Luis

Matos

It’s a tad surprising Matos went unclaimed on waivers given his former top prospect status. The 24-year-old outfielder went 4-for-20 during a nine-game stint with the Brewers before being designated for assignment last week.

Matos had hit just .200/.238/.200 in 21 plate appearances as the short end of a platoon. He’s talented enough to keep getting chances, but Matos has a career .230/.279/.363 line in 614 career plate appearances. It wouldn’t be surprising if he slipped through waivers.

The Brewers are going righty-heavy Tuesday, which makes sense because they’re facing one of the toughest lefties in baseball in Garrett Crochet. That means that not only Yelich will sit, but Brice Turang will also get his first day of rest of the season as well. Luis Matos will be the designated hitter, and David Hamilton gets the start at second base.

Brandon Lockridge pinch-ran for him after a fourth-inning single. A Frelick IL stint might get Luis Matos a look; he’s thus far been on the bench in four straight games since being acquired from the Giants.

The 24-year-old Matos, who is out of options and was DFA’d last week, has slashed .231/.281/.369 in 593 MLB plate appearances. The Brewers figure to have him replace Blace Perkins, who opened up in the minors before being recalled as Andrew Vaughn’s replacement, and can give him some starts in left field against left-handers.

It’s hard to say what kind of potential Matos has at this point, but he’s still just 24 and he offers some power without striking out much at all. The talent-starved Nationals are an obvious fit for him. The Cardinals also might be interested after placing Lars Nootbaar on the 60-day IL.

Slusser adds that Matos will not make San Francisco’s season-opening roster and needs to pass through waivers since he is out of minor-league options. It’ll be Jared Oliva securing a spot on the Giants’ season-opening roster in his place. It’s possible he’ll go unclaimed on waivers and remain with the organization as extra depth.

Gilbert’s departure makes it a near-lock that Jerar Encarnacion along with either Luis Matos or Jared Oliva will break camp in the big leagues.

The 21-year-old has gone 6-for-25 (.240) this spring with one home run, six runs scored, five RBI, and a 10/5 K/BB ratio. He also hit just .107/.297/.179 in 37 plate appearances with the Giants last season and had a strikeout rate of 31 percent in 66 games at Triple-A last season, so there is certainly an argument that he could use a bit more time in the minor leagues. If Eldridge does start the season in Triple-A, the Giants could use the DH spot for more at-bats for Casey Schmitt and Luis Matos and could perhaps carry Victor Bericoto on the Opening Day roster after he has impressed this spring.

Matos is 9-for-20 as he works to secure a bench spot in San Francisco. If he makes the team, the 24-year-old should be in line for some starts against lefties. However, it might be best for his career for him to land on waivers (he’s out of options) and join a rebuilding team that would have a bigger role for him.