In the Giants’ championship era, they’ve publicly rewarded postseason heroes with lucrative contracts to keep the team’s core in tact. Travis Ishikawa was one of the few exceptions to the trend, playing in only six games with the Giants a year after winning the 2014 NLCS on a walk-off home run.
But in another even year, the Giants confirmed Wednesday night they’ve re-signed the former postseason hero to a minor-league deal. Ishikawa signed a minor-league deal with the White Sox at the start of this season, but was released a couple weeks ago after hitting .201 through 40 games with Triple-A Charlotte.
The Giants aren’t short on left-handed bats, but the deal reinforces minor-league depth in the infield. It potentially gives the Giants a good option off the bench if Kelby Tomlinson or Conor Gillaspie were to go down.
Ishikawa endeared himself to Giants fans and the history books when he boomed a Michael Wacha pitch into the right-field arcade to win the 2014 National League pennant. He’s played in only 44 regular season games since, primarily with the Pirates last year after the Giants designated him for assignment. Ishikawa hit .224 with one home run in 38 games in Pittsburgh.
