4 Giants players who won’t be on the roster by June and who should replace them

The San Francisco Giants were one of the teams that seemed to be at the forefront of the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes, but they lost him to their rival Dodgers. They pivoted and brought in a slew of new players such as Matt Chapman, Jorge Soler, Jung Hoo Lee, Blake Snell and Robbie Ray.

After fans were frustrated with the lack of offseason spending in the past couple of years, they went out and spent that money. There was a lot of optimism surrounding the team's ability to make a Wild Card push going into the season. However, that was quickly squashed and in mid-May they now sit at 19-25, already 10 games out of first place.

There are some factors that go into it, including the big free agent bats underwhelming, but now the team is dealing with injuries at an alarming rate. They have seven hitters on the injured list, including five players who had been regulars at their position.

Because of this, they've had to call young players up and piece things together with band-aids. But when they do get healthy, or players start to breakout more, decisions will need to be made.

SS Nick Ahmed will be replaced by SS Marco Luciano

Nick Ahmed was brought in as Marco Luciano insurance, essentially. All offseason, the front office said that the young shortstop would get every opportunity to win the starting shortstop role during Spring Training. However, he underwhelmed and Ahmed hit well enough to win the starting position while the team sent Luciano to Triple-A to get regular at-bats.

Luciano hasn't exactly set the minor leagues on fire, especially considering he only has one home run in 34 games. With that being said, he seems to have improved his approach, as he's striking out a little less and walking more, with a 44/26 K/BB ratio.

Ahmed, on the other hand, has been pretty dreadful at the plate. He has provided no power, with just four doubles and a triple, as well as a .564 OPS in 36 games before being injured.

The Giants wanted Ahmed to be the stop gap for Luciano, and it seems like that time has come. The team is already in a pretty deep hole and will have to look at the third wild card at this point. Ahmed's 66 OPS+ won't cut it at shortstop and this team needs a jolt of energy. The best thing for Luciano at this moment is to get big league at-bats and to see once and for all what he is made of.

OF Austin Slater is replaced by OF Heliot Ramos

Heliot Ramos was a first-round pick way back in 2017 and since his debut in 2022 has bounced up and down between the big leagues and Triple-A without getting regular playing time. This is partially due to a crowded Giants outfield because of their platoon splits, and also due to Ramos not performing when he gets the call.

It seems as if 2024 is finally the year where he puts it all together at 24-years-old. Before he was promoted again, Ramos had posted a .953 OPS with eight homers and 21 RBIs in 30 Triple-A games. In the seven games he's played in San Francisco, he's hitting .320 so far as a replacement for all of the injuries.

While he was brought up as an injury replacement, there is little more left for him to do to prove he belongs on this team. Another young player who brings a ton of energy to the team, he needs to get regular at-bats.

All that being said, Austin Slater is the one I foresee him replacing. Coming into the year, Slater already wasn't a regular player and was part of the team to hit lefties for the most part. That seems to be coming to an end, as in 25 games this season, Slater is homer-less with a .434 OPS and 33 OPS+. At this point, that isn't a player who can stay on the roster, especially when there is a younger player who is hitting well that could be a big part of the future.

RHP Keaton Winn is replaced by LHP Robbie Ray (if healthy)

This one is a little more difficult. Because the team is so injured, it's hard to find someone on the active roster who would be on the team without the injuries as they stand. And who knows, Robbie Ray may not even be healthy until July. There haven't been many updates on his rehab, so this one is more speculation for June, but I do think this happens at some point.

Keaton Winn made the rotation out of camp largely because of injuries to Ray and Alex Cobb. He started off the season pitching well, but currently holds a 6.17 ERA and 1.299 WHIP.

At the back end of the rotation, he becomes the easy pitcher to replace when the former Cy Young winner returns from Tommy John rehab. The Giants rotation is going to be crowded, especially when Cobb comes back, so one thing to watch will be if they move to a six man or not.

UTIL Tyler Fitzgerald is replaced by OF Luis Matos

Tyler Fitzgerald has largely been on the team as a defensive replacement and pinch runner and has performed pretty well at the plate, but it seems as if he is one of the more expendable players on the roster. While they are both with the team right now because of the injuries, Luis Matos is the one who has been playing. When guys like Conforto and Soler come back, Fitzgerald seems like the one on the outs.

He's played in 22 games and has a .751 OPS and 118 OPS+, but again, he's not playing enough to keep his job safe and the Giants really like Matos.

It's an extremely small sample size, but in four big league games Matos already has a home run and five RBI. He wasn't playing particularly well in Triple-A with a .663 OPS, but he. like Ramos, just needs regular at-bats at the big-league level. Another young player who can contribute power and swipe some bases for a team that desperately needs both.

The Giants are a really weird team right now. Dealing with a ton of injuries and new players, it will be interesting to see who they feel they can win without going forward. It's hard to get a read, but they're going to have to make a lot of decisions in the near future.