Andrew Susac activated, Hector Sanchez demoted

Andrew Susac doesn't have as many home runs as Madison Bumgarner or anything, but he's still an important part of the Giants' plans this year. He's back, with the Giants activating him from the disabled list on Monday. Hector Sanchez was demoted to Triple-A, but at least he wasn't on a plane to St. Louis all night. Silver linings.

Susac hasn't been the super-reserve that he was for the Giants last year, but depending on which micro-splits you want to pay attention to, he's been pretty okay. He had a homer and a triple in his last two starts, with the slide on the triple putting him on the disabled list. Still, he was swinging the bat well when he got hurt, and he hit .321/.406/.536 in 32 plate appearances in his rehab stint in Sacramento, with similar numbers in 16 plate appearances in San Jose.

In the month that Susac was hurt, the Giants put Buster Posey at first just once. Hector Sanchez was just 2-for-21 (with a grand slam!) since returning to the majors, so the Giants preferred to rest Posey altogether rather than pretend there was some sort of benefit to half-resting him at first just to get Sanchez some at-bats. They'll be putting Posey at first more with Susac back, ostensibly.

To be honest, I'm not sure if that's a good thing, depending on who sits for Susac. I'd rather have Posey take regular rest rather than shoehorn in the half-rest days, swapping out Belt for Susac. The difference between Belt and Susac against a left-hander is probably minor, though, so these are just quibbles.

Sanchez will get regular playing time, which he still needs desperately. We'll always have the grand slam from him. That, and the worst at-bat of the season.

On the whole, I preferred the grand slam.

The Giants' bench is a little better today than it was for the last month, and they can be a little more creative when it comes to resting Posey in the late summer months. Welcome back, Andrew Susac. We missed you a bunch.