San Francisco Giants activate Marco Scutaro from the disabled list

Marco Scutaro was a key piece in the San Francisco Giants’ run to the 2012 World Series and played in  his first All Star Game a season ago, but a back injury has kept him off the field for the entirety of the 2014 season to date. That changes Saturday, as the Giants have activated the 38 year old infielder from the disabled list. He’s expected to start at second base.

His return has to be a welcome sight for the Giants, who’ve failed to get much production from the position on the season and who are mired in a team-wide slump that has seen them lose 21 of their last 30 games.

Brandon Hicks has been the team’s primary second baseman this year, but he’s batting a mere .162/.280/.319 in 242 plate appearances. His 8 HR are fifth on the team (though none have come since late May), but that wasn’t enough to keep him on the roster as the team designated him for assignment prior to Friday’s game in order to make room for Scutaro. The team’s other options at the position haven’t fared much better as Joaquin Arias has hit just .182/.209/.191 and Joe Panik is batting .220/.286/.260.

Scutaro is a career .278/.341/.389 hitter for his 12 year career with six different organizations. He’s hit .319/.366/.404 since joining the Giants midway through the 2012 season.