Mark

Canha

Canha’s season is obviously over. The 35-year-old will hit the shelf before hitting free agency, and he’ll likely see a market from teams looking for a left-handed bench bat to fill out the roster.

With the Giants facing a left-handed pitcher, they will turn to a more right-handed starting lineup. Wisely and Wade Jr. are in pretty strict strong-side platoon roles, but Conforto has started occasionally against left-handed pitching, so this may also be a simple day off for the 31-year-old. In their places, Mark Canha will start at first base, Casey Schmitt will start at second base, and Jerar Encarnacion will start in left field.

Canha gave the Giants the walk-off win with a sac fly off Shelby Miller. It was the third straight inning that San Francisco scored a run with a sacrifice fly, and it erased a 2-0 deficit. Productive outs are productive. This also came off the team that traded him to the Giants at the deadline, so that had to feel nice for him. Canha went 1-for-3 in the contest, and he’s hit .467/.529/.533 since being acquired by San Francisco.

The deal is now official. Canha provides San Francisco with some additional corner outfield depth following the club’s decision to ship Jorge Soler to the Braves. The 35-year-old veteran outfielder holds a pedestrian .687 OPS with seven homers and four steals across 377 plate appearances this season.

It’s not often we get trades leaking out after the deadline, but it appears the Giants and Tigers were able to get this one across the finish line. Canha represents a logical replacement for Jorge Soler in San Francisco’s platoon-heavy outfield mix.

Canha is a good bet to be dealt before Tuesday’s deadline and won’t get the start against Gavin Williams and the Guardians. Bligh Madris is the starting first baseman, and he’ll hit fifth in the lineup.

The 24-year-old has started four straight games and never batted lower than third. He went just 3-for-17 over that stretch but two of those hits were home runs and he drove in six runs in those four games. The rookie is now hitting .277 in 14 games in July and is starting to heat up a bit with the bat, so he can be on the radar in more fantasy formats. On Wednesday, Mark Canha will be the DH with Riley Greene playing left field.

Canha capped off a three-run rally in the fourth inning with a 384-foot (100.9-mph EV) two-run shot off of Chris Bassitt that extended the Tigers’ lead to 3-0. That was the 35-year-old’s first home run since May 11 — more than two calendar months ago. He struck to the three true outcomes in this one, also drawing a walk and striking out twice to finish the night 1-for-3. On the season, he’s slashing .229/.336/.352 with seven long balls and 36 RBI.

Canha was pulled from Saturday’s game against the Dodgers due to soreness in his left wrist and he sat out Sunday’s game as a precautionary measure. It seems that the five days off did him at least some good, as the 35-year-old is back in there as the team’s designated hitter on Friday night. He’ll bat fifth against Chris Bassitt and the Jays.

Canha noted on Sunday that the injury has actually been bothering him for a while now and got to the point where he was unable to swing the bat with much ferocity. The Tigers are hopeful that the four days off over the All-Star break will be enough to alleviate the issue and allow him to return to action for Friday’s second-half opener against the Blue Jays.