Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
There was wonder about how the Giants would fit Jaylin Davis onto both their 26- and 40-man rosters. Would Austin Slater be demoted? Would someone be designated for assignment? Would Davis, after 20 days of rehab, just be optioned right back to Triple-A Sacramento?
Gregory Santos’ positive test for a performance-enhancing drug twistedly solved a 40-man problem, and Mike Tauchman’s right knee the 26-man issue.
The Giants activated Davis onto a roster that now lacks Tauchman, who was placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 30, with a right knee sprain before Thursday’s series opener in Arizona.
Davis suffered a partial tear of his patellar tendon during spring training that kept him out until his rehab assignment at Triple-A Sacramento began June 10. Twenty days are allotted before a team must activate a player from rehab, which made Thursday decision day.
Davis’ bat again has intrigued, lighting up River Cats competition with seven home runs in 14 games. Through 67 plate appearances, he slashed .316/.418/.754. His 19 strikeouts is too high in the Giants’ eyes — the focus of Davis’ time as a Giant has been making consistent contact — but his eight walks is encouraging.
The now-27-year-old — Thursday is his birthday — began the 2020 campaign with the Giants, but lasted just 12 at-bats, which included six strikeouts, before he was demoted. He spent the duration of last year at the alternate site and entered camp and this rehab stint trying to clear his mind. He appreciates all the scouting reports and everything that is tossed at him, but he thought he was thinking too much at the plate.
“Going up there thinking about too much stuff definitely weighs on you,” Davis said recently. “You definitely second-guess yourself and don’t let your abilities take over. I feel like I did a lot of that in the past.”
He will get his chance for a team that includes a mightily struggling Slater, who went 4-for-36 with one walk and 12 strikeouts in June. The Giants have been exposed against lefty pitching, which prompted a Mauricio Dubon-for-Thairo Estrada switch Tuesday.
If Slater’s roster spot was in danger, Tauchman’s knee saved him. The also-struggling Giants outfielder made a terrific, tumbling catch in Los Angeles on Tuesday that forced him out of the game.