Giants cut Conor Gillaspie, bring back Jarrett Parker

The Giants’ clubhouse was very quiet after their 6-1 loss to the Oakland Athletics Wednesday, as it usually is.

But something was unusual: Jae-gyun Hwang entered the clubhouse minutes after reporters and just took a seat at his locker. Minutes later, the Giants announced roster moves, including optioning Hwang to Sacramento, bringing Jarrett Parker back to San Francisco, and designating for assignment Conor Gillaspie, leaving a hole at third base.

That gap will be filled by Ryder Jones, who was called up in the Wednesday night shake-up. Jones will presumably get the next few starts at third until Pablo Sandoval comes up for a challenge.

The final months of this season should offer the Giants a real look at the young talent they’ve got in the wings. The guys, at least, that aren’t injured. Jones got one hit in 21 at bats in his short time with the Giants, cut off when he was hit in the hand with a pitch. Since returning to Sacramento, Jones went off for 15 hits, including three doubles and three home runs.

The Gillaspie news may hit hard for fans that hope to cling onto positive postseason memories — he was a one-man clutch hitting machine in the cut-short 2016 postseason run. He’ll be remembered for his three-run homer off Jeurys Familia in the Wild Card game against the Mets, and his go-ahead, two-run Game 3 triple off Cubs’ closer Aroldis Chapman.

This isn’t just a losing season the Giants out of which the Giants can waddle unscathed. The club’s silence at the trade deadline indicated, at least, imminent minor shake ups within the AT&T Park confines. The Gillaspie move was painful, but necessary.

Shayna Rubin is SFBay’s San Francisco Giants beat writer. Follow @SFBay and @ShaynaRubin on Twitter and at SFBay.ca for full coverage of Giants baseball.