SAN FRANCISCO–When Ryder Jones was promoted from AAA Sacramento to San Francisco on June 24, he couldn’t have endured a worse start to his Major League career.
After going hitless in his first 17 at-bats at the Major League level, the second longest streak in Giants’ history, Jones was hit by a pitch in Pittsburgh that forced him to the disabled list. Even though he had just one career hit to his name at the time of his injury, Jones said he felt he was beginning to feel comfortable against big league pitching, which made the timing of the injury sting.
“First time you’re up here, you’re kind of in awe of everything and trying to settle in and I actually felt like I was finally starting to settle in once we got to Pittsburgh and try to relax a little bit and unfortunately got hurt,” Jones said.
On Wednesday evening, the Giants promoted Jones from AAA Sacramento for the second time this season, with the goal of giving him more consistent opportunities at third base. After a 6-1 defeat against the A’s on Wednesday, San Francisco designated veteran infielder Conor Gillaspie for assignment, and optioned Jae-gyun Hwang to Sacramento to make room for Jones and outfielder Jarrett Parker.
With Eduardo Nunez, the Giants’ starting third baseman for the majority of the 2018 season, now aiding the Boston Red Sox playoff push, San Francisco doesn’t have many options at third base, and now has the chance to give Jones an extensive look.
“He’s (Jones) swinging the bat better, his timing, he’s driving the ball,” Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy said. “And of course, with where we’re at. We traded Nunez, Hwang was struggling, we need some help at third base so this is a perfect time for him.”
After being optioned from San Francisco to Sacramento in mid-July, Jones proceeded to make himself the toughest out in the River Cats’ lineup, recording a .389 average over 10 games with the Giants’ AAA-affiliate. Though Jones struggled against Major League pitching, he didn’t carry his struggles back to the minors, where he said he made a few critical adjustments that helped him regain his confidence.
“I feel really good,” Jones said. “A couple of minor adjustments, nothing too big, maybe a little bit quieter with the hands and trying to see the ball for a longer period of time. But you know, I didn’t feel terrible when I was up here. I know obviously the numbers didn’t reflect it but I felt like I hit some balls hard. I had a tough go finding a hole for a little bit but I didn’t feel terrible when I was up here, I knew that once I got sent back down that I would just stick to what I was doing and hopefully it would work out and it worked out for me.”
Though Jones is the only true third baseman on the Giants’ roster, utilityman Kelby Tomlinson can also man the hot corner, and San Francisco has 30-year-old Pablo Sandoval waiting in the wings in Sacramento.
In the short-term, Jones will receive the majority of his opportunities at third base, but in order to keep him in the lineup, Bochy said he’s open to using Jones in the outfield in the coming weeks.
“I’m going to try to keep his at-bats consistent,” Bochy said. “Especially in the early go here, he could play in the outfield, he’s going to get a chance here on a consistent basis to show what he can do.”