Why Giants added veterans Encarnación, McKenna to outfield group originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – The Giants lost three veteran outfielders to injuries in three days at the start of a long homestand, but when they hit the road again the outfield will be the least of their problems.
Luis Matos is the hottest hitter in baseball, earning the NL Player of the Week award after spending his weekend tying or breaking franchise records. Heliot Ramos is hitting .293 since being recalled and appears poised to finally stay at the big league level. After a slow start to his year, Mike Yastrzemski continues to look like his old self, and he has four multi-hit games in the last five.
The outfield is red hot and Michael Conforto is not far away from returning from a hamstring injury, but the Giants have still made a few moves to add depth in recent days. They agreed to a minor league deal with Jerar Encarnación, who was tearing up the Mexican League, and then filed a waiver claim for Ryan McKenna, who was DFA’d by the Baltimore Orioles.
The front office hasn’t been as active on waivers this season, but the addition of McKenna was right up their alley. The Giants had an extra 40-man spot to play with after Jung Hoo Lee was injured, so McKenna was added to the organization while Lee went on the 60-day IL prior to season-ending shoulder surgery. McKenna has played 291 games over parts of four MLB seasons, posting a .224/.302/.332 slash line with eight home runs. He is a good baserunner and defender who can handle all three outfield spots.
“I’ve seen him play a little bit with the Orioles,” manager Bob Melvin said. “He has some versatility and can play all three positions. We have some guys who are doing quite well here now as well. We’ll see where we go with that, but you can add some depth and a guy at any time. ” that’s a good defender at all three spots – we still have some guys on the IL – it just adds to our depth.”
McKenna is out of options and the Giants sent Tyler Fitzgerald back to Triple-A before boarding a flight to Pittsburgh, so it seems likely that McKenna will be activated on Tuesday to give the bench more experience. He also provides insurance as the Giants wait for Conforto and Austin Slater (concussion) to be healthy.
Encarnación could be a more realistic option in the second half, and for now he’ll head to Triple-A to see if he can build on what has been a remarkable start to his season in Mexico. In 26 games for Guerreros de Oaxaca, Encarnación hit 19 home runs. It’s not a very competitive league compared to the MLB, but the 26-year-old homered about once every five at-bats.
“If you hit 19 home runs in (26) games anywhere, that’s pretty good. Even if you do it in my backyard with a wiffle ball, I’d be impressed,” president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said.
Encarnación played 23 big league games for the Miami Marlins in 2022, hitting just .182 with three home runs. But the Giants liked his minor league profile and pursued him in the offseason.
They certainly don’t need him at the big league level right now, but all the call-ups left the Triple-A roster short on position players and reasonable outfield options. Encarnacion will have a chance to show that this hot streak is real, and if he can hit the ground running, he could become the best option in the minors now that Matos, Ramos and others are in the big leagues.
The Giants are doing well in the outfield right now and hope to be much healthier by the end of the month. But they know the wave of injuries in early May won’t be the last wave on the roster.
“We just want to get him into the organization, get him to Sacramento, and we’ll go from there,” Zaidi said of Encarnación. “But there are obviously opportunities if he can continue to do what he did in Mexico.”
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