SF Giants: Ramos, Hjelle rejoin roster but may not be here to stay
Heliot Ramos was called up to give Giants another RH bat vs. Dodgers' LHP; Hjelle followed opener again.
SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants recalled a pair of prospects — outfielder Heliot Ramos and right-hander Sean Hjelle — before Saturday’s game against the Dodgers. But manager Gabe Kapler made clear their presence was more practical than about prospecting for future possibilities, despite the club’s standing, six games below .500 and out of the playoff race.
Hjelle, 25, was activated to eat innings in the rotation spot vacated by the injured Alex Wood (shoulder impingement), but rather than give him a start after he tossed five strong innings of relief in his last major-league appearance, the Giants had him reprise his role behind opener John Brebbia.
Ramos, 23, batted ninth and played right field to give the Giants another right-handed hitter against the pair of left-handed starter the Dodgers plan to roll out the next two days, but it appears his stay in the majors will be just as brief as his other looks, despite the expanded rosters.
“I think we were hoping – I know Heliot was hoping – for a year that put him in the big leagues potentially regularly from the middle of the summer on,” Kapler said. “He just hasn’t performed enough at the minor league level to warrant that.”
The cup of coffee will be Ramos’ third with the Giants this season, but none of his stints have lasted more than a week, and this one is expected to be equally brief. The Giants value promoting prospects based on performance, and Ramos hasn’t performed this season.
In 399 at-bats with Triple-A Sacramento, Ramos is batting .223 with nine home runs, an OPS of .636.
Kapler was blunt in his assessment of Ramos’ season — he entered the year as the No. 4 prospect in San Francisco’s system, according to Baseball America, but dropped to No. 12 in its midseason update — but said he was having the same conversations with the young outfielder.
“Had he performed at a very good level in Sacramento relative to the league, he would have already gotten more opportunities here,” Kapler said. “Frankly, directly, the year hasn’t been great for him.”
In fact, Kapler said, if Austin Slater was on the roster, Ramos wouldn’t be. (The Giants are hopeful about activating Slater (hand) from the injured list sometime during their series in Colorado.)
How can Ramos work his way into a larger role next season? September baseball and spring training are difficult environments to evaluate players, Kapler said. Winter ball hasn’t been ruled out.
“A great time to evaluate a player is in several games against a team like the Dodgers because you know you’re going to be facing the best of the best,” Kapler said. “We should discuss every angle to come into ‘23 as the best version of himself.”
As for Hjelle, who flashed new velocity and better command last week against the Brewers but was sent back to Triple-A afterward, Kapler said the Giants see value in using the opener to allow him to skip the tough top of the Dodgers order.
But they also must balance that possible competitive edge against developing Hjelle, who could fit into their rotation next season.
“I definitely think there’s a learning experience associated with building up regularly to a start, trying to face a great lineup like the Dodgers several times,” Kapler said. “And there’s value in being able to come in after an opener like we’re rolling out there today with Brebbia because we may see a lot of that with a guy like Hjelle.”
Hjelle could also follow the trajectory of Jakob Junis, who pitched well in two long relief appearances before claiming a spot in the rotation.
“He may pitch like he pitched the last time out and do that several times and have enough confidence where that’s the right role for him, starting every fifth day,” Kapler said. “Kind of thinking about it like Junis, there was a period of time where he just had to start and take him as far as he can go in the game. He was that productive and effective. That could happen with Sean as well.”