SF Giants’ roster shuffle creates new questions — and some early answers

After just a year and a half at the helm of baseball operations for the SF Giants, Buster Posey has made it clear how he likes to run things. He doesn't like to waste time, so when the team isn't performing up to expectations, he makes changes — drastic ones. Last season, when the Giants went through a cold offensive spell in late May, Posey decided "it was time to go." He designated fan favorite LaMonte Wade Jr. for assignment, optioned Christian Koss to Triple-A, and signed Dominic Smith to a major-league deal.

This year, with the team in a similar spot — though a little earlier in the season — he pulled the lever again. After watching his team go winless on its latest road trip and show no signs of life offensively whatsoever, Posey elected to call up slugger Bryce Eldridge and catcher Jesus Rodriguez ahead of the Giants' series opener against the Padres. On the other side, Jerar Encarnacion was designated for assignment after a few very underwhelming performances and Will Brennan was optioned to Triple-A. While neither of the two fresh faces collected a hit in the Giants' 3-2 win, Tony Vitello liked what he saw.

"Just the carefree way those two guys played I thought was awesome. And if you look at the stat sheet, it maybe doesn't show up as much, but I thought that was refreshing and good. And quite frankly, it kind of shows the value of having a blank slate or a fresh start," Vitello said postgame about his two players.

New faces could help provide jolt for struggling Giants

There is no doubt Eldridge's power is his carrying tool and the main reason he was called up — and will probably stick in the majors for a while — but there is one aspect of his game that has been overshadowed by that absurd slugging ability: his knack for reaching base.

The Giants currently rank last in baseball in on-base percentage at .287 and have drawn the fewest walks (72) by a large margin — the 29th-ranked Diamondbacks have drawn 87. Eldridge, meanwhile, boasted a .445 on-base percentage in his 30 games with the River Cats and could provide a much-needed boost in that area of the game. Though he didn't put the ball in play in his first three plate appearances in the big leagues this season, he did draw a walk, and that is almost as valuable.

"I feel sexy at the plate right now," said Eldridge with a smile on his face ahead of Monday's game.

The tricky part about roster moves is that they can disrupt roster balance. As the Giants came back home from their disastrous road trip, all the attention shifted to how Tony Vitello would handle his surplus of infielders. With Eldridge now in the mix, one of Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, Luis Arraez, or Casey Schmitt will have to be left out if the Giants want to use their 6-foot-7 slugger on a regular basis.

On Monday night, it was Chapman who got the day off, and Schmitt filled in at third base. It didn't take long for Schmitt to prove to his coaching staff that they made the right decision, as he smashed his fifth home run of the season in the bottom of the first inning to tie things up at one apiece.

"Casey has been playing well and I don't think he should be punished because others have not played well so yeah it's going to be a little of mixing and matching and try to get some matchups that are favorable for us with Casey in there. He's shown in the past that he can move around the field and play some different positions," said Buster Posey prior to the Giants' series opener against the Padres. "In all reality, we're going to need our veteran players that hit in the middle of our order to help lead us out of this."

One of those veterans, Rafael Devers, has put together better at-bats over his last five games, though the production remains far below his standards. He contributed two RBI and a walk on Monday against the Padres and is now riding a five-game hitting streak, his longest since the end of last year. Believe it or not, it was just his second multi-RBI game of the season and the first time this year he has drawn a walk in back-to-back games.

However, at least as of right now, Schmitt should be in the lineup every day. He currently leads the team in home runs (5), RBI (16), and OPS (.901), and has definitely earned his spot, wherever that is on the field.

Vitello could give his group of struggling infielders days off to keep them fresh and plug Schmitt in around the diamond, like he did with Chapman on Monday. But that is not his only option to get his Swiss Army knife involved. Schmitt has some experience with an outfield glove from his high school days and is confident he could do a decent job there if asked to.

"I played outfield in high school, my freshman and sophomore year. It's obviously not the same, but I'm open to whatever, whatever I can do to help the team," said Schmitt postgame. "Right field's fine, center field might be a stretch but play him anywhere," said Vitello when asked about the possibility of moving him to the outfield.

The two splashy roster moves kind of snagged all the attention away from another move that also took place prior to Monday's game. Trevor McDonald joined the group in Philadelphia on a redeye to serve as the 27th man for the doubleheader, but he didn't take the mound against the Phillies and was unsure whether he would play Monday night.

Wth Adrian Houser not available on regular rest due to the Phillies doubleheader, Vitello called McDonald’s number and used him as a spot starter against the Padres after Erik Miller was placed on the 15-day injured list with a lower back strain. McDonald made three appearances last season, two as a starter, and allowed just three earned runs across 15 innings.

In his first outing of the season, he sent a loud message, tossing seven innings on 81 pitches and allowing just two hits and one run while striking out eight batters and issuing no walks, marking just the third time this season a starting pitcher doesn't allow a free pass (Robbie Ray did it twice). He also picked up his first win of the year, the second of his career, and made a strong case to stay in the rotation conversations going forward.

"Regardless of what the immediate future holds, I think the distant future, the long term is obviously he's gonna get the ball in his hands again in a vital situation. When that next opportunity is, I'm not sure, but I'll be looking forward to it because, again, he's not scared and he's gonna compete," Vitello said on McDonald's future with the team.

The Giants needed a bounce-back win in the worst way following their winless road trip, and though it wasn't a slugfest, they got it. They've now won nine of their last 11 games at Oracle Park and have a chance to win the series on Tuesday.

How Tony Vitello decides to use his players remains an open question, but at least he has options to work with — lots of them.

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