SF Giants may be forced into risky outfield arrangement once players return from IL

The SF Giants seem to have a pretty set lineup right now. It’s typically not a bad idea to stick with the same batting order when it got you 30 runs over two days in the past week. But the lineup is going to have to be adjusted at some point when a few of the team’s outfielders return from the IL.

Heliot Ramos and Harrison Bader are both currently on the shelf. Ramos has been out for nearly a month and Bader went back on the IL and is in a walking boot. Ramos is expected to return at some point in June and there is not a clear timetable for Bader’s return as he seeks a second opinion on his injury.

Both players were expected to be everyday players for the Giants coming into the season but now San Francisco will face a bit of a tough decision when they return.

Casey Schmitt has taken over duties in left field and has done quite well considering the fact he’s never really played out there in his career. The Giants had to find a way to keep his bat in the lineup consistently and he’s been willing to play anywhere on the diamond.

As for center field, Drew Gilbert has largely been handling duties out there with Bader out and while he has been quite good defensively his bat has not been all that consistent. He will probably head back to the bench whenever Ramos or Bader get healthy.

Giants may sacrifice defense for offense when Ramos and Bader return

But the Giants are going to have to decide what to do when these guys return. When Ramos is back he’s going to be in the lineup and that likely means the Giants will have to put him in right field and move Jung Hoo Lee back to center field in order to accommodate Ramos’ return.

Neither Schmitt nor Lee can be taken out of the lineup at this point since they are two of the hottest hitters on the team. Bryce Eldridge is heating up as the designated hitter and Luis Arraez, Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman, and Willy Adames are all everyday guys as well.

That means the Giants could be forced to go with a risky defensive arrangement in the outfield with Schmitt, Lee, and Ramos. Lee’s poor defense in center field last year is what led the team to sign Bader but with how Bader is hitting this season, slashing .170/.198/.358 with five homers and 13 runs driven in, the Giants may be forced to put him on the bench.

Ramos is a notoriously poor defender and Schmitt is learning on the fly so the Giants would definitely be sacrificing defense for the sake of offense in the outfield if they went with that arrangement. 

Of course, things could be made easier if they decide to trade second baseman Luis Arraez. That would allow the Giants to put Schmitt at second base and then they could have Ramos and Lee in the corners and put Bader back in center or maybe Gilbert or Jonah Cox if San Francisco decides to trade Bader as well.

A Schmitt-Lee-Ramos outfield makes one sweat a bit at the thought of it, but keeping them in the lineup may be a higher priority and manager Tony Vitello can always bring in late-inning defensive replacements when the team is ahead like he did over the weekend in Chicago so there are ways to make it work even if it would be a bit risky.

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