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And, lo, the even year gods looked down from the clouds, which are made from the lather Buster Posey leaves behind in the tub, and they discovered the Giants were losing. Like, a bunch. And they decided to do something about this, verily, realizing they need a completely nonsensical, random player to help the even-year Giants win.
Welcome back, Conor Gillaspie.
The former Giants first-rounder was called up on Friday, with Mac Williamson getting sent to Triple-A. To make room on the roster, the Giants moved Ehire Adrianza to the 60-day DL.
The move makes a little sense, considering that Williamson received just three plate appearances spread over a week. If he's ever going to be a starting outfielder in the majors, he'll need regular at-bats in Sacramento more than bench time in San Francisco. Gillaspie has more than 1,000 at-bats in the majors, and we already know his ceiling tops out as a pinch-hitter/reserve, so he shouldn't be harmed by the inactivity.
Gillaspie is a career .255/.309/.390 hitter in the majors, though in 2014 he was the starting third baseman for the White Sox and posted a 115 OPS+. His defense is rough, both statistically and anecdotally, and he doesn't have any sort of speed (0 SB, 6 CS gives you an idea). So if he's going to have any value with the Giants, he'll have to hit.
Which he just might. The only problem I have with the move is the Giants are mostly stuck when it comes to pinch-hitting options against left-handed pitchers. Trevor Brown shouldn't be the first line of defense if the Giants want to avoid Angel Pagan catching in the 14th inning of a tie game, which means it's all Kelby, all the time. I'm okay with Kelby Tomlinson hitting against left-handers, don't get me wrong. But I'm not sure about him being the only option.
Regardless, the bench is now Gregor Blanco, Gillaspie, Tomlinson, and Brown. It's not exactly an imposing bench, but at least Williamson will get regular at-bats.
And, apropos of very little, it's time to watch this again:
When your first homer is an inside-the-parker after falling down and everyone's laughing at you, but you're trying to act like it's no big deal.
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Welcome back, Conor Gillaspie. Do something to help the Giants win a stupid game.