SAN FRANCISCO — Amid a stretch of a lot of bad days and not very many good ones, Wednesday was a highlight for a couple newcomers to the Giants’ clubhouse.
J.D. Davis, the Giants’ marquee acquisition at the trade deadline, and Bryce Johnson, one of the organization’s most athletic prospects, walked through the double doors within minutes of each other Wednesday afternoon.
Awaiting Davis at his new locker — besides a No. 7 jersey — was Logan Webb, a fellow Sacramento area native and an offseason training partner since both were minor leaguers. Webb chatted with Davis for a few minutes before turning his attention to Johnson, who showed up at a neighboring locker a few minutes later and was greeted with a big hug from Webb and handful of others who monitored his rise through the Giants’ farm system since being drafted in 2017.
It was a good day for Davis because he got to come home, or about as close to Elk Grove as major league baseball gets. A long way from Johnson’s native Houston, it was one to remember for him, too: at 26, he was here to make his major-league debut.
Consider Davis and Johnson the Giants’ biggest midseason reinforcements after Tuesday’s trade deadline came and passed without doing much buying or selling.
Davis will mostly play first and third, where he slotted in Wednesday, and gives the Giants a right-handed power bat to replace Darin Ruf. Johnson, a speedy switch-hitter, brings a much-needed infusion of athleticism to the outfield, where he started in center on Wednesday. Both figure to play closer to everyday than platoon roles.
Davis’ mom and dad made it from Sacramento for his Giants debut (Johnson’s folks won’t arrive until Thursday), but Davis needed to outfit them with the correct gear. Davis’ dad grew up in Southern California as a Dodgers fan.
“It was always fun poking back and forth because every single kid that I (knew) was a Giants fan and a 49ers fan,” said Davis, who built his own allegiances growing up by playing video games (he named the Red Sox and Marlins as his childhood teams). “I’m gonna give him a (Giants) jersey. When we came up here, we’d always tease Giants fans, and they’d say it’s gonna come full circle, your son’s gonna wear a Giants jersey. My dad was like, ‘no way.’ Sure enough, here we are. He’s gonna wear the Giants jersey.”
Third baseman Evan Longoria wasn’t far behind Webb in greeting Johnson, whom he crossed paths with during rehab assignments at Triple-A Sacramento.
“I was just thinking about you,” Longoria told him. “I was thinking, ‘When is this guy gonna get an opportunity?’”
Johnson was batting .283 with five home runs at Triple-A, but leave it to him to sum up his biggest asset: “The name of the game for me is speed,” he said. Speed and defense — two things the Giants don’t have much of.
Manager Gabe Kapler described Johnson, a former high school wide receiver who admired Ken Griffey Jr. growing up, as a “plus center fielder,” allowing him to shift Austin Slater and Mike Yastrzemski to the corners.
“It’s different,” said Kapler, the leader of the National League’s oldest and slowest group of position players. “It’s no secret that we’ve had our struggles defensively and some of those struggles have been in the outfield.”
By not moving Carlos Rodón and other veterans, the Giants made it clear about how the view the remainder of this season, despite falling two games under .500 with their latest loss to the Dodgers hours after Tuesday’s deadline.
Is it enough, though, to simply keep this group together, when one division rival is a super team, and another is nearing that territory after landing the deadline’s biggest prize in Juan Soto?
“The Padres have traded pretty much all of their prospects the last couple years, so that’s the way they kind of do it,” Webb said. “I’m sad to see (Darin Ruf) and Curt (Casali) go, but I’m also excited to have J.D. here. I’ve known him for a long time now, and I think he’s going to fit in great with our team.”
The downside for Davis is going from the Mets, who are attempting to fend off Atlanta in the NL East, to the Giants, who are well out of contention for the NL West and have work to do to catch up in the wild card race.
“I’ve looked at the games back,” Davis said. “I’m fortunate to be on this side, this close to home. I sure as hell want to be a winner. At the same time, take it one day at a time. You can’t knock down an 18-game lead in one week or two weeks.”
Notable
- In two corresponding moves, the Giants optioned left-hander Sam Long and utility infielder Jason Vosler to Triple-A Sacramento. The plan for Long, Kapler said, is to stretch him back out as starter. With Matthew Boyd shipped off to Seattle, Long could potentially fill in some starts down the stretch.
Source: www.mercurynews.com