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Wild Card Series – Detroit Tigers v Cleveland Guardians – Game Two | Diamond Images\/GettyImages<\/p>\n
The Detroit Tigers signed Kyle Finnegan to a two-year deal. In a corresponding move, Justyn-Henry Malloy was designated for assignment. Should the SF Giants take a flyer on the platoon bat?<\/p>\n
Should the SF Giants take a flyer on a Detroit Tigers platoon bat?<\/p>\n
The Giants struggled badly against left-handed pitching in 2025. By the end of the year, anytime a southpaw pitcher was on the mound, Giants fans knew that it would be a long night.<\/p>\n
Giants hitters put up a .214\/.279\/.351 line in those matchups. Their 78 wRC+ was tied with the Washington Nationals for the third-worst mark in baseball.<\/p>\n
With a minimum of 70 plate appearances, Heliot Ramos (106 wRC+) was the only Giants hitter to put up a wRC+ over 100 against lefties last season.<\/p>\n
Matt Chapman (93 wRC+) and Wilmer Flores (88 wRC+) had generally put up solid numbers against lefties throughout their respective careers, but both struggled in 2025. Of course, Flores is no longer with the club.<\/p>\n
I think the Giants’ front office and coaching staff hope for improvement from players currently on the roster. However, hope is not a great strategy to address a glaring weakness.<\/p>\n
If the Giants are going to compete for a playoff spot next year, they simply cannot be so vulnerable against left-handed pitching. That will be exploited by opposing teams.<\/p>\n
Justyn-Henry Malloy has excellent career numbers against left-handed pitching, so there is a fit for his bat on a team like San Francisco. In those matchups, he has slashed .250\/.397\/.423 (138 wRC+) with a 17.6 percent walk rate, 27.5 percent strikeout rate, and .173 ISO.<\/p>\n
The strikeout rate is high, but the swing decisions are elite. Malloy has an understanding of the strike zone and does not chase out of the zone all that often.<\/p>\n
As good as Malloy is against left-handed pitching, he has struggled badly in his career against right-handed pitching (61 wRC+), so it is not a well-rounded fit. The defensive fit is also an imperfect one, as he has graded out as a below-average glove in the outfield. He does have some experience at first base.<\/p>\n
There could be a pathway to playing time at first base, DH, and some time in the outfield. Adding Malloy would be taking a flyer on his ceiling against left-handed pitching while also recognizing that he has flaws across the rest of his profile. For the Giants, it could be a chance at improving one of the many spots in the lineup against left-handed pitching.<\/p>\n
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Wild Card Series – Detroit Tigers v Cleveland Guardians – Game Two | Diamond Images\/GettyImages The Detroit Tigers signed Kyle Finnegan to a two-year deal. In a… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133839,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-133838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n