Slater to IL; Fairchild becomes latest ex-Mariner to join Giants

SAN FRANCISCO -- For the fourth time in 41 games, the Giants will turn to a recent Seattle Mariner for depth.

A day after coming out of the game with wrist discomfort, outfielder Austin Slater was put on the 10-day injured list with left wrist inflammation. To fill his roster spot, the Giants recalled outfielder Stuart Fairchild from Triple-A Sacramento. Fairchild, acquired on May 14 in exchange for Alex Blandino, joins Kevin Padlo, Mike Ford and Donovan Walton as former Mariners who have been picked up by the Giants this year and ended up on their big league roster shortly thereafter. 

Padlo is in Monday's lineup at first base, batting fifth. Fairchild is playing center field and hitting ninth. 

"I'm excited to see him do his thing," manager Gabe Kapler said. "He has a good reputation of being a strong defensive outfielder, quality at-bats against left-handed pitching, good sprint speed, fast baserunner. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can contribute today."

Fairchild, 26, was taken in the second round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the Cincinnati Reds and made his big league debut for the Arizona Diamondbacks last year. He had three at-bats for the Mariners earlier this season. In five seasons in the minor leagues, Fairchild has slashed .273/.362/.441 with 37 homers and 50 stolen bases.

"I feel like I'm a very versatile player," Fairchild said. "I'm good all-around, whether it's defensively, on the bases, at the plate -- I feel like I'm very well rounded. There's nothing to my skill set that necessarily stands out above something else, but I'm a good ballplayer and that's something I've always prided myself in, playing the game the right way and being able to do everything."

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The Slater move means the Giants have now put four players on the IL in the last four days. LaMonte Wade Jr. (knee) went down Friday, Curt Casali (concussion) on Saturday, and Brandon Belt (knee) on Sunday, and in the final loss of the weekend the Giants watched Slater come out of the game after feeling discomfort on a swing. The Giants certainly won't get any sympathy from the other side, though. The Mets have played the whole season without Jacob deGrom and lost Max Scherzer to a serious oblique strain last week.

"In our minds, nobody cares," Kapler said of the stretch of injuries. "What we care about is putting together the best lineup and group that we have, trying to win today's baseball game. I'm not going to spend much time thinking about what happened yesterday. We're ready to move forward and get ready for today."

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