How Giants view Luciano’s defensive outlook

This story was excerpted from Maria Guardado’s Giants Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Marco Luciano came into the season with a chance to cement himself as the Giants’ shortstop of the future, but he isn’t expected to see much time on the field down the stretch.

With Tyler Fitzgerald in the midst of a breakout campaign at short and Brett Wisely and Casey Schmitt splitting time at second base, Luciano is expected to draw most of his starts at designated hitter and help replace Jorge Soler, who was dealt to the Braves along with Luke Jackson last week.

“Obviously, this is really about getting him at-bats at the DH spot,” president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said. “I don’t think we’re putting in ink that he’s a career DH now. Obviously, he’s young. We talked about his defensive progress. So there may be spots where he moves around the infield, but this is the role for him right now.”

Luciano, the Giants’ No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline, got a brief look at shortstop when Nick Ahmed landed on the injured list with a left wrist sprain in May, but the 22-year-old rookie committed five errors in his first nine games at the position, prompting the club to send him back down to Triple-A Sacramento.

Luciano began getting some exposure at second base when he returned to the Minors, but he ended up earning another shot with the Giants on the strength of his bat, as he hit .275 with a .921 OPS and six home runs over 21 games with the River Cats in July. Luciano tallied 18 walks and 20 strikeouts over that stretch, highlighting the improved plate discipline that gave the Giants the confidence to move on from Soler, who was in the first year of a three-year, $42 million deal he signed in February.

“I’m very happy that I’m here and very happy that they’re giving me an opportunity,” Luciano said in Spanish. “I’m ready for whatever the team needs.”

It remains to be seen where Luciano’s long-term defensive home could be if he ends up moving off shortstop in the future. The Giants could try to get him more comfortable at second, particularly following Thairo Estrada’s extended struggles this year, though they might also have an opening at third base if Matt Chapman declines his $17 million player option for 2025 and becomes a free agent this offseason. The outfield could be another option, but the Giants already have Jung Hoo Lee, Heliot Ramos and Luis Matos penciled in there for next year.

For now, the Giants believe the most straightforward solution is to simply have Luciano focus on hitting and try to build more confidence against big league pitching.

Luciano’s recent hot stretch hasn’t carried over to the Majors thus far -- he's only 3-for-17 (.177) with eight strikeouts over his last five games and wasn't in the starting lineup against the Nationals on Tuesday or Wednesday -- but the Giants have said they're committed to riding the growing pains and giving him a chance to stick for the remainder of the year.

“This season for us really has been about some breakthroughs by young players,” Zaidi said. “Oftentimes, those breakthroughs don’t happen until you give a guy a real opportunity.

“We talked a little bit about how [Luciano] can get put under a microscope because he’s been such a highly thought of prospect from the time he signed at 16. Sometimes you lose the zoom-out big picture of how much progress he’s made. We’ve really seen that over the last month.”