Monday, April 27

At first glance, Casey Schmitt might seem like an unconventional choice to serve as the Giants’ designated hitter.

The 27-year-old has always been known more for his glove than his bat, but he’s found himself crowded out of an infield picture that features a quartet of everyday players in third baseman Matt Chapman, shortstop Willy Adames, second baseman Luis Arraez and first baseman Rafael Devers. 

With all four spots on the dirt already spoken for, Schmitt has made most of his starts at DH for San Francisco in 2026. DHing can be a bit of an adjustment for young players, but Schmitt seems to be taking to the role just fine. He entered Wednesday batting .299 with a team-high .835 OPS, two home runs and eight RBIs over his first 18 games of the year, emerging as one of the most consistent hitters on a Giants offense that has run hot and cold in 2026.   

“I’ve always said however I can get in the lineup, that's where I want to be,” Schmitt said. “That's where I’m at. I’m liking it.”  

Devers was limited to DH duties at the outset of the season due to hamstring tightness, which opened the door for Schmitt to make his first seven starts of the year at first base, but the two essentially swapped roles when Devers got the green light to resume playing the field on April 5.

Schmitt had only two career appearances at DH prior to this season, so he had to figure out the best way to stay locked in and be prepared to hit when his turn came up in the order. 

“I developed a little bit of a routine,” Schmitt said. “I think the first time I really did it was the Baltimore series. The cage was so far away from the locker room, so I had a tee and a net in the clubhouse. I was literally just swinging off the tee into that. I was just making that my routine. I’ve just kind of just been doing that the whole time. Whenever I'm ready to get loose again, I start hitting off the tee in the cage, just keeping it simple.”

Manager Tony Vitello said he’s been impressed by the way Schmitt has adapted to the DH spot thus far.

“It's not easy to handle,” Vitello said. “I was never put in that position. I've talked with a lot of kids, varying ages, [about] what's the best way to deal with what's going on in between innings as you wait for your at-bat. It's a challenge that I know every hitter has to kind of come to grips with. You don't get to burn energy out there, take frustrations out to defense. He seems to have that good balance. 

“But knowing Casey, he kind of plays with a fun-loving, Little League approach to the whole deal. He's always in a good mood. He's always got energy. He's always bouncing around. I don't think he gets from one extreme to the other. Just like all the other guys, he gets angry if it's not a good at-bat. But I think he's a level-headed, balanced dude. Whatever formula he's got going on, he's made it work.”

Schmitt’s teammates aren’t surprised to see him put up DH-like numbers at the plate, either.

“I never had a doubt about Schmitty,” left fielder Heliot Ramos said. “I knew he always had it. I knew he had the juice. I know he’s a great defender. On top of that, he can hit.”

Schmitt won a Minor League Gold Glove at third base in 2022, but he’s learned to play all over the infield since breaking into the Majors three years ago. He'll still be counted on to play defense when the Giants want to get one of their starting infielders off their feet, so he makes sure to take grounders and go through drills with infield coach Ron Washington to keep himself sharp before games.

The Giants won't be fully optimizing Schmitt’s skill set until they have an open spot for him in their infield, but he isn’t complaining about the lot he’s been given right now. 

“I think it’s just trusting in myself,” Schmitt said. “Just going out there and playing and not overthinking anything. It's all part of the process. Just sticking with that and just going out and playing.” 

The Giants will be without the hot-hitting Daniel Susac for the next two to three weeks, as the rookie catcher was placed on the 10-day injured list with right elbow ulnar neuritis on Tuesday. 

In a pair of corresponding moves, the Giants selected veteran backstop Eric Haase from Triple-A Sacramento and transferred right-hander José Buttó (right arm surgery) to the 60-day injured list. More >>

“I'll be honest with you, it's been very difficult. It's something that I was warned about from some of my friends. A couple of them are former teammates. You have to deal with it the right way, otherwise it'll sink you. But I also do have practice at, if you get too high off a win or too low off a loss, you're just going to come out black and blue. It's not going to work.

"It's been new. It's been difficult. I don't have a magic formula yet. I think conversations help because what I want to do is just make sure we keep making adjustments. Learn from mistakes and have conversations about stuff that maybe needs to be better.” -- Vitello on learning to absorb more losses at the big league level

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