Mark Canha, Jerar Encarnacion join SF Giants as team seeks offensive spark
The Giants' lineup to begin their series against the Reds looked a little different than the one that scored 3 runs on 9 hits in 2 games against the A's earlier this week.
CINCINNATI — Mark Canha was in the car with his wife and two kids, on their way home from Comerica Park with about 20 minutes to go until Tuesday’s 3 p.m. PT trade deadline, when a familiar name came illuminated his phone screen.
“My wife was sitting next to me and I’m driving. I look down and there’s a text from BoMel. I’m like, ‘Hey, check that. It’s Bob.’ He mentioned that they were trying to get me. So we mentally got pretty excited,” Canha said Friday from Great American Ballpark, “and then it happened. We were all pretty happy about that.”
Canha, who attended Bellarmine Prep and Cal, said he grew up rooting for the Giants and that between his local ties and preexisting relationships, “it just kind of felt like all the pieces fell into the right place for me.” The Giants sent minor-league reliever Eric Silva to Detroit to get the deal done just in time, and Canha made his club debut three days later to begin their series against the Reds, batting second and playing first base against left-hander Andrew Abbott.
Acquired to fill the role typically held by Wilmer Flores as a platoon partner for LaMonte Wade Jr. and a late-inning substitution against left-handed relievers, Canha represented the most notable acquisition at the trade deadline for a team that president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said he “100%” expects to make the playoffs.
But the 35-year-old San Jose native wasn’t the only new face in the visitors’ clubhouse as the club overhauled its lineup in search of a spark after mounting just three runs on nine hits while splitting their two-game series against the A’s to close their homestand.
The Giants also called up power-hitting outfielder Jerar Encarnacion while optioning David Villar and Blake Sabol back to Triple-A Sacramento and designating outfielder Derek Hill for assignment. Right-hander Sean Hjelle was also reinstated from the bereavement list.
Encarnacion, 26, began the season playing for Oaxaca in the Mexican League after not hearing from one major-league organization after his contract with the Miami Marlins expired last winter. He hit 19 home runs in 26 games, getting the attention of the Giants and a handful of other teams, and has only kept slugging since joining Sacramento’s roster in mid-June. In 33 games, he has homered 10 times while batting .352 with a 1.054 OPS.
“We’re really interested in seeing what he’s got to offer today because the numbers have been off the charts,” Melvin said. “We’ve been a little lacking in some power and some home run type capability. He’s definitely got that.”
Never ranked among the Marlins top 10 prospects by Baseball America during his time in the organization, he received a brief look in the majors in 2022 but hit .182 while striking out 32 times in 81 plate appearances. At Sacramento, he struck out 34 times in 141 trips to the plate while drawing 18 walks.
“There’s been some swing changes. In development we really focus on swing decisions. I think that’s been pounded home to him a little bit as well,” Melvin said. “Anybody with his type of power, there are going to be some strikeouts, but he has cut down, and if he gets a good pitch to hit and puts it in play, he usually does some damage.”
Coming from Detroit, it made more sense for Canha to meet the team in Cincinnati rather than travel back and forth across three time zones. But don’t think the idea of putting on the Giants’ home creams and playing in front of the home crowd at Oracle Park hasn’t already crossed his mind.
On top of his memorable home run in 2018 — after which he declared “This is my house!” — Canha has a .942 OPS in 18 career games in San Francisco.
“Not that I need it, but I think there’s just a little bit of extra (motivation) there for me when I come into Oracle,” Canha said. “It’s the park I came to as a kid. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I’ve always wanted to wear a Giants uniform. It’s a special place for me. I’m sure the first night we’re back at home I’ll have some goosebumps, for sure.”
The Giants landed in Cincinnati at about 7 p.m. local time Thursday night, and Canha was already there waiting for them.
That gave the self-described foodie — follow his culinary adventures on Instagram at @bigleaguefoodie — time to grab a meal with a few teammates, new and old, including third baseman Matt Chapman, who played with him under Melvin in Oakland.
And, no, Canha smiled, the cuisine of choice was not Cincinnati’s famous spaghetti noodles topped with chili.
“Walking to breakfast this morning I saw people leaving Skyline Chili at like 10:30 in the morning,” Canha said, shuddering. “I just, uh, I’ve never had Skyline Chili, but it doesn’t, uh, catch my interest. Let’s put it that way. Maybe I’d be surprised.”
Notable
Pitching coach Bryan Price did not accompany the team on the trip to Cincinnati as he deals with a family health issue, the team said. Melvin said assistant pitching coach J.P. Martinez will take on the duties typically handled by Price, who managed the Reds for five seasons from 2014-18.