The shortstop of the future is probably not the shortstop of the present.
Marco Luciano had about as tough of a game as he could have had on Wednesday, in the San Francisco Giants loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. No, the ninth-inning errors that have plagued him in recent games were nowhere to be found, but only because he wasn’t in the game in the ninth inning.
Luciano officially hit 0-1, though I’d contest that he should have been awarded a hit when he reached safely in the first inning on what was scored as an error. And in the top of the third inning, he spent too long shuffling on a routine ground ball, ultimately throwing to first too late to retire the runner (which, ironically, was scored as a hit when I think it should have been an error).
When the bottom of the third came around, Luciano was lifted for pinch-hitter Brett Wisely. I thought it was a quick-trigger case of hard coaching from Bob Melvin, but cameras caught Luciano talking with trainer Dave Groeschner, and the Giants later revealed that he had a tight hamstring.
Unlike with most injuries, there wasn’t anything that came out about Luciano post-game. With the Giants having Thursday off, it very well could be that he’ll be good to go by the time the team welcomes the New York Yankees into town on Friday.
But it also could be that Luciano has to visit the Injured List — hamstrings aren’t exactly known for healing up overnight. And if that happens, then Nick Ahmed will almost surely be back before Luciano is healthy. With Wisely playing as well as he is — and a stint in Sacramento seeming to reset the team’s trust in Tyler Fitzgerald — Luciano’s return to San Francisco could be murky. And murkier still based on his struggles with defense, and the show that Casey Schmitt has been putting on in AAA.
It’s worth noting that the Giants still view Luciano as a competent shortstop prospect. The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly, as connected as any Giants writer, wrote on Wednesday that, “The Giants still believe that Luciano has all the physical tools to be a serviceable shortstop.”
Hey, so do I. But in spite of all that, it might be a while before we see Luciano back in San Francisco.
What time do the Giants play today?
They don’t. Please hang up and try again tomorrow.