San Francisco Giants Reinstate Star Outfielder, Option Former Top Prospect

The San Francisco Giants got one of their veteran outfielders back, and to make room for him sent one of their young outfielders down.

Apr 10, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants outfielder Austin Slater (13) bats against the against the Washington Nationals during the fifth inning at Oracle Park. / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

On Monday, the San Francisco Giants activated their longest tenured Giant, bringing Austin Slater back from the concussion IL after he finished his rehab.

In order to bring him back, they optioned Luis Matos amid his struggles over the last month.

Slater was placed on the IL on May 11, missing just about a month with his concussion. He was sent on rehab with Triple-A Sacramento and played five games. In his 18 plate appearances, the 31-year-old hit .235, swatting a homer and driving in two runs.

Prior to the injury, Slater had struggled mightily.

He played 25 games, but was only hitting .128. He had driven in a run, but had yet to collect an extra-base hit, leading to his .434 OPS and -0.3 bWAR. It was tough going for someone who had been a big part of San Francisco's roster over the last few seasons.

While mostly playing center field, Slater has been a big platoon player, splitting time with Mike Yastrzemski and usually facing lefties.

In his career, he has a .817 OPS against southpaws, compared to his .646 OPS against right-handers.

This is the role he will likely fill once again, as Michael Conforto has returned from the IL and Heliot Ramos has seemingly won an everyday job. If he can get back on track, he will be a weapon against lefties.

Despite being sent down, Matos will likely see more Major League action this season.

He became a big part of the team while Conforto and Slater were on the IL, and still has a lot of talent to show. When he came up, he was blazing hot in his first six games.

He was hitting .455 with two home runs, three doubles and a whopping 16 RBIs. He even had 11 in two games in a series against the Colorado Rockies in May.

In the 14 games that followed, Matos went into a big slump.

He was just 9-for-59, didn't collect a single extra-base hit and only drove in three runs. His OPS was sitting at .343 during that stretch and dropped his season long OPS to .577.

Matos is still young and could be the future centerfielder for the Giants.

Right now, though, he was the only choice to be optioned with the veterans back and Heliot Ramos having a 147 OPS+. He will be back at some point this year.

San Francisco's lineup is now getting healthy, and when they get their injured pitchers back, they will look to make a run at a Wild Card spot.