There are only six games left in a truly miserable San Francisco Giants season, but there’s finally some good news: those six games just got a lot more interesting. On Monday afternoon, before kicking off their penultimate series of the season, the Giants announced that two thrilling youngsters are headed to the team: infielder Marcelo Mayer and outfielder Bo Davidson.
Both players are also jumping straight into the lineup. Mayer, who was activated off of the 10-Day Injured List, will serve as the designated
hitter, while Davidson, who had his contract purchased from AAA Sacramento, will be in right field.
For Mayer, it will be his organizational debut. The 23-year old lefty, who was the fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft, joined the Giants at this year’s trade deadline, in exchange for lefty reliever Erik Miller and outfield prospect Carlos Gutierrez. Widely considered a top-20 prospect in all of baseball a year ago, Mayer struggled during two stints in the Majors with the Boston Red Sox, hitting .223/.278/.346 (71 wRC+) in 70 games. But he has all the potential in the world, was a successful hitter at every level of the Minor Leagues, is still extremely young, and is a very talented defensive player.
Mayer was on the Injured List when the Giants acquired him, and shortly after began a rehab assignment. Unfortunately he had a setback fairly quickly, and was shut down. He now returns to the Giants without having made a second rehab appearance, and hasn’t played in a game since August 18. Hopefully we get to see him play some second base before the season ends, as he’ll likely be playing there a lot next season.
As for Davidson, he gets to cap a brilliant year with an MLB debut. The 24-year old lefty slugger has been one of the best stories in the Giants organization in recent history, as he rose from an undrafted free agent out of a junior college, to one of the top prospects in the system (and on top 100 lists), and now to a Major Leaguer.
Davidson, who plays quality defense, has good speed, and displays strong contact skills, but whose real calling card is his power, split the season between AA Richmond and AAA Sacramento, and dominated each level. He was an All-Star in the AA Eastern League, where he posted an .861 OPS and a 122 wRC+, and then took it to a whole new level in the AAA Pacific Coast League, where he finished the year with a .923 OPS and a 138 wRC+. Across the two levels, Davidson hit an organization-leading 29 home runs in 125 games.
While players like Victor Bericoto, Turner Hill, Drew Gilbert, and Jonah Cox have put forth impressive auditions this year, it’s very possible that the Giants traded Heliot Ramos in large part because they were confident that Davidson could be an everyday player next year.
Since Davidson was going to need to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft in the offseason, it made sense for the Giants to roster him and give him a little taste of the Majors before 2027.
For as exciting as the additions of Mayer and Davidson are, they come with a cost: they are replacing first baseman Bryce Eldridge and outfielder Jung Hoo Lee, whose seasons are presumably over. Eldridge is being placed on the 7-Day Concussion List, retroactive to September 18, though Tony Vitello said it’s unlikely that he’ll play again this year. Lee is headed to the 10-Day Injured List with a groin contusion, which officially ends his season.
With Lee’s injury, only Christian Koss and Landen Roupp remain from the Opening Day roster. Pretty wild!
To make space on the 40-man roster for Davidson, the Giants designated reliever Philip Abner for assignment.
