The Giants are planning to add outfielder/first baseman Jerar Encarnacion to the active roster prior to tomorrow’s series opener against the Reds, reports Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. Encarnacion is currently traveling with the team to Cincinnati, he adds. The Giants will need to formally select Encarnacion’s contract to the 40-man roster, but with multiple vacancies at the moment, they’ll only need a corresponding 26-man move to activate him.
It’s been an unusual rise to the majors for the 26-year-old Encarnacion. He briefly made his big league debut with the 2022 Marlins after spending four years ranked near the back half of their organizational top 30 prospects but hit just .182/.210/.338 in 83 plate appearances. Miami passed him through waivers unclaimed last summer, and Encarnacion became a minor league free agent at season’s end. He found minimal interest from MLB clubs and wound up signing with los Guerreros de Oaxaca in the Mexican League.
Encarnacion decimated Mexican League pitching, hitting .366/.439/.989 with an outrageous 19 home runs in just 107 trips to the plate. Even in an extreme hitter-friendly setting, that output caught the attention of big league clubs. The Giants scooped him up on a minor league deal and sent him to Triple-A Sacramento, where he’s turned in a .352/.438/.616 slash with 10 homers in 146 plate appearances. As with the Mexican League, the Triple-A Pacific Coast League is immensely hitter-friendly, but Encarnacion’s production still sits 59% better than league-average there, by measure of wRC+.
Although he’s primarily been a corner outfielder in his career, the hulking 6’4″, 250-pound Encarnacion does have more than 600 innings of experience at first base. That includes five games in the past week for the Giants. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets that the Giants have been getting him some fresh reps there in advance of an expected call to the majors.
Encarnacion will add a right-handed bat with clear plus power to the Giants’ first base and corner outfield mix. San Francisco presently has Wilmer Flores on the injured list (and struggling to produce even when healthy), while fellow righty-swinging corner bat David Villar is hitting .257/.270/.457 with a 35% strikeout rate. That’s a sample of only 37 plate appearances, but Villar also hit just .142/.236/.315 in 140 MLB plate appearances last season.
Encarnacion himself has had considerable strikeout issues in the past, so he’s hardly a sure thing to hit in the majors this time around. He fanned in a staggering 38.8% of his Triple-A plate appearances with the Marlins just last season, though he also walked enough (15.1%) and hit for enough power (26 homers, .224 ISO) to salvage a .228/.347/.452 batting line in Jacksonville. He’s cut his strikeout rate to 24% with the River Cats this season and is still drawing walks in 12.3% of his trips to the plate. Those encouraging trends, coupled with the gargantuan production he’s displayed in Mexico and Sacramento, make Encarnacion a more interesting post-deadline call-up than a garden variety change-of-scenery prospect.
Yes! Nice call up.
Nice call up…A Mexican league bat?
I understand Giants fans have reputation for being ‘low information’ baseball fans, But man. This is just laughable
Yes because all yankees fans are intelligent when it comes to baseball. Tell me, when’s the last time the Yanks won anything? Right when I was still in high school. It’s been a long time, maybe you could help them out?
I have personally seen him play in AAA ball.
I’ve seen him play too and it’s about time. He can hit and hit for power and he does the parrot when rounding the bases after a jack like Edwin (unrelated) used to do
What is wrong with you, NEVER anything positive… Mom take away your Moped keys…
Ha ha ha. I love it.
Says the little boy troll with a reputation for having a micro penis.
How was that not positive? I endorsed him and am happy to see him come up which is why I said it’s about time. Way to up your S talking game foppert that micro penis dig cuts real deep. Almost as deep as your curious attraction to farhan and his nice guy vibe
For once, I wasn’t referring to you. Drop the paranoia manchild.
Crazy how you have multiple enemies here with such a sparkling personality! Throw another shrimp on the barbie mate and try to relax you don’t have to be an A-hole all the time
Now that’s interesting. Can you list the multiple enemies or are you just running with a childish “everyone hates you” taunt ?
Neither do you on the A hole front. But you persist. Every Giants post. I love how you can dish out criticism on the internet ad nauseum, but cry like a toddler when a little bit gets fired at you.
You really make me laugh. Every time I read something from you I picture you drinking a Fosters in your crocodile boots while hanging out with your pet kangaroo.
ff, your Farhan hatred always ALWAYS seems whiny. And foppert? He is rational and you are not. You’re just a whiner. The Giants in the 60s were like today’s niners. Mays McCovey Cepeda Marichal Perry. 5. FIVE! Hall of famers!! And couldn’t win a WS. I lived through all of that. And I stuck with them ALL THOSE YEARS. So yes, I’m sick of “fans” like you who probably jumped on the 2010 bandwagon. Foppert? I will support that guy forever. One of the main reasons is he’s not you. Fans were ecstatic with the off-season signings. “Farhan came through. Finally” is what the lunatic fringe barked. And when some of those signings struggled? Blame Farhan. No logic. No reason. Blame the “egghead”. Half the fan base said “let’s just go with the youngsters”. So Soler goes to open up spots for youngsters. Cobb goes to open up a spot for Birdsong. There was no impact hitter added because, hey, that would require trading…youngsters. Logic. All the ffs don’t use logic aka critical thinking. And when the fopperts offer reason, the ffs say “people hate you so stfu”. So I myself am sick and tired of the 2010 or 1986 or 1997 bandwagon crowd. You’re not legit. you’re just a whiny and lacking knowledge. I listened to BOBBY Bonds debut in 1968. First game Grand slam vs dodgers…you didn’t ff. People like you and all of the other latecoming “fans” can pound the proverbial sand.
In my day we didnt have microwave ovens and cel phones! We had to walk to school 10 miles uphill each way. Get off my lawn you damn kids!!! Foppert is totally rational when he says he thinks Farhan is a nice guy and that’s his justification for supporting him. Nothing to do with actual performance or record just he is a nice guy and deserves to keep his job no matter how bad he is at it simply because he is a nice guy. Sounds pretty rational right? Just because you are old and salty doesn’t mean you have a clue frenchy.
Pretty much anything he gives us in an upgrade over Soler…and Villar…and Flores…and Yaz…and Conforto.
Keep going I’m almost there
Yaz has a 116 OPS+ despite his dreadful start to the season, and he’s had his typical quality defense in right. And Soler was hitting well in July before being traded
But otherwise, I agree that I’d take a chance on Encarnacion over what we’ve gotten from Villar, Flores, and Conforto at this point
Yeah, I like Yaz, but his power has essentially evaporated. His presence, occasional clutch hits, and his plus plus D in right are certainly worthy of a roster spot.
His home run power isn’t quite what it used to be, but he does have 8 triples in less than 300 plate appearances. He’s a lefty bat who fits in with Oracle Park’s difficult dimensions better than most
Probably as a fourth outfielder next year, if he’s still around.
I like Yaz a lot. He plays home games in what’s probably the worse park for LHHs in MLB. Too bad for him he doesn’t play for the Rockies. In 40 games there he has 40HRs and a .986 OPS.
Most guys play better at home, which explains why his BA and OBP are better at Oracle. But look at the HRs. He’s hit 38 over his career at Oracle, but has hit 58 on the road. That’s a significant difference.
And compare his HR totals between Oracle and Coors:
Oracle 1016 ABs, 38 HRs (1 HR/26.7. ABs).
Coors, 143 ABs, 10 HRs (1 HR/14.3 ABs).
He does lack great bat-to-ball skills, but everything else in his profile is good. He has good speed, plays very good D, and has a strong accurate arm. Were his bat-to-ball skills better he would be an AS.
Edit, In 40 games there (Col.) he has 10HRs*, not 40.
‘despite his dreadful start to the season’ those games are as much part of the record as his hot streaks. why do people do this? if it weren’t for all the times I got out, i’d be batting 1.000
Well said, Wtp. I’m also hearing all these Giants fans talking about how Soler was “getting hot”. He had a pretty good last couple of weeks, although there was luck involved in some of those hits. And that doesn’t offset the multiple games he cost us by choking with risp for the first 2/3rds of the season.
Trade Soler, acquire Canha. Now call-up Encarnacion. Is Farhan just rearranging deck chairs or are the Giants actually trying?
deck chairs
I think the full time DH means you better perform. Though he was lately he’s mostly produced uninspiring ABs. Cycling through different DH options has worked well before. Ride the hot bat and keep the hot glove in. I don’t quite understand Cahna signing if you have this guy you want to check out.
Trading Soler and Cobb was an acknowledgment that this season was over. So why get Canha, who is a nice piece for a team still in the race?
C Bailey
1B Encarnacion/Canha/Flores (IL)
2B Wisely/Estrada (IL)
SS Fitzgerald
3B Chapman
CF Ramos
RF Yaz
LF Matos/Derek/Conforto
DH Luciano
Rotation
Webb
Snell
Harrison
Ray
Birdsong
This is a solid 0.500 team in a division with very good Dodger and Padre teams.
Guess the Mets wouldn’t take Conforto.
I would be thinking next year. They should immediately transition to a six man rotation.
Ha!!! Forgiven because you obviously don’t watch many SF games. The Giants rotation blows LA’s off the map. It’s arguably the best in baseball. LA’s pitching is in tatters. Cobb may make 3 starts in September of 5 innings each. He and his blister were expendable. Jorge was nada. I’m willing to bet Luciano gives us more than Soler thru the end of the season. True we don’t have an Ohtani, Freeman, or Betts, but the pitching and some timely hitting will hopefully get us into October, at which point anything can happen. Pads are the best team in the NL West right now, D-backs coming on strong, but the Giants have a good shot with that staff.
One thing is certain: with Roberts at the helm, LA won’t be winning their 1st full-season championship in a generation any time soon.
Roberts is an average manager who follows detailed instructions from the POBO and GM. Roberts does not add a ton of value but I would hardly count the Dodgers out if they can get Yoshinobu, Glasnow and Betts healthy for the post-season. No team in baseball can easily lose its top two pitchers (Glasnow, Yoshinobu) and two of its three top hitters (Betts, Freeman) and look good against a solid team like the Padres. Let’s see whether the Dodgers are healthy in September and October or not. Roberts is not a big difference-maker in either direction.
2025 Rotation
Webb Yoshinobu
Snell Glasnow
Harrison Ohtani
Ray Kershaw
Birdsong Stone
Depth Depth
Whisenhunt Ryan/Knack/Robleski
Hicks May/Frasso
Winn Miller
The 2025 Giants rotation does not “blow LA’s off the map.” When you take into account depth, it looks pretty even to me. Now if you are saying that due to players on the Il, the Giants had the stronger July 2024 rotation, well, sure.
Manny- that’s even if they have snell who will likely opt out.
I think the giants starters are being a bit overrated.
Ray wasn’t that good his second start back.
Snell has been nails and probably will be but I’d never bet on him going passed 5 innings.
Harrison I really like but he has been inconsistent.
Birdsong I like as well but hasn’t hardly pitched this year.
Webb was great yesterday but hasn’t been as good this year. Maybe he will be dominant the rest of the way.
Plus that pen can be shakey. To go along with an offense that hasn’t been scoring runs.
I think the giants will finish ahead of the reds and cubs and maybe the pirates. I don’t think they will finish ahead of the Braves, Padres, dbacks, Mets or cardinals.
@Simm SF has been shrewdly making deals that may surprise us all. The Giants sent the lethargic Soler to Atlanta and will pass the Braves before they know what hit them. Next, they will give the Mets Conforto and then pass them, too. Crawford is on the Cards, who will fold, and the Buccos will be vanquished because of their backup catcher, Joey Bart. Joc is in Arizona ready to swing and miss four times out of five. Half of the Padres are former Giants. I forget which half but that just shows how shrewd the Giants have been.
Goodbye
You are wrong. Soler is a streaky hitter and he was hot. If Luciano does well, they could still have used Soler as well and Luciano is no sure thing short term. Canha was a weak add. Maybe they do not need Cobb for depth over the next two months, but if you were playing to win it all, he is a questionable subtraction.
Nah. Soler needed to go. Wasn’t into it as a Giant. Never looked remotely into it. They did well to get rid of those years without financial penalty.
Trading Soler was moving on from a contract/player that just didn’t fit, period, end of story. You do not tie up your DH spot for a guy hitting lead off who you paid to hit in the middle of the order.
From a roster perspective they moved Cobb for Canha, trading from their depth to get a bench piece the roster is missing (Lefty masher who plays corner OF/1B) with Flores injured/Slater traded. Wilmer has been wrong all year likely he’s been trying to play through his injury, you can’t hit without your legs, pitch for that matter.
Otherwise expect to see guys how are “hot” playing, those who are not, shipped out to Sac or DFA’d, I think Conforto is the most obvious here.. Yaz has one more year of control and in a perfect world is your 4th OF. He plays all 3 spots, is average or above average when it comes to D, speed, hitting and pop.
Credit must be given to Melvin for getting through the first half when the only starters to take the ball every turn was Webb and Hicks. Now it’s Webb, Snell, Harrison, Ray, Birdsong every 5 days, I do expect Birdsong to be skipped when day off allows to manage his innings and keep everyone else on routine. This also means no more bullpen games and now SFG can truly setup their pen for traditional usage the rest of season + they add Hicks to that core. This gives them the depth to get Doval sorted out, he’s a necessity for any chances in October.
I agree with you that Yaz is a nice piece as a 4th outfielder or maybe even a guy who could platoon with Matos next year. Ramos is a lock and Lee is a lock if healthy. I see zero chance that Conforto is re-signed and if either Luciano or Encarnacion hits well, plus Canha, then Conforto and Villar both lose their roster spots before too long.
You should be disappointed if the 2025 OF is Ramos, Lee and a Yaz/Matos platoon, it’s an OF that while above average defensively, doesn’t have enough power.
While Matos has gotten stronger his bat profiles so much better in CF which is blocked in theory by Lee. Matos is still young this is his age 22 season and I think unless he REALLY pushes his way onto the MLB roster in 2024 you just let him play everyday and work on those things he needs to work on offensively in Sac.
He needs to work on his RH/LH splits and while he has contact skills, what he needs to do now is improve the quality of contact and in the process raise his BB rate. Guys who don’t strike out or walk only succeed in MLB by being .300+ hitters, I don’t believe Matos has that in his ceiling.
.500 team ?? This Giants team is a huge pile of Asss that after 110 games has only played 4 games with a record of .500 or above.
Even more jarring is as a franchise the Giants have only posted 1 winning season since 2016 !!!
As an Organization Frisco is a directionless Mess
Giants did not have Snell, Harrison, Ray and Birdsong most of the season. Ramos has emerged. This is not a playoff team, but there are a 0.500 team.
they are
You have no idea what you’re talking about. Matos is not a MLB player. Also, you don’t even have Wade on this roster.
Watching Villar bat, with his head moving as much as it does, I’m not surprised that he doesn’t hit. In fact I’m always a little surprised when he does get one. Looking forward to seeing what Encarnacion can bring.
Yet somehow Villar consistently puts up decent numbers in the minors. I can’t explain it. But I am ready to push Encarnacion past Villar on the depth chart. Eldridge is still at least two full years out. Wade’s job appears safe for now. Flores has reverted to a utility player.
We’re just weeding out the AAAA players this year and have a major league ready team for this year
And if by chance we get into some competitive games down the stretch – these guys will get some pressure situations experience
I meant we have a good team next year
i’m not having any fun watching this year – so I’m just gonna change my attitude from winning now to getting ready for next year
Saw Jerar hit a ball off the batters eye in Reno. His cup of coffee with the fish wasn’t bad at all. time to see if he can be a dude
You are under no obligation to watch, I watch via YouTube TV and only start watching 30-45 mins after the game has started. I do not need to grind with this team, so the fast forward and “key plays” features YouTube TV offers are worth every penny 🙂
I will say this, if their SP stays healthy, I think they make the playoffs. It’s not only good, it’s relatively fresh as DL time has limited Ray’s, Snell’s and Harrison’s total IP in 2024. A staff like this is how you run of 10 game win streaks. It’s just 2 hot turns thru the rotation.
Yep. String a few together and they are back in it. They put together 10 or so straight w’s earlier on so it’s in there somewhere.
Forever optimistic or is it just blind and dim? After over 100 games it’s clear they don’t have that run in them.
You can decide. I don’t care either way. I’ve got myself as a reasonably normal adult hoping for the best for his team. No foul there in my world.
For once I hope you are right and I am wrong
You cannot win without scoring. With No/anemic offense, we can only hope. I would’ve preferred Farhan signed 1/2 impact bats, to support the great rotation he claims, but now we hope the kids will create the offense for us. The bad thing is, the great rotation Farhan claims, may not be there next year. And if the kids ain’t it this year, then we’re back to rebuild. Farhan letting this great opportunity pass by, I think shows he’s not the PBO we need.
Desperately searching for a home run hitter. Good luck Jerar. Opportunity knocks.
His history does not seem to fit with this seasons AAA/Mexico numbers…something is odd here.