On Wednesday August 6, 2025, San Francisco Giants right fielder Jerar Encarnacion exited the Giants’ game against the Pittsburgh Pirates with a hamstring injury.
Encarnación appeared to injure his hamstring on this play pic.twitter.com/mp20mOecto
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 6, 2025
It’s really unfortunate timing for Encarnacion, who just returned from the injured list on Monday August 4, 2025 and hit home runs on back-to-back days August 5 and 6.
Yesterday, Jerar Encarnacion hit a home run 415 feet.
He just hit another one 442 feet. 😱 pic.twitter.com/iC4sLiwvv7
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) August 6, 2025
To make matters worse, Giants manager Bob Melvin said that Encarnacion’s injury “doesn’t look good”. The Giants will know more about his injury after his MRI on August 7, 2025, but Encarnacion is almost certainly going to end up back on the injured list.
"It doesn't look good."
Bob Melvin shares an update on Jerar Encarnación's hamstring injury pic.twitter.com/ksJQEGETAj
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 6, 2025
If he does, the Giants will have only one right fielder on the roster: Grant McCray. They traded away longtime starting right fielder Mike Yastrzemski to the Kansas City Royals at the trade deadline July 31, 2025.
So the Giants need to call up a fourth outfielder to man right field alongside McCray, who has not become a proven starter in his short time in the MLB yet.
In the midst of a key stretch that will determine whether the Giants are in the 2025 playoff picture or not, this callup could be season-altering.
The Giants Will Likely Summon A Returning Player
The most obvious RF decision would just be for the Giants to recall Luis Matos.
Many fans figured the Giants were finally giving Matos an extended chance to prove himself and realize his potential when they dealt away Yastrezemski. Encarnacion and McCray’s returns complicated things, but they could just bring back Matos a few days after they sent him to AAA.
Daniel Johnson has also played the outfield for the Giants at different points this season. But as a player, he profiles similarly to McCray. The Giants probably want a bigger bat and not another speed-and-defense guy on the roster.
Marco Luciano would be the most intriguing returner. The Giants have spent the season converting him to the outfield after his massive struggles defensively at shortstop early in his MLB career.
He has crushed 20 home runs for AAA Sacramento this season, which would be tied for the most on San Francisco’s MLB roster, so the Giants could summon him in hope that he can provide a similar spark to Jerar Encarnacion.
More than anyone, Giants fans will want to see Drew Gilbert, who came over from the New York Mets in the Tyler Rogers trade. He’s gotten off to a hot start in his first three games with AAA Sacramento including delivering a walk-off hit.
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