ST. LOUIS -- Nearly a year after he made his MLB debut at Busch Stadium, Luis Matos will get another shot to stick on the big league roster.
The outfielder was called up Saturday for a weekend series with the St. Louis Cardinals after the Giants put Mike Yastrzemski on the IL with a left oblique strain. The Giants also recalled third baseman David Villar and put right-hander Keaton Winn on the IL with right elbow inflammation.
Yastrzemski was removed in the fourth inning of Thursday's game at Rickwood Field after feeling tightness, and while he was confident he caught the injury in time to prevent a six-week absence, any sort of strain to the oblique generally means at least a few days without activity. The elbow-related IL trip is the second of the year for Winn, who has allowed at least five runs in four of his past five starts.
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This will be the third stint in the big leagues this season for Matos, who was National League Player of the Week after driving in 11 runs in back-to-back games in mid-May. Overall, however, Matos struggled with pitch selection, and he was hitting just .224 when the Giants optioned him back to Triple-A earlier this month. Over 13 games back with the Sacramento River Cats, Matos hit .321 with a 1.075 OPS and five homers.
The Giants sent Matos back in part because they didn't feel it would do him any good to sit on the bench while in the middle of a slump. They want him in the lineup when he's at the big league level, and he figures to get another opportunity to show that he's ready for a full-time role. Yastrzemski and Austin Slater have been splitting time in right, but Michael Conforto, the left fielder, is struggling. There should be opportunities for Matos to try and get on a roll and join Heliot Ramos in the everyday lineup.
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