Breakout rookie forces Giants to consider move for $113 million star

The San Francisco Giants did not see themselves outside of the playoff hunt when they committed $211 million to free agents in the offseason.

But that’s just where they are with only a few weeks to go in the regular season. And while that’s a disappointment, it has given younger players a chance to flash their potential for the future. Most recently, that has cleared the way for a surprise breakout from rookie center fielder Grant McCray, who has slashed .274/.529/.803 with five homers in his first 70 at-bats.

McCray has been so good that he’s forcing manager Bob Melvin to consider reconfiguring the outfield and moving star Jung Hoo Lee — who signed a six-year, $113 million deal to serve as the Giants’ center fielder of the present and future — when he returns from injury.

“Now, there’s still time to go and we want to see as much of him as we possibly can, but you can’t help to think, with Jung Hoo coming back too, what it could look like for us in the outfield next year,” Melvin told The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly. “We’ll get there down the road. We signed Jung Hoo to be the center fielder. Right now, McCray is out there because that’s his natural position. But it’s a good problem to have going forward.”

Before a collision with the outfield wall resulted in season-ending shoulder surgery for Lee, he slashed .262/.310/.331 in 145 at-bats in his Major League Baseball debut. If McCray is able to continue his hot start, it could push Lee into another outfield position and lead the team to part ways with some pending free agent outfielders.

But if the team opts to put Lee back in center upon his return, particularly as they’ve invested so much in him playing there, McCray seems willing, if a bit hesitant, to move.

“I’m a center fielder. I’ll just say it,” he told Baggarly. “I’ve been a center fielder since I was a kid and that’s where I feel the most comfortable. But if I gotta play in the corners, I gotta play in the corners and do my job.”

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