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Giants recall former Rangers, Pirates infielder, option Schmitt

Originally posted on FanNation Giants Baseball Insider
By Marc Delucchi | Last updated 8/6/23

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.

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.

This article first appeared on FanNation Giants Baseball Insider and was syndicated with permission.

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