It was clear in the late innings on Monday night that the Giants would need to shake up their bench, and a few hours later that led to a swap of utility men and landed Gabe Kapler's opening day center fielder back in Triple-A.
The Giants optioned Mauricio Dubon to the minors for the first time since he joined their roster late in the 2019 season. They recalled Thairo Estrada, a versatile 25-year-old who was tearing it up at the plate for the River Cats.
The move came a day after Kapler chose backup catcher Curt Casali to pinch-hit in the eighth inning of a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, even with Dubon and Austin Slater on the bench. Dubon has a .646 OPS overall and is batting just .205 in June. His playing time has dipped as the Giants haven't faced many left-handed starters.
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"I think first and foremost we wanted Dubon to get consistent at-bats. It's been a real struggle to get him his opportunities and we've run into a pretty decent stretch of right-handed pitching," Kapler said. "There have been a couple of lefties sprinkled in there where we've been able to get Mauricio consistent starts, but not consistent enough for him to get into a good rhythm.
"I think he has been tinkering a little bit and trying to find his swing, so this gives us an opportunity to reward a guy who is having a lot of success with the bat in Estrada at the Triple-A level, as well as potentially get Mauricio back on track with some regular reps."
Estrada was batting .385 for the River Cats with seven homers, 12 doubles and a 1.057 OPS. He ranked first in the league in hits and second in OPS. The Giants picked him up from the New York Yankees in April for cash considerations, hoping to add middle infield depth, an area of need on the 40-man roster.
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Dubon's main value over the last several weeks had been as Brandon Crawford's backup at shortstop, and Estrada also can play short. He also has big league experience at second base, third base and in the corner outfield spots.
Kapler said he feels good about his coverage in center field, where Dubon was the everyday starter over the second half of last season and early on this year. The Giants have Steven Duggar, Mike Tauchman, Austin Slater and LaMonte Wade Jr. on the big league roster, so Estrada likely won't be needed in the outfield. Dubon had primarily been backing up three infield spots in June.
"You'll see some similar usage patterns with Estrada as we had for Dubon," Kapler said.