Giants retire Matos and place Yastrzemski on IL in roster change originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
STREET. LOUIS — Almost a year after making his MLB debut at Busch Stadium, Luis Matos will have another chance to remain on the Major League roster.
The outfielder was called up Saturday for a weekend series with the St. Louis Cardinals after the Giants put Mike Yastrzemski on injured list with a left oblique strain. The Giants also recalled third baseman David Villar and placed right-hander Keaton Winn on the disabled list with right elbow inflammation.
Yastrzemski was eliminated in the fourth inning of the Thursday’s game at Rickwood Field after feeling tightness, and although I was sure I caught the injury in time to avoid a six-week absence, any kind of oblique tightness usually means at least a few days without activity. The elbow-related trip to IL is the second of the year for Winn, who has allowed at least five runs in four of his last five starts.
This will be the third stint in the majors this season for Matos, who was NL Player of the Week after driving in 11 runs in consecutive games in mid-May. Overall, however, Matos struggled with pitch selection and was hitting just .224 when the Giants optioned him back to Triple-A earlier this month. Over 13 games with the Sacramento River Cats, Matos hit .321 with a 1.075 OPS and five home runs.
He Gigantes returned Matos partly because they didn’t feel it would do him any good to sit on the bench while he was in the middle of a losing streak. They want him in the lineup when he’s at the major league level, and he hopes to get another chance to show that he’s ready for a full-time role. Yastrzemski and Austin Slater have been splitting time in right, but left fielder Michael Conforto is having trouble. There should be opportunities for Matos to try and get going and join Heliot Ramos in the everyday lineup.
