TODAY: Conor Gillaspie will hit the DL in a corresponding move, with the team announcing the purchase of Hwang’s contract. It seem a 40-man move will also be needed, though that hasn’t been announced (and could conceivably involve shifting a player to the 60-day DL.)
YESTERDAY: The Giants are promoting infielder Jae-gyun Hwang from Triple-A Sacramento, reports Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (via Twitter). The former Korea Baseball Organization star signed a minor league deal with San Francisco this offseason and was likely to exercise a July 1 opt-out clause if he was not brought up to the Majors in the next few days.
Through 279 Triple-A plate appearances, Hwang was hitting at a strong .287/.333/.476 clip with seven homers, 19 doubles, four triples and five steals (in five attempts). While that’s a fair ways off the eye-popping .335/.394/.570 batting line that Hwang posted in his final season in Korea, the 29-year-old’s very solid Triple-A performance certainly seems to merit a look at the big league level.
Eduardo Nunez has handled the majority of the Giants’ third base responsibilities in 2017, but he’s currently on the DL with a minor hamstring issue. Third base has been Hwang’s primary position, but he’s also played first base in the minors and seen a couple of games in left field. With veteran Aaron Hill recently being cut loose, there’s a bench opportunity for Hwang to claim, at the very least, and it’s possible that he could be entrusted with a larger role if the Giants ultimately trade Nunez.
Finally!
Well, they don’t want to lose him
His defense is notoriously terrible. I’d rather see Arroyo get some more looks. He struggled in his first call up but was taking in AAA. Is Hwang going to save this thing?
Raking*
Nothing can “save” this season, if you’re talking about contention. It would be a heroic achievement for the Giants to finish at .500. I agree about Arroyo. When you’re playing sub-.,400 ball, let the young guys take over. Hwang is not young, but I hope he can find a position to play where he gets a chance to hit.
“GOD!!!! Ok, fine, geez, we’ll bring you up already no need to get all bent out of shape about us not bringing you up and promoting worse, less ready players than you….” – The SF Giants FO, today.
Pretty much, but without your insufferable and childish tone
with 1/2 of season gone his 1.5MM salary becomes 0.75MM gamble. Not sure if this is guaranteed or not.
Thought I was on the Mets team page again.
“Before we let this guy go, let’s see what he can do against MLB pitching. If he’s no good, we’ll send him packing.”
The best comment. Find out what he can do.
Arroyo needs to play everyday; he won’t do that in SF. Nunez, Gillespie, Ryder, etc. will take 3B at bats. Rather see Arroyo develop out of the spotlight and be ready for next year.
Gillaspie
Arroyo is on the DL right now
If he can hit major league pitching I’m sure they’ll be able to find an AL team to take him or even just roll him out there everyday themselves since they aren’t going anywhere
Exactly what I was thinking. I highly doubt they’re bringing him up to see what he can do for the big league club going forward. They probably figured this was the best/only way to get something for him on the trade market rather than losing him for nothing. Worst case scenario, he’s awful and they let him go for nothing anyways.
Great news for Dodger fans. Just hit it to 3rd
K-pop model sex-machine
If they call him up, they can send him down when Nunez is back. If they don’t, they lose him.
Red Sox should keep an eye on the Giants 3B situation.
Makes sense. Everyone knows SF loves the Hwang.
Nice!
Congrats Jae-Gyun!
Got a chance to catch him with Sacramento. Looked good, he was adjusting well.
And while SanFran doesn’t need it as much as other teams might, he will produce a bump in attendance and sales revenue – there were quite a few Lotte Giants jerseys and fans in attendance at the Rivercats games I caught. After the game he took selfies and signed for them all; he seemed a great guy
You have no clue. They “sellout” every game.
First homer already!
I don’t see him as a long-term Giant, but definitely anxious to see what he can do. If he does well, could be a trade chip in the off-season.