Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
LaMonte Wade Jr.’s bat has been so prized he has batted leadoff every time he’s started this month. In Jason Vosler’s last eight games, the flexible infielder is 6-for-17 with a pair of doubles while filling in for Evan Longoria.
Both were victims of the Giants’ depth.
San Francisco optioned Wade and Vosler to Triple-A Sacramento to make room for returning Alex Dickerson (back strain) and Darin Ruf (hamstring strain), who have been activated off the injured list for the start of a two-game set in Anaheim on Tuesday.
The Giants are set to face lefty Andrew Heaney on Tuesday and are in line to possibly see southpaws Sean Manaea and Cole Irvin in the weekend’s series against the A’s, so Wade’s and Vosler’s time in the majors may have taken a dip anyway.
Still, Wade has impressed mightily with his glove — both in the outfield and at first, where he had been a revelation while both Brandon Belt and Ruf were out — and has been a steady presence at the top of their lineup. In his first year with prolonged playing time, Wade carried an .814 OPS in 94 plate appearances, including four home runs.
Vosler has not been quite as impressive, but still has played well and has looked more comfortable the more he has played in his rookie season. He and Wilmer Flores have filled in well for Longoria and Tommy La Stella at the hot corner. Mauricio Dubon has gotten some looks at third, too, and now may get more.
The Giants chose to option Wade and Vosler over Dubon, Steven Duggar and Mike Tauchman. Dubon, who has been boxed out of a few positions, is their only depth behind Brandon Crawford; Duggar has been establishing himself as a legitimate major league bat, with a .952 OPS in 129 plate appearances; and Tauchman does not have any options, so cutting him loose would mean they likely would lose him on waivers. Tauchman is retooling his swing with Giants hitting coaches, and the club loves his approach.
There will be more tricky roster decisions, both 26- and 40-man, when La Stella, Longoria, Tyler Beede, Jaylin Davis, Reyes Moronta, Aaron Sanchez and Logan Webb can be activated. Deep teams have these kinds of problems.
