The Giants protected Luis Matos, and it paid off in his MLB debut

ST. LOUIS — Before the Giants dropped $171 million on six free agents last winter, before they took a single meeting with Carlos Correa or an on-call radiologist, and before they began the process of re-animating their roster with electrical impulses from an emergent player development system, their chief decision-makers had to make a seemingly minor determination.

Whether to protect a 20-year-old outfielder who hit .211 in A-ball.

The Giants decided to add Luis Matos to the 40-man roster in November, and now that minor decision looks monumental. Matos blitzed his way through the two highest minor-league levels in barely two months, he positioned himself as the obvious alternative when outfielder Mitch Haniger fractured his forearm on Tuesday, he made his major-league debut Wednesday as the starting center fielder and No. 2 batter, and he whistled a single on the second pitch he saw in the Giants’ 8-5, 10-inning victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

Matos, who turned 21 in December, became the youngest Giants player to debut since Madison Bumgarner in 2009. The right-handed-hitting center fielder is the second-youngest position player in the major leagues after the Cardinals’ Jordan Walker. His debut might have been the most anticipated by a Giants outfielder in a generation, or maybe two, depending on how old Chili Davis makes you feel.

Matos arrived after collecting 43 hits in 107 at-bats for Triple-A Sacramento. He hit six homers in his last six games for the River Cats, including one in his first at-bat Tuesday before he was pulled from the lineup. His welcome text from manager Gabe Kapler on Tuesday night was a mix of Spanish, English and fire emoji. (“Like, enthusiastic fire,” Kapler clarified.) Matos caught a late-evening flight to St. Louis, arrived at his locker in the Giants clubhouse Wednesday morning, and was flanked by Spanish interpreter Erwin Higueros while he met with reporters. He was asked: Are you ready for this?

He did not wait for the question to be translated. Nor did he need it to answer.

“Yeah,” he said in English, with an almost bashful confidence. “I’m ready.”

But the decision to protect Matos in November was not without doubt or debate. Every one of those roster spots is precious. To gum one up with a lower-level prospect, even one with tremendous skill and upside, is like putting a cookie jar on the top shelf. If that player is still a dream away from helping you in the big leagues, then he’s taking a 40-man space without offering utility. If the 107-win Giants of 2021 taught us anything, it’s the value of nose-to-tail roster utility.

Then there’s the game theory behind which eligible players an organization will risk exposing to the Rule 5 draft each December. Would another team really poach a player as young as Matos when there was so little in his 2022 performance to hint at big-league readiness? Would that team really commit to the stipulation of keeping…