In the sweltering National League West, the San Francisco Giants have gotten off to a rather chilly start. High hopes exist for the 2023 MLB season following the signings of Blake Snell, Matt Chapman, and Jordan Hicks in MLB free agency. But the front management, players, and supporters did not anticipate a 4-6 start to the season.
Particularly when attempting to pursue the Los Angeles Dodgers. The fact that Michael Conforto has been the team’s top hitter thus far this season, slashing.351/.415/.703 with three home runs, does not help either. With Mike Yastrzemski and Jung Hoo Lee among the other seasoned outfield possibilities on the roster, Conforto is actually the only player for the Giants who is producing at the plate right now, along with Jorge Soler. With an OPS of just.273, the former is not even close to being serviceable, while Lee’s stands at.549. The Bay Area’s longtime dependable Austin Slater started the season with an OPS of just.222.
But there could be reinforcements on the way in the form of Luis Matos, one of the most highly touted prospects in the Giants’ system. Matos slashed .314/.375/.667 with four home runs in Cactus League play and was even up at the Major League level for a cup of coffee to begin the 2024 season.
It is a bit surprising that Matos did not remain with the Big League club longer than his one game stint, but the idea is to allow him to get regular at-bats at Triple-A. Still, with the current performance of the outfield, Matos may be getting the call to reinforce the unit sooner rather than later.
That prompted Around the Foghorn to contemplate what would happen to a veteran like Yastrzemski or Slater, perhaps a trade?
Matos could be able to move one of the veterans for some extra aid for a stretch run if he can force his way into another promotion and maintain his level by the MLB trade deadline on July 30. In addition, it might provide Yastrzemski some financial flexibility by taking a portion of his $7.9 million compensation. Naturally, everything depends on Matos performing at his peak and one or more of the senior outfielders continuing to struggle. For the time being, though, San Francisco has a chance to move up in the standings because they play the Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals next week.
