The Giants had a pretty good gift for Jaylin Davis on his 27th birthday.
Davis was called up Thursday after completing a lengthy rehab assignment for left knee tendinitis, taking the roster spot vacated when Mike Tauchman went on the 10-day Injured List with a right knee sprain. Tauchman is expected to miss about two weeks.
Davis made the Opening Day roster in 2020 but was sent down after 12 at-bats and never returned. He spent the start of this season in Arizona rehabbing the knee injury, but he had been tearing it up since joining Triple-A Sacramento. In 14 rehab games, Davis posted a .418 on-base percentage, homered seven times and drove in 22 runs.
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"It is kind of exciting because I don't think he's been at the Major League level for us since he's been a Giant and felt the confidence level that he feels now," manager Gabe Kapler said. "I think that's the first and most important factor. He's swinging the bat really good at Triple-A -- specifically he's hitting for power, he's swinging and missing a little bit less."
The Giants acquired Davis at the deadline in 2019 but he has struggled to find consistent playing time, mostly because of strikeouts. He has 17 of them in 54 big league at-bats, but Kapler has long talked up his "engine," pointing out repeatedly the last two years that Davis has the tools and work ethic to be an everyday player.
"Circling back to that confidence factor, I think he has always lacked a little bit of that at the Major League level so far, and to know that he's coming up here with kind of a full head of steam is exciting for all of us," Kapler said.
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San Francisco Giants
Tauchman was injured Tuesday night when he went down on the warning track at Dodger Stadium while making an athletic catch to rob Walker Buehler of extra bases. An MRI on Wednesday showed a mild sprain and the Giants are optimistic he won't miss many games.
The Giants needed to bring Davis off the 60-day IL, but a 40-man roster spot opened earlier this week when right-hander Gregory Santos was suspended 80 games. They will soon need to make another 40-man move when Tyler Beede's time on the 60-day IL expires.