LOS ANGELES — Since arriving in an offseason trade from the Minnesota Twins, LaMonte Wade Jr. has been everything the Giants could have hoped for and more.
Wade had a .684 OPS and two home runs in 113 plate appearances with Minnesota, but the versatile left-handed hitter has been much improved in San Francisco where he’s posted a .867 OPS with nine home runs in 148 plate appearances.
He’s done it all, however, without recording a single hit against a left-handed pitcher.
In 30 career plate appearances against southpaws, Wade is 0-for-25 with two walks, three hit by pitches and eight strikeouts.
He’s been a surprisingly valuable platoon bat for Gabe Kapler’s Giants this season, but with the club clinging to a 1.0-game lead in the National League West on Wednesday, Wade has been given a new challenge. For the second time in as many days, he’s in the starting lineup against a left-handed pitcher as he’s set to bat seventh and play left field against Dodgers southpaw Julio Urías.
“I think he’s earned the opportunity to have this start and his at-bat quality has been really good,” Kapler said.
The decision to start Wade is reflective of the Giants’ confidence in him, but it’s also a telling sign that Kapler doesn’t have many strong options in the outfield right now.
With right-handed hitter Austin Slater starting in center on Wednesday, Kapler chose to start Wade in left field over Alex Dickerson, who typically only starts against righties, and struggling left-handed hitting outfielders Steven Duggar and Mike Tauchman.
Duggar was one of the Giants’ top performers in May and June, but he’s 6-for-42 with 13 strikeouts and no extra-base hits in July. Tauchman, who is responsible for two home run robberies and a dramatic grand slam this season, has had an even tougher time at the plate as he’s 9-for-61 with 21 strikeouts since June 1.
After Tauchman injured his knee making a catch on the warning track at Dodger Stadium on June 29, the Giants were hopeful a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento would allow Tauchman to regain confidence at the plate and grow comfortable with some of the mechanical adjustments the hitting coaches asked him to make.
So far, the adjustments haven’t led to better results as he’s 1-for-9 with four strikeouts in the second half.
“The one way we’d be able to tell if (Tauchman) has taken that step that he’s capable of taking is for him to get consistent playing time, but it’s really hard for us to be able to do that for any of those guys right now,” Kapler said. “I still think his batting practice sessions have looked better and his at-bats have been overall better since he’s come off the IL.”
Should Duggar’s struggles continue, the Giants can option him to Triple-A Sacramento where he’s found success over the past few years bouncing back from challenging stretches in the majors. The organization can’t necessarily do that with Tauchman, who was acquired via a trade with the Yankees in April.
For Tauchman to go down to the minors, the Giants would have to designate him for assignment, which would allow other clubs the chance to claim him on waivers before he could potentially be outrighted to Triple-A.
In the dugout at Dodger Stadium Wednesday, Kapler insisted the Giants still have confidence in Tauchman’s abilities and believe the outfielder has more confidence than he did when he was placed on the injured list in June. When it came time to write the lineup card, however, Kapler chose to have Tauchman available off the bench.
With Duggar and Tauchman currently providing more value with their gloves than with their bats and with Wade unproven against left-handed pitchers, it’s increasingly apparent that an addition of an everyday outfielder capable of hitting both righties and lefties would benefit the club ahead of the July 30 trade deadline.
It’s possible the eventual return of first baseman Brandon Belt from the injured list will alleviate some of the team’s issues as Wade and right-handed slugger Darin Ruf can platoon in left field while Dickerson transitions to more of a part-time role. The counterargument, of course, is that it’s difficult for the Giants to bet on the health of Belt’s knee, which has given him trouble throughout his career, for the remainder of the season.
The best possible scenario for the Giants is that within the next 10 days, the club gains more clarity on when Belt can return, Dickerson builds off a solid night at the plate on Tuesday and either Duggar or Tauchman find a rhythm at the plate.
It’s unlikely all of that happens in such a short span of time, but the Giants get one or two positive developments in the outfield, it could reduce the team’s desire to bring in help from the outside.
