Conor

Gillaspie

Gillaspie had a shot to hold down third base with Pablo Sandoval on the shelf, but he responded by batting just .150/.150/.200 over 20 at-bats and getting bypassed by journeyman Joaquin Arias. He’ll return to a .362 and .939 OPS at Fresno.

Gillaspie batted just .194/.211/.333 in 18 games this spring in the Cactus League. The 24-year-old will serve as organizational infield depth this year for San Fran.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Tim McAdams. Sandoval is tentatively expected to miss four to six weeks. The Giants promoted Conor Gillaspie to replace him in the short-term.

Gillaspie is starting at third base and batting second on Thursday afternoon against the Marlins, and should see regular time at the hot corner over the next several weeks while Pablo Sandoval recovers from a broken hamate bone. The 24-year-old was hitting .362 with a .939 OPS and three home runs in 23 games for Fresno and may carry some value in NL-only fantasy leagues.

“The plan is to play him but occasionally give him a day off. It could be (Friday),” said Bochy. “We’ll need some offense here, but he’ll get better. This is a young kid and a gifted shortstop. We’ll all have our ups and down and get shaken a little bit, but we think a lot of him.” Crawford committed two errors in Thursday’s loss to the Marlins and struck out in both of his at-bats, lowering his batting average to .208 for the season. His job doesn’t appear in jeopardy, but Joaquin Arias could begin to steal at-bats against left-handed pitchers. Of course, Arias may also share playing time with Conor Gillaspie at third base while Pablo Sandoval (fractured hamate bone) is sidelined.

The third baseman is now hitting .291 this season, and he was rewarded by batting cleanup in Wednesday’s game. Gillaspie was mainly a reserve with the Giants, but he seems to have found a home starting at third base with the White Sox. Still, until he shows he can be a useful player over the course of a full season, we’re inclined to pass on him outside of AL-only leagues.

Jeff Keppinger will move from second base to third base and Tyler Greene will fill in at second. Gillaspie should be full recovered after a day or two of rest.

That means we’re likely to see Jeff Keppinger on the bench more. It makes sense given that Gillaspie is batting .291/.351/.425 with three homers and Keppinger is sporting a hideous .223/.229/.263 mark with one longball. Gillaspie’s production is likely to fade, but he’s worth playing in deeper leagues while he’s hitting.

Gillaspie hadn’t played since Friday due to an upper respiratory infection. However, it sounds like he is now past the issue. The 25-year-old is batting .275/.337/.440 with three home runs, seven RBI and a .776 OPS in 33 games this season.

Gillaspie singled up the middle in the second inning, singled to right field in the fourth and then roped a walkoff RBI single to left field in the bottom of the ninth inning to score Dewayne Wise from second base. Gillaspie has a solid .298/.362/.444 batting line with three homers and nine RBI in 42 games this season.