Jorge Soler activated, Mason Black recalled

It was expected that the San Francisco Giants would make a move or two on Friday, before kicking off a series against the Colorado Rockies. We now know what those moves are, and they’re fairly exciting.

A few hours before Friday’s game, the Giants announced that they had activated designated hitter Jorge Soler from the 10-Day Injured List, and recalled right-handed pitcher Mason Black from AAA Sacramento. In corresponding moves, righty Keaton Winn was placed on the 15-Day IL (retroactive to May 15) with a right forearm strain, and infielder Casey Schmitt was optioned to AAA.

There’s a lot to take in with this news, even if most of it was expected. Soler, who made rehab appearances with Sacramento on Wednesday and Thursday, brings a much-needed presence to the lineup. Not only is the Giants offense in need of some help, but they’re without Michael Conforto, Jung Hoo Lee, Patrick Bailey, and Tom Murphy. Soler hasn’t had the season the Giants were hoping for when they inked him to a three-year, $42 million contract this offseason, but he instantly makes the Giants lineup more potent.

With Blake Snell still needing one more rehab start, it was unclear if the Giants would use Thursday’s off day to shorten their rotation, or if they would bring Black back up. Winn’s injury allowed the team to recall Black despite the fact that he was optioned earlier this week, and I assume it was a fairly easy call. He’s starting tonight’s game, which will give an extra day of rest to Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks before they finish out the series.

Perhaps the most surprising news is that Schmitt was optioned. The Giants called up Schmitt after Nick Ahmed was placed on the 10-Day IL, and he became the everyday shortstop in Ahmed’s absence, even with Tyler Fitzgerald on the roster, and even with Marco Luciano later called up. Schmitt impressed defensively, but hit just 3-22 (though one of those hits was a walk-off double). Luciano, meanwhile, has appeared just once, getting a single at-bat as a pinch-hitter.

But now it seems like the Giants are ready to commit to Luciano, and give him some run as the full-time shortstop while they wait for Ahmed to get healthy ... and quite possibly past that point, too. Luciano is starting Friday’s series opener and hitting ninth (Soler is leading off).