Why the plan for the new SF Giants DH does not make a lot of sense

The SF Giants traded their DH Jorge Soler to the Atlanta Braves last night. Since then, there has been reporting that suggests that the Giants will promote Marco Luciano and give him time at DH. That strategy does not make a ton of sense.

Why the plan for the new SF Giants DH does not make a lot of sense

Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reported on X that the Giants plan to call up Luciano and use him in the DH role along with Michael Conforto and Wilmer Flores. Conforto and Flores make sense in the role, but Luciano seems like a strange fit for DH.

Earlier this season, the Giants called up Luciano, who is ranked as the 3rd best prospect in the Giants organization by MLB.com, after they sustained injuries at the shortstop position. He got 9 hits in 24 at-bats with the Giants including 2 doubles and a triple. He looked good at the plate, but anyone who watched him remembers that he was simply atrocious on defense.

He played in 9 games as a shortstop this season. He made 5 errors. 5 errors. Not only were these errors, but they were often errors that came in critical situations where the game was on the line. It is no surprise that the Giants tried him out more at second base in the minor leagues.

Because of the defensive disasters, it makes sense on some level to use him at DH. However, DH is definitely not a permanent spot for Luciano. He has some pop in his bat, but no one would say that he is a power hitter. He has 8 home runs in Triple-A this season which is not nothing, but you typically want more of a power threat for your DH spot.

Eventually, the Giants are going to have to let him play in the field. How will he fare at second base or shortstop? Will the errors persist? The only way we will find out is by the Giants letting him swim in the deep end of the pool. With Thairo Estrada injured, now is a good time to give him some games at second base especially against a bad Oakland A's team where things may feel slightly lower stakes.

The Giants may want to try to hide Luciano's defensive woes by sticking him in the DH spot, but at some point he has to field. He can be the DH every now and then, but making him a permanent DH (unless he goes on a Tyler Fitzgerald-like tear) is not the solution and may even reinforce his own doubts about his ability to play defense.