SF Giants are getting creative to try and solve lack of production at second base

The SF Giants have not gotten a ton of production from their second basemen this season. It seems they are trying out an interesting experiment in Triple-A with outfielder Wade Meckler to see if they can remedy that lack of production.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported on social media that Meckler got a start at second base for the River Cats recently. The Giants experimented with this in spring training as well, so it seems they are still interested in the idea of having Meckler play second base.

SF Giants experiment with outfielder playing second base in Triple-A

Meckler has been having a solid season in the minor leagues this year. In 63 at-bats he has 20 hits for a slash line of .317/.434/.381. He was injured for some time and had a brief rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League, but he is now back and healthy for Sacramento.

Giants fans may remember Meckler from his brief stint with the Giants late in 2023. The team called him up in an act of desperation as their offense was struggling and he was tearing it up in the minor leagues.

Unfortunately, Meckler simply looked outmatched in his small sample size with the Giants that year as he struck out 25 times in 64 plate appearances while recording 13 hits. He has not been in the majors since then as he has dealt with injuries and has been blocked by other outfielders ahead of him on the depth chart.

Becoming a middle infielder could be his best path back to the big leagues. As of right now, the Giants do not have a ton to be excited about at second base. Tyler Fitzgerald is ice cold at the plate right now, slashing .238/.301/.331 with two home runs and nine runs batted in. Christian Koss is solid defensively but he does not offer much with the bat.

Meckler could be an interesting option at second base given his speed and bat to ball skills. If he could get on base at a high clip while wreaking some havoc on the bases while providing serviceable defense, then he could challenge Fitzgerald for starting time.

Those are some big "ifs" though. Picking up a new position is never easy especially when a player is transitioning from the outfield to the infield. Plus, Meckler's extensive injury history does not inspire much confidence in his ability to stay on the field.

Nevertheless, it does not hurt to experiment in the minors to see if something like this could work. Second base is a spot the Giants could try to improve upon via trade, but if they opt against that route then maybe Meckler could be an internal option to try and shake things up.