SF Giants activate OF Austin Slater from IL, option Brett Wisely

The SF Giants will finally welcome outfielder Austin Slater back to the lineup on Monday, optioning Brett Wisely in a corresponding move.

Marc Delucchi | Apr 24, 2023

SF Giants activate OF Austin Slater from IL, option Brett Wisely /

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San Francisco Giants

The SF Giants activated outfielder Austin Slater from the injured list on Monday, optioning versatile left-handed hitter Brett Wisely (Giants #22 prospect) in a corresponding move. Slater has been on the injured list all season with a right hamstring injury. With the Giants set to face a pair of lefties in their series against the Cardinals, Slater's right-handed bat will be a welcome sight in the lineup. He will make his season debut as the designated hitter on Monday night against Cardinals left-handed starter Jordan Montgomery.

SF Giants outfielder Austin Slater looks to the dugout. (2022) / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Slater has arguably become an overlooked member of the Giants core over the past few seasons. While injuries and large platoon splits have limited his overall contribution, Slater excels in a few key areas. The Stanford product is an above-average defensive player and has hit .285/.377/.469 line with 32 doubles, five triples, 20 home runs, 71 walks, and 139 strikeouts in 640 career plate appearances against left-handed pitchers. Given the Giants' early-season struggles against southpaws, Slater should be able to help improve their productivity.

While Slater only appeared in three spring training games, he hit .333/.429/.556 with a double, a home run, a walk, and six strikeouts in 21 plate appearances with the Sacramento River Cats on a rehab assignment.

The Giants acquired Wisely this offseason in a minor trade with the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder prospect Tristan Peters. Wisely was a solid performer in Tampa Bay's system. The Giants were high enough on his upside to add Wisely to the 40-man roster.

Wisely hit .274/.371/.461 with 15 home runs and 31 stolen bases at Double-A last season. An above-average athlete, Wisely was also a versatile defender, appearing at first base, second base, third base, shortstop, and left field. However, this spring, he acclimated himself nicely to center field.

Wisely recorded his first big-league hit on Friday but was just 1-for-14 with six strikeouts during his stint with the Giants. He will now return to Triple-A, where he has posted a .304/.467/.500 triple-slash with nearly as many walks (13) as strikeouts (14) in 63 plate appearances this season.

Published Apr 24, 2023

MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).