless outing with two strikeouts in Wednesday's 9-4 loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It is cool to see players like that return from major surgery because the rehab process can be lengthy with a lot of ups and downs.
The Giants hope that the next step for Jackson is helping to stabilize the bullpen.