Speedy SF Giants outfielder’s future with team once again unclear after latest roster move

The SF Giants made some roster moves on Friday. Outfielders Turner Hill and Jonah Cox, who were both tearing it up in Triple-A, just got called up to the big league club and outfielder Grant McCray and infielder Nate Furman were both demoted to Sacramento. This demotion for McCray makes his future with the team unclear.

McCray had minor league options remaining so his demotion makes sense with the way he was underperforming. This season he had three hits in 37 at-bats. One of them was an impressive opposite field two-run homer and without that swing he probably would have been demoted sooner.

The 25-year-old McCray has had brief call-ups towards the end of each of the last three seasons and it seems like each time his bat has been worse than it was the year prior. In 2024 he hit .202/.238/.379 with five home runs and 10 runs batted in across 37 games. Last year he hit .091/.160/.182. Now this year he’s hitting .081/.227/.162.

It’s a shame he hasn’t been able to take advantage of his opportunities because he has the skill set to be a really good player. We’ve all seen his speed which is an asset on the bases and in the outfield. He may also have the best outfield arm in the entire organization as each of the last two years he’s made incredibly impressive assists.

If he could just hit a little bit then he’d at least be a solid fourth or fifth outfielder on the team but now it’s not really clear where he fits in on the roster going forward. It feels like we had this same conversation last year about him as well.

Grant McCray has clearly been passed on Giants' outfield depth chart

Drew Gilbert isn’t as strong a defender but he’s solid defensively and has done a lot more on offense the last two years than McCray has. Victor Bericoto will be given a look in left field and the promotions of Cox and Hill likely means they will be given a lot of opportunities as well.

Then there are other guys in the minors like Bo Davidson and Parks Harber who will probably be next up to the big leagues which means that McCray may have already used up all of his opportunities.

He’s a good guy to have as an insurance option on the 40-man roster if there is an injury. But unless he hits at the big league level then that’s probably all he ever will be.

We will have to see if he gets any more prolonged opportunities with the Giants in the future but these latest roster moves show that the Giants are willing to give other young outfielders a chance and it’s easy to see McCray getting lost in the shuffle.

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