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What became painfully clear Monday night turned into a roster move Tuesday afternoon. The Giants do not trust Mauricio Dubon at the plate, and thus he was shuttled back to Triple-A Sacramento in a transaction that had to be hard to swallow.
The Giants demoted their do-everything utility man, who had not been a River Cat since 2019, having broken out as a center fielder last year before a spring training this year that promised big things. But Dubon has scuffled at the plate to the point that Gabe Kapler passed over both him and a struggling Austin Slater for a pinch-hit at-bat in the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium a night prior, instead turning to backup catcher Curt Casali (who struck out).
The Giants called up Thairo Estrada, whom they had traded for earlier this season and who can play shortstop behind Brandon Crawford. Estrada does not offer the versatility Dubon presents, but he still can move around the infield. And the hope is his righty bat can play better: He was slashing an impressive .385/.448/.609 with seven home runs in 174 plate appearances in Triple-A.
Because of the Giants’ glut of outfielders, Dubon has mostly been used in the infield this month. But Wilmer Flores has shown a better aptitude at third base than he had last year, Crawford has proven durable and Donovan Solano has held down second. So Dubon became a pinch-hitter/fielder, but he was 8-for-39 (.205) with two walks and 10 strikeouts in June. If there is anything the Giants cannot tolerate, it’s a poor strikeout:walk ratio.
The 25-year-old Estrada, who had a strong 2019 with the Yankees before a poor 2020, was sizzling with the River Cats and had a six-game hitting streak in which he was hitting .462 with a home run and a pair of doubles. He should be able to spell Crawford or Flores on the left side or Solano on the right.
The Giants might prefer Jason Vosler’s lefty bat to better complement second base and third base, but that would leave them without a backup shortstop.
Their lack of depth at short had bought Dubon a lot of time, but it ran out when his bat could not come around.