SF Giants activate OF Mike Yastrzemski, option OF Luis Matos to Triple-A
The SF Giants activated outfielder Mike Yastrzemski from the injured list prior to Wednesday's game against the Cincinnati Reds. To create space on the roster, San Francisco optioned outfielder Luis Matos (Giants Top 4 Prospect) to Triple-A Sacramento. Yastrzemski has been out since he suffered his third hamstring injury of the season on July 30th. The team had been optimistic he could return after just a couple of weeks on the injured list, but he had to be shut down after dealing with a setback.
SF Giants OF Mike Yastrzemski runs the bases after hitting a home run. (2023)
Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports
Yastrzemski has had an extremely up-and-down season for the Giants. Besides the injuries, Yaz has dealt with multiple brutal offensive slumps when he's been on the field. However, he has also been the best hitter on the Giants for prolonged stretches as well. On the season, Yastrzemski has hit .233/.314/.439 with 17 doubles and 11 home runs in 285 plate appearances. He has also remained a solid defensive option in center field and right field.
This is the second time the Giants have had Yastrzemski return to the lineup after an injury kept him sidelined for several weeks without a minor league rehab assignment. Yastrzemski got off to a very slow start when he did the same earlier this season. With that said, he has had an opportunity to get some reps against big-league pitching over the past week in simulated games against rehabbing Giants reliever John Brebbia. For what it's worth, Yastrzemski seemed to get the better of Brebbia on Sunday.
Matos, of course, made his highly-anticipated MLB debut earlier this season and got off to a solid start at the plate. However, the 21-year-old native of Venezuela struggled to generate enough power to take advantage of his contact skills. As he struggled at the plate, he also struggled defensively in center field, seeming overly hesitant on his jumps, which led the Giants to call upon Wade Meckler (Giants Top 22 Prospect).
It is a bit surprising that the Giants optioned Matos instead of Meckler for Yastrzemski. Matos has looked much better defensively since returning to San Francisco last week, especially in right field. He's also gone 7-for-22 at the plate with four doubles and a home run. Meckler and Yaz are also both left-handed hitters, giving the Giants fewer platoon options than if they had retained Matos instead. However, they have clearly signaled a belief that Meckler is the best of their rookie outfielders, at least at the moment.
Matos has had 198 MLB plate appearances this season, hitting .250/.311/.356 with 11 doubles, a triple, and two home runs. In the minors, Matos has been one of the best hitters at each one of his stops. Matos was actually more productive at Triple-A than Double-A prior to his MLB call-up. Overall, he has hit .336/.402/.536 with 13 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs, 15 stolen bases, 25 walks, and 22 strikeouts in 262 minor league plate appearances this season.
