The Giants demoted Luis Gonzalez, and now they have one fewer Luis Gonzalez in the majors
Probably a consequence they expected
Last week, the Giants demoted Luis Gonzalez to Sacramento, for the simple reason that he had been quite bad for a long time.
I have mixed feelings about this decision, but it’s important to remember: at the time of his demotion, Luis Gonzalez was bad, and had been bad for quite a while. In the second half of the season, he was hitting .206/.298/.288. Since the start of July, he was hitting .190/.278/.263. In the month of August, he was hitting .150/.239/.175. Over his last 34 plate appearances (30 at bats), he was hitting .067/.147/.100. Every one of those slash lines is terrible.
Also, Gonzalez is not known for his strong outfield defense.
Also, Gonzalez is really not known for his good baserunning.
So when you add all that together, I mean, it’s a no-brainer. If you’re trying to win, that’s not a player you can carry on your roster. When he’s not particularly good at anything, every bit of playing time he gets is going to hurt. And with LaMonte Wade Jr finally healthy and hitting well — over the same timeframe that Gonzalez went 2 for 30, Wade posted a .976 OPS — Gonzalez doesn’t have a natural fit on the roster.
And yet.
Uh…
Hold on, I’m thinking here. I made this argument a lot harder for myself than I thought I would, so this is taking me a few extra moments.
Oh, right, here it is: And yet the Giants are bad, and Luis Gonzalez is the exact kind of player they need to find a spot for. He is young, and exciting, and in theory a good replacement for a left-handed outfielder who gets injured or becomes bad. Wade and Joc Pederson have both spent a lot of time on the IL this year. Mike Yastrzemski, who has a .472 OPS over the last month, is currently going through some awful struggles. Over that same time period, Brandon Belt has a .486 OPS.
The opportunities are there for Gonzalez. At least, they should be. But he hasn’t been good enough lately, so he’s not going to have the chance to take advantage of them.
On the other hand, what’s it matter?
The Giants aren’t good and they aren’t going to make the playoffs. After a 3-4 week against weak opposition when they very badly needed to go at least, we’ll say, 5-2, that should be abundantly clear. They don’t have the team for it.
So why isn’t Luis Gonzalez on the roster?
Yes, he’s been bad lately, but isn’t that the time to help him work through it? You start him every day, let him know he’s going to be in the lineup, and evaluate from there. He doesn’t have to worry about whether he’s going to be in the majors tomorrow, or where he’ll be sleeping next week. He just has to think about performing, and doing the work the coaches have him do, and not getting picked off every week.
I wouldn’t say that’s simple or easy, but it’s all you can ask for as a professional athlete. A real, solid chance playing every day at the highest level, so the team can see you at your best. I mean, as bad as he’s been lately, Gonzalez was excellent in April and May. Coming into June, he had an .869 OPS, and he was the talk of the town. That’s still in there, as long as the team can unlock it. Wouldn’t the best way to unlock it be to play him every day in the majors?
On the other other hand, maybe it wouldn’t.
This isn’t the first time the Farhan Giants have demoted a rookie during what had been a breakout year. In 2019, they were incredibly close to sending Yastrzemski to Sacramento when he hit a lull, before the team abruptly changed course. In 2021, they did demote Wade even though he’d been fantastic, and it didn’t hurt him a bit. And, of course, this year, they sent Joey Bart down to AAA to find himself, and it worked beautifully. Sacramento is neither purgatory nor a curse, unless you are an NBA franchise. It is simply a place to work on things that need to be worked on.
And Gonzalez does have a lot to work on. The defense, for example. The baserunning. The hitting.
I mean, sure, that’s technically “everything,” but who’s counting?
Luis Gonzalez has tools. He should be able to be a good major league player. That has never been a guarantee before, of course, but this is what the Giants are supposed to be good at. They find that diamond in the rough, then they polish it, then they have a shinier, more polished diamond.
When I started writing this, I wasn’t sure how I felt about Luis Gonzalez’s demotion. Now I think it’s the right move. He can find himself in AAA. It’s not a sure thing, but neither is giving him more rope in the majors.
I think you were right the first time. Let Gonzalez play, let the prospects play. Football season is starting, no one is watching anymore because the Giants truly suck. So let's take advantage of this whole month the team has left and just let the prospects and younger guys get reps, fail, learn, have a success maybe, so that they can comeback into camp in 5 months and compete for major league roster spots.