Why Giants changed paths by sending Luciano back down to minors

Why Giants changed paths by sending Luciano back down to minors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — In the end, the Giants’ roster probably ended up in the right spot. But once again, they’re dealing with bad optics.

Two weeks after the Giants traded Jorge Soler to the Atlanta Braves and announced that Marco Luciano would be their designated hitter, the 22-year-old is back in the minors. Luciano got just 21 at-bats over seven appearances before being optioned Wednesday when center fielder Grant McCray was called up from Triple-A Sacramento for the first time.

The Giants once again are changing paths. For now, McCray will upgrade their outfield defense while Michael Conforto, Jerar Encarnacion and others get the DH at-bats that seemingly were headed to Luciano in the second half. Asked about the short leash for Luciano, manager Bob Melvin pointed out that Encarnacion is swinging it well and Mark Canha also is soaking up at-bats.

“Things can change in a hurry, and again we’re trying to run our best lineup out there and have our best complement on a particular day,” Melvin said. “It was easy at that point in time to try to envision more at-bats for Luciano, but it kind of dried up in a hurry.”

When Soler was traded, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said that the staff wanted to find “opportunities for our young players,” particularly Luciano. The top prospect was front and center, but even on that day, there were signs that additional changes could be coming.

Zaidi had tried to acquire a defensive upgrade in center field at the deadline, and when he was asked on the “Giants Talk” podcast about which minor leaguers soon could join Luciano, he quickly mentioned Encarnacion and McCray. Instead, it’s McCray taking Luciano’s spot, which gives the roster better balance but again leaves one of the organization’s most promising prospects wondering what his future looks like.

Luciano made just six starts after getting recalled on trade deadline day, going 4-for-21 with a double and nine strikeouts. After being out of the lineup for a week, he returned Monday against Chris Sale, but his most notable moment from that appearance was one he wants to forget.

Luciano stopped running on a liner to third that was dropped, and while that wasn’t the reason he was sent down, it also didn’t please a staff that sees a young player who still needs plenty of development on his feel for the game before he’s ready to contribute at the big-league level.

Luciano now heads back to an everyday role in Triple-A, where he will return to playing shortstop and second base. The Giants already have decided that shortstop isn’t in his future at the big-league level, and they don’t feel he is far enough along in his work at second base at the moment.

Even with Encarnacion and Canha soaking up DH at-bats, it seemed there was an opening at second base. Casey Schmitt (1-for-27) and Brett Wisely (3-for-21) have struggled at the plate since deadline day, but Luciano did not see any time at second base.

“We didn’t want to do that to him right now, basically,” Melvin said. “He just started playing second base for a period of time and we felt like more than anything, it was the bat that we were looking for some help, and we would maybe take some off his plate defensively.”

Melvin should have more options with this roster configuration, and on Wednesday, McCray was in center, Heliot Ramos was in left and Conforto was the DH. It’s as good a defensive outfield as the Giants have had in the Zaidi era, and they’re hoping McCray can bring some speed to a lineup that has lost three consecutive one-run games and shown an inability to play small-ball when needed.

Ramos has been a revelation at the plate, but he was miscast in center, where McCray will get a look for now. Melvin said Ramos also could see some easier days as the DH, but for the most part he’ll go with the veterans.

Despite their struggles, the Giants still are close to the third NL wild-card spot. But they’re desperate for a win, and Luciano got caught up in that just a few days after it seemed he would finally get an extended runway.

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