SF Giants activate DH Joc Pederson from IL, option OF Heliot Ramos

The SF Giants activated left-handed slugger Joc Pederson from the injured list on Sunday, optioning outfielder prospect Heliot Ramos to Triple-A.

Marc Delucchi | Apr 23, 2023

SF Giants activate DH Joc Pederson from IL, option OF Heliot Ramos /

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San Francisco Giants

The SF Giants activated designated hitter Joc Pederson from the injured list prior to Sunday's game against the New York Mets, optioning outfielder Heliot Ramos (Giants #17 prospect) to Triple-A Sacramento. Pederson was eligible to be activated on Saturday, but the Giants gave him an extra day to recover. He was placed on the injured list with wrist inflammation last week.

SF Giants left fielder Joc Pederson hits a home run during the eighth inning against the Oakland Athletics. (2023) — SF Giants slugger Joc Pederson hits a home run against the Athletics. (2023) / Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

"Obviously, his wrist is doing much better," said Giants manager Gabe Kapler during his pregame media availability. "He's right on schedule, nothing unexpected. What does he bring to the table? He was our best left-handed bat against right-handed pitching last year. Force right in the middle of our lineup. He's a guy that other teams don't want to face. So, it feels good to have him back."

Pederson was off to a hot start this season before landing on the injured list. He had a .242/.350/.545 triple-slash with two doubles, a triple, and two home runs in 10 games. Pederson is in his second season with the Gaints after accepting a qualifying offer from the team during the offseason. In his first campaign with the Giants last year, Pederson was selected to his second career All-Star game and .274/.353/.521 with 23 homers.

Ramos hit .192/.222/.269 with a pair of doubles, a walk, and eight strikeouts in 27 plate appearances across nine games with the Giants this season. Kapler was lukewarm in his evaluation of Ramos' stint with the big-league club, although he highlighted Ramos' rally sparking double in Saturday's 7-4 victory over the Mets.

"Heliot has been fine," Kapler said. "Obviously there was a big double that he hit for us yesterday."

Ramos' call-up was primarily driven by the Giants need for right-handed hitting outfielders while Austin Slater and Mitch Haniger worked their way back from the injured list. Ramos had struggled during spring training and was hitting .333/.355/.370 in seven games with the River Cats before his promotion.

By optioning Heliot Ramos, the SF Giants are signaling that Slater and Haniger, who are both currently on rehab assignments at Triple-A, are approaching a return. In the meantime, though, they are welcoming one of the most formidable on the team, Joc Pederson, back into the lineup.

Published Apr 23, 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).