Only three games on the docket today, two in the DSL and one in the ACL, with a grand slam and a blowout the highlights.  It’s not like there was any other news involving promotions that was interesting on Monday…none at all! So, it was a quiet day, right?  Absolutely nothing to talk about when it came to prospect moves…right?

https://twitter.com/SFGiants/status/1691215860877398016?s=20

Okay, okay, it’s embarrassing because just earlier that day I was replying to a comment saying I didn’t think they would bring Meckler up this season for various reasons.  Hours later, they made me look stupid. The full list of moves:

https://twitter.com/SFGiants/status/1691213909230071809?s=20

Basically, Meckler is a very similar player type to Luis Matos, so that switch makes sense.  Unfortunately, that made Luis González very redundant, so the Giants DFA’d him, though he could stay in the system.

The Johan Camargo move…sorry, I need to get into this.

Camargo has been released twice this season.  Not DFA’d, straight up released (probably to give him a more direct chance to sign elsewhere), first by the Royals on June 15th, and the Tigers on August 3rd.  The Giants signed him on the 11th and had him play two games in Sacramento before calling him up to play shortstop.  Camargo hadn’t played shortstop regularly since 2017, and had been playing less than ten games there in a season until 2023, when he had 17 while also playing second, first, and third.

This came after Mark Mathias had been traded for at the deadline, but he’d been DFA’d in June by the Pirates.  The Giants gave him eight days in the Majors, where he played second base while they let Estrada try to play shortstop again.  And that’s after running Casey Schmitt’s season into the ground, calling him up before he was really ready, and keeping him in the majors as he tailspun, a tailspin that’s continued in the week since he’s returned to the minors.  And Marco Luciano, whose stint at shortstop ended with him being sent down…to learn to play another position (something that’s been expected for a while, tbh).

For seasons now, while Farhan Zaidi has succeeded in finding players to fill almost every position, he had been unable to find a backup shortstop for Brandon Crawford, and has relied on utility guys who can kinda play shortstop to fill in, usually not well, especially when they don’t hit well either.  Last year, among the names who were thrown out there were Donovan Walton (who recently moved down to Double-A) and Dixon Machado…and if you don’t remember Machado, don’t worry…the five games he spent as a Giant playing shortstop were his only major league games since 2018.

Obviously, stuff has happened.  Zaidi went after Correa, and that…fell through (even though pursuing the shortstop Correa was a backup plan to Judge).  Estrada’s injury did not help, but he’s not strong at shortstop even when healthy.  But the reality is that over the last few seasons, the Giants have failed to get a reasonable backup to spell the aging (and now struggling) Brandon Crawford.  And moves like calling up twice-released Johan Camargo really smack of desperation from the front office.

AAA through Low-A: Scheduled Off-Day

ACL Giants Black: Scheduled Day Off

ACL: ACL Giants Orange 17, ACL Guardians 5

Link

Top ACL Giants Orange Performances:

  • Center fielder Estanlin Cassiani went 2-for-4 with a double and two walks.  He’s now got 11 doubles to go with a triple and a home run in 42 games, with a batting line of .303/.371/.408.
  • Shortstop Ramon Peralta was 2-for-5 with a double plus a walk.  That’s his 11th double, now a new season-high for doubles in his third pro season, along with four home runs in 44 games.  He has 32 walks to 49 strikeouts, and has a batting line of .268/.419/.430.
  • Left fielder Bo Davidson was 1-for-4 with a double and two walks.  He’s got seven walks and seven strikeouts over 11 games, and now has three doubles, a triple, and a home run.  He’s got a batting line of .333/.450/.576.
  • Starting pitcher Carlos Molina went 5.0 innings, giving up two runs off of three hits and three walks, with five strikeouts on the day.  He’s got a 2.93 ERA, with 42 strikeouts to ten walks in 40.0 innings this summer.

Other Notable Lines:

  • RF Garrett Frechette: 2-6, 2 R, 2 K, 1 2B (7)
  • 3B Justin Wishkoski: 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB
  • 1B Javier Castillo: 2-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB
  • 2B Javier Francisco: 2-3, 4 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 2 E (5)
  • C Brett Cumberland: 1-2, 1 R, 1 K (Organizational Debut, Signed 12/22, 1st Game of Rehab)
  • DH Derwin Laya: 2-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K
  • RP Junior Flores: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

DSL: DSL Giants Black 8, DSL Phillies Red 6

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Top DSL Giants Black Performances:

  • Diego Gonzalez went 2-for-5 with a double.  That gives him seven doubles and three triples on the summer after 40 games.  He’s hitting .268/.348/.362 on the summer.
  • Shortstop Keiberg Camacaro went 2-for-2 with three walks on the day, stealing one base and getting caught once..  Camacaro now has 23 walks to 55 strikeouts, for a batting line of .229/.355/.379 on the summer.
  • Outfielder Angel Guzman was 1-for-3 with two walks and two stolen bases on the day.  He now has six steals in seven attempts after 37 games this summer.  He’s hitting .266/.405/.461.
  • Starting pitcher Jesus Lopez gave up one run in 4.0 innings, all on six hits, while striking out five.  That dipped his ERA under 5, down to 4.94 on the summer.  He’s struck out 16 and walked 14 in 31.0 innings.

Other Notable Lines:

  • RP Carlos Gomez: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
  • RP Ismael Mota: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

DSL: DSL Giants Orange 6, DSL Cubs 5 (8 Innings)

Link

Top DSL Giants Orange Performances:

  • Left fielder Oswaldo Ladera was 1-for-4 with a grand slam, for his third home run of the season.  Ladera has three home runs and three doubles in 34 games, with 14 walks to 28 strikeouts.
  • Center fielder Lisbel Diaz was 1-for-3 with a double, a HBP, and two strikeouts.  In just 17 games this summer, Diaz has two doubles and two home runs, with seven walks to eight strikeouts, and a batting line of .351/.448/.491.

Other Notable Lines:

  • DH Jorge Ramirez: 1-3, 1 R, 1 K
  • SP Alfonso Perez: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 2 WP, 2 HBP
  • RP Jilber Canas: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 WP