Drew Gilbert's first home run gives SF Giants a reason to keep him in the lineup

Tampa Bay Rays v San Francisco Giants | Lachlan Cunningham/GettyImages

The SF Giants were finally rewarded by Drew Gilbert for their decision to trade for the 24-year-old outfielder and promote him to the major leagues almost immediately.

After going an abysmal 1-for-18 in his first seven career games, slashing .056/.056/.056, Gilbert cranked out a pair of hits, including his first major league home run during Sunday’s win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

SF Giants should play Gilbert more after first MLB home run

The Giants showed faith in the former Houston first-round draft pick, giving him an extended look in the majors at right field despite his slow start at the plate. On Sunday, they got the first idea of what a productive game from Gilbert could look like.

Gilbert laced a single, drove in two runs and belted his first major league home run. In one game, he raised his OPS from .111 to .409.

The Giants, who acquired Gilbert from the New York Mets in exchange for relief pitcher Tyler Rogers, don’t seem to have a better option in right field at the time being. Grant McCray has been even less productive in nine games with the team. Gilbert’s numbers so far aren’t great (-0.2 bWAR, 15 OPS+), but they are better than McCray’s (-0.4 bWAR, -16 OPS+). And Gilbert probably has more potential. He was once a first-round draft pick and is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Giants’ No. 8 overall prospect. McCray, a former third-round pick, is not ranked by Pipeline.

San Francisco already appears to be punting on the rest of the season, with the playoffs falling further and further out of reach. It would be best for the team long term to let Gilbert ride out his struggles and play every day for the rest of the season in right field.

The worst-case scenario would be that Gilbert struggles, and the Giants know they need to acquire a new right fielder for 2026. In the best case scenario, Gilbert succeeds, and suddenly, the Giants have an exciting young outfielder going into 2026 that they can feel good about.

Gilbert, a left-handed hitter, might eventually find himself as a platoon bat, starting against right-handed pitching and sitting against southpaws. However, the Giants should not pigeonhole him into that role just yet. It’s best to let him get 30 games under his belt and see what he can do.