The Giants have activated outfielder Heliot Ramos from the injured list, according to Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle. Rubin and others reported yesterday that Ramos was likely going to be activated today. Per Rubin, infielder Buddy Kennedy has been designated for assignment to clear space for Ramos. That leaves the Giants with an open 40-man roster spot.
Ramos has been on the injured list since May 16th with a right quad strain and started a rehab assignment at Triple-A Sacramento 11 days ago. That’s gone very well, as Ramos hit .346/.452/.577 in 31 plate appearances there and now appears to be back at full health. Ramos’ return may also see the Giants reshuffle their outfield defense, as manager Tony Vitello told Justice de los Santos of Mercury News and others that Ramos could play right field going forward. That would see Casey Schmitt remain in left field for the time being and Jung Hoo Lee slide over to center. Ramos has exclusively played left field since the start of the 2025 season.
The proposed move would optimize the Giants’ offense in exchange for a less-than-perfect defensive alignment. Ramos broke out with a 120 wRC+ in 2024 and has followed that with near-average production in 2025-26. That includes a line of .267/.307/.424 with a 102 wRC+ in 176 plate appearances this year. Defensively, Ramos has been worth -9 Defensive Runs Saved and -11 Outs Above Average since the start of 2025. Statcast gives him below-average range but above-average arm strength, which theoretically make sense in right field.
Moving Ramos to right would push Lee into center field. As Giants fans remember, Lee struggled badly up the middle in 2025, earning -18 DRS and -5 OAA in just under 1,300 innings. He’s been better as a right fielder this year, but still below average. As with Ramos, Statcast credits Lee with an above-average throwing arm, although his poor range will once again limit what he can do as a center fielder.
Clearly, the Giants are comfortable with the loss of defensive value as long as Lee continues to hit. The 27-year-old’s 129 wRC+ is tops among the Giants’ qualified hitters. While Lee’s .343 average on balls in play will eventually come down, he’ll continue to make above-average contact, as his 9.6% strikeout rate is in the 98th percentile and better than all Giants hitters except Luis Arraez.
The same logic applies to Schmitt, who is second to Lee with a 127 wRC+ this year. Schmitt is far from a proven quantity as an outfielder, having played just 30 games in left field in the Majors. All of them have come this year following the promotion of Bryce Eldridge, which blocked Schmitt from regular playing time as an infielder and DH. The Giants remain bullish on Schmitt’s athleticism, and while he could always improve with more reps, he’s held his own in left field so far.
If the team was closer to contention, they might give more weight to optimizing their defense. Instead, at 34-48 and 9.5 games out of a Wild Card spot, the Giants can afford to showcase their best hitters regardless of defensive fit, especially if Lee and others end up on the trading block in a selling scenario.
The Giants signed Kennedy to a minor league deal in December, starting him at Triple-A before selecting his contract on June 1st. He now loses his 40-man roster spot having taken just eight plate appearances in seven games and failing to record a hit. In 189 big league plate appearances dating back to his 2022 debut with Arizona, Kennedy has hit .171/.265/.262 with just two home runs and a wRC+ of 50. He’s been outrighted in the past and could reject another such assignment if he clears waivers, which seems likely.
Photo courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez, Imagn Images
