SAN FRANCISCO – Two days after placing Thairo Estrada on waivers, the San Francisco Giants on Friday outrighted the struggling second baseman to Triple-A Sacramento, possibly signaling that the veteran’s time in the organization will end after this season.
The Giants, in other transactions ahead of their series-opening game against the Miami Marlins, also recalled infielder/outfielder Brett Wisely from Triple and placed left-handed reliever Tyler Matzek on unconditional relief waivers.
Estrada, after going 2-for-15 with one RBI and four strikeouts in his last four games before Friday, was hitting just .217 with a .590 OPS in 96 games this season — well off the pace he set last year when he hit .271 with a .731 OPS in 120 games.
But injuries have played a role in Estrada’s struggles.
Estrada dealt with a bruise on his right hand in June, then had a left wrist sprain that cost him nine games from June 28 to July 9. He then missed 20 more Giants games from July 26 to Aug. 18, dealing with the same ailment. He played five rehab games in Triple-A Sacramento earlier this month before he rejoined the big club.
The Giants entered Friday 6 1/2 games back of the Atlanta Braves for the National League’s third and final wild card spot with just 27 games left. Giants manager Bob Melvin said that sending Estrada down was as much, or perhaps more, about giving other players a look as it was Estrada’s on-field performance.
“Look, he had a tough road this year with his hand and wrist, and he didn’t perform the way he has in the past since we brought him back,” Melvin said. “I think it’s more now about trying to get some guys some opportunities and the fact that maybe the performance wasn’t there.
“It’s tough not to love Thairo. He’s a great guy. He plays hard every day, never makes excuses. He’s been a great Giant. Unfortunately, it was the decision that we made.”
Estrada had mostly solid contributor for the Giants since they purchased his contract from the New York Yankees in April 2021. In 312 games with the big league club from 2021 to 2023, Estrada provided steady defense and hit .266 with a .736 OPS, adding 35 homers and 133 RBI.
Estrada’s success in 2023 resulted in a one-year, $4.7 million deal with the Giants in January as the two sides avoided arbitration. Estrada, 28, is eligible for salary arbitration for the next two years and is slated to become an unrestricted free agent in 2027.
If Estrada had been claimed off waivers earlier in the week, that team would have simply paid him whatever he’s still owed for the season.
“That’s something that I just can’t control,” Estrada said in Milwaukee earlier this week. “It’s part of the game, but the one thing I can control is just go out there again and play as hard as I can and try to get my team some wins.”
Wisely was in the Giants’ clubhouse Friday but Melvin started Casey Schmitt at second base against the Marlins.
With Estrada out, Melvin couldn’t say whether Marco Luciano would rejoin the Giants once rosters expand next month, saying he and the team’s front office have not yet discussed that possibility. Luciano, who has played 45 games for the Giants this season, was reassigned to Triple-A on Aug. 15 when the team brought up Grant McCray.
Melvin also couldn’t say Friday whether Estrada will be back before the end of the regular season.
“I just know where we stand right now,” Melvin said. “We’re able to add one more (player to the roster) in September, and we’ll see where we go.”
Rogers is in the second year of a three-year, $33 million deal he signed with the Giants in Dec. 2022, and he’s owed $12 million in the final year of his contract in 2025. The Giants acquired Matzek and Sabin Ceballos for Luke Jackson and Jorge Soler just ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline in July.
SATURDAY’S STARTER?: Right-hander Mason Black was back inside the Giants’ clubhouse before Friday’s game and is an option to start Saturday.
Melvin said the club wanted to wait until after Friday’s game before deciding what to do with Black, who made four appearances for San Francisco in May, going 0-1 with an 8.79 ERA in 14 1/3 innings, before he was sent back to Sacramento.
In four Triple-A starts in August, Black had a 2-1 record and a 2.91 ERA in 21 2/3 innings.
“We’ve seen him here some. Some good, some bad, and I think his performance here recently has been good,” Melvin said of Black, “so we’ll see where we go with it.”
Black said he tried to simplify things after he returned to Triple-A.
“I think I was just really overthinking things at first and trying to make it more complicated than it is,” Black said. “Just getting back to the basics is what really has helped.”
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