SF Giants call up former Rangers, Pirates infielder, option Casey Schmitt

The SF Giants have finally optioned slumping infielder Casey Schmitt to Triple-A, recalling trade deadline acquisition Mark Mathias.

Marc Delucchi | Aug 6, 2023

SF Giants call up former Rangers, Pirates infielder, option Casey Schmitt /

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The SF Giants recalled veteran utilityman Mark Mathias from Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday morning. Mathias was acquired alongside outfielder A.J. Pollock at the trade deadline from the Seattle Mariners. To clear a spot on the active roster, the Giants optioned rookie infielder Casey Schmitt to Triple-A Sacramento in a corresponding move.

SF Giants prospect Casey Schmitt fields a ground ball against the Arizona Diamondbacks (2023). — SF Giants INF Casey Schmitt fields a ground ball against the Dbacks (2023) / Joe Camporeale -USA TODAY Sports

Schmitt was a consensus top-five prospect in the organization before he made his big-league debut earlier this year. While he got off to a scorching hot start, Schmitt has fallen into an ugly slump at the plate. Despite Schmitt's impressive power potential, opposing pitchers have consistently taken advantage of his poor approach. In 218 plate appearances this season, Schmitt is hitting .205/.258/.290 with 11 doubles, two home runs, 10 walks, and 51 strikeouts.

Mathias becomes the latest Bay Area-native to join the Giants over the past few seasons. Born in Santa Clara, California, Mathias was drafted in the third round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of Cal Poly by the Cleveland Guardians. A soft-hitting versatile defender, Mathias climbed Cleveland's minor-league ranks before he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers following the 2019 season. In 2020, Mathias made his MLB debut with the Brew Crew.

After receiving just 53 big-league plate appearances with Milwaukee, Mathias was traded to the Texas Rangers in a package for Matt Bush. In Texas, Mathias hit .277/.365/.554 with three doubles and five home runs in 74 plate appearances. Heading into this season, Mathias seemed like a solid candidate to find a bench role for Rangers manager Bruce Bochy but instead was traded to the Pirates for a minor-league pitcher.

Mathias hit just .231/.355/.269 in 62 plate appearances with the Pirates, although he did walk (10) nearly as much as he struck out (11), and was designated for assignment. He was claimed off waivers by the Seattle Mariners, where he played at Triple-A before he was dealt to the Giants.

Ultimately, Mark Mathias has been a fringe big-league player over the past few seasons but has a perfectly solid .249/.323/.403 triple-slash with eight doubles and six home runs in 189 MLB plate appearances over the past three seasons. A right-handed hitting infielder capable of playing both second base and the outfield, he seems like a solid bench bat for SF Giants manager Gabe Kapler.

Published Aug 6, 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).