Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
PHILADELPHIA — If this is the end of Joe Panik’s time in San Francisco, well, Joe Panik would like to know.
“I wish I had something for you guys,” said a wide-eyed Panik in an otherwise upbeat clubhouse Wednesday. “You guys know as much as I do. I was told when he gets here they’ll figure things out. Whatever that means, it means.”
The “he” is Scooter Gennett, whom the Giants acquired from Cincinnati just before the trade deadline. Gennett plays second, bats lefty and has more pop than Panik, who really has not hit well since 2017. It’s more than a slump, and the type of prolonged downturn that can get a player sent away.
And Gennett is the type of player who would replace him.
Bruce Bochy spoke with Panik before the Giants’ 5-1 victory at Citizens Bank Park but after the deadline moves and told him to take it a day at a time. Gennett isn’t expected to join the team until Friday in Denver. That’s when they will have to decide.
Panik said Farhan Zaidi hasn’t spoken with him. To media, Zaidi has echoed Bochy’s day-by-day advice.
Asked if he were surprised by the limbo, Panik said: “In this game, anything can happen. It’s a business. We’re just trying to win here. So whatever they think is right.”
The one-time All-Star and World Series champion confirmed he’s reached the five-year mark in terms of service time, meaning the Giants cannot option him without his consent. So, both sides may have decisions to make.
He tried to keep his focus on the field, and he got on base twice, including a ripped double in the third inning.
“We’ll see how this works out,” Bochy said, “but he went out there and did what you’re supposed to do, [which] is play the game.”