Victor Bericoto reminds everyone why SF Giants were comfortable trading Heliot Ramos

The SF Giants just got outfielder Victor Bericoto back from the injured list. While he was on the shelf, a lot of other young outfielders started making some noise like Turner Hill and Jonah Cox. Yet, Bericoto reminded us all why the Giants felt comfortable dealing Heliot Ramos at the trade deadline with just two swings.

On Saturday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Bericoto was in the starting lineup against left-handed ace Tarik Skubal. For those who have forgotten, Skubal won the last two American League Cy Young Awards with the Detroit Tigers. He was the shiniest trade chip at the deadline and will be the shiniest free agent in the offseason, so of course the Dodgers landed him.

He’s been solid since joining the Dodgers, but Bericoto made him look rather pedestrian as he smoked a home run to straightaway center field in his first at-bat against Skubal and then ripped a double off the wall in his second at-bat.

The fact that he made things look so easy against a pitcher as talented as Skubal is why Bericoto simply has to factor into the team’s plans in 2027 at the very least as a platoon bat.

Bericoto is currently hitting .253/.268/.453 with five home runs and 15 runs batted in. The raw power is there and his ability to make loud contact has been readily apparent ever since spring training when he won the Barney Nugent Award which typically goes to a breakout Giants player in the Cactus League.

Bericoto does have to clean some things up before next season

Of course, the big warning sign is his lack of walks. He has only drawn two walks in 97 plate appearances so that is a part of his game he’s going to have to work on if he wants some more consistent playing time.

He’s also made some puzzling defensive errors and miscues on the bases so it seems like he is reminiscent of Heliot Ramos in the negative ways as well as the positive ones.

Giants fans will recall how Ramos could really rake against lefties when he was on. That’s where he did the most damage but the fact that he struggled so much on defense and was prone to mental mistakes at times is why the Giants were comfortable letting him go in favor of a likely platoon situation next year where maybe Bericoto splits time in left with Turner Hill, Scott Bandura, or Bo Davidson.

Bericoto is fun to watch when he’s on at the plate. If he can just be a little more patient and improve defensively then he is a guy who could absolutely play a big role on the 2027 club.

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