PHILADELPHIA -- Five minutes after the 4 p.m. trade deadline on Wednesday, Joe Panik walked up to Will Smith and gave him a hug. Panik was happy the closer was staying in San Francisco, but as trades continued to trickle out, his own career possibly got turned upside down.
The Giants got five deals done Wednesday, including one just before the wire that brought Scooter Gennett over from the Reds. Gennett is a left-handed hitting second baseman. Panik can do the math.
"Basically it's day to day. We'll see what happens when Scooter gets here," Panik said. "I was told when he gets here they'll figure things out. Whatever that means, it means."
Gennett is expected to join the Giants in Denver on Friday. That left Panik in the starting lineup Wednesday and he responded with a hit and a walk in a 5-1 win. Manager Bruce Bochy said he liked Panik's focus.
"When you go out there you play," Panik said. "Obviously you don't know what's going to happen. Only they know what's going to happen."
Panik said he has not spoken to Farhan Zaidi yet. Asked about Panik's situation shortly after the trade deadline, Zaidi pushed the decision off a couple days.
"We've done different things with the 25-man roster over the season to accommodate some less than conventional configurations," he said.
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Still, it's hard to see the Giants rostering Gennett, Panik and Donovan Solano, who bats from the right side. Zaidi said the Reds had a surplus in their infield, allowing the Giants to swoop in. They got Gennett and cash considerations in exchange for a player to be named later or cash.
"That gave us an opportunity to add a guy who has been an impact bat in the recent past," Zaidi said. "I think he has the opportunity to come here and get back on that path."
Gennett, 29, has missed most of the season with a groin injury, batting just .212 with three extra-base hits. But a year ago he hit 23 homers with a .357 on-base percentage. In 2017 it was 27 homers and a .342 OBP.
The Giants are hoping that player returns. It's unclear what that means for Panik, who has too much service time to be optioned to Triple-A.
"I talked to him a little bit," Bochy said. "We'll see how this works out."
