Tristan Beck

Giants Activate Tristan Beck, Recall Blake Sabol

By Nick Deeds | September 2, 2024 at 8:58am CDT

Amid yesterday’s flurry of transactions related to September’s expansion of active rosters from 26 to 28, the Giants recalled catcher Blake Sabol and activated right-hander Tristan Beck from the 60-day injured list to fill the newly created vacancies. No corresponding 40-man move was necessary to activate Beck, and the club’s 40-man roster now stands at 39.

Beck, 28, has spent the entire season on the injured list to this point after suffering an aneurysm in his upper arm back in February. The righty underwent surgery to correct the issue back in early March but was shut down from throwing for the next two months and since then has been slowly working his way back towards a return to the majors. After spending the majority of August on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento, Beck finally made it back to the majors yesterday.

With that being said, Beck’s current role isn’t the one he was expected to fulfill at the start of the season. The right-hander was expected to be a member of the club’s starting rotation this year at the time of his injury after a solid rookie season in 2023 where he pitched to a 3.92 ERA in 85 innings of work as a multi-inning relief arm and spot starter. Beck’s injury derailed those plans, however, and while he started games in the minors during his rehab assignment last month he maxed out at just 56 pitches.

That won’t be enough for him to join a rotation that currently features Blake Snell, Logan Webb, Kyle Harrison, Hayden Birdsong, and Mason Black, but it should allow him to join righties Landen Roupp and Sean Hjelle as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen down the stretch. If Beck manages to post solid numbers in his return from surgery, it’s even possible that he could work his way back to into the conversation for starts with the Giants by next season, with Snell widely expected to opt out of his deal with San Francisco and vacate a rotation spot by returning to free agency.

As for Sabol, the 26-year-old was thrust into a semi-regular role with the club last year after being selected from the Pirates in the Rule 5 draft. He performed admirably in the role, with a decent .235/.301/.394 slash line that was within spitting distance of league average as he split time between catcher and left field in 110 games for San Francisco. This year, however, Sabol has returned to the minor leagues for the majority of the year with just 11 games in the majors under his belt to this point. Triple-A has been a bit of a struggle for the 26-year-old, as he’s slashed just .241/.339/.373 at the level despite the Pacific Coast League’s inflated offensive environment. Still, the versatile youngster should provide the Giants with some depth in the outfield and behind the plate down the stretch, and a strong performance could earn him more regular playing time headed into 2025.

Giants’ Tristan Beck Won’t Throw For Eight Weeks; Sean Hjelle Diagnosed With Elbow Sprain

By Steve Adams | March 5, 2024 at 11:33am CDT

The Giants announced this morning that right-hander Tristan Beck underwent successful surgery to repair an aneurysm in his right shoulder. He won’t throw for at least eight weeks. San Francisco also announced that right-hander Sean Hjelle has an elbow sprain and will be reevaluated in two weeks’ time. That represents a further blow to the team’s pitching depth, though Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic tweets that Hjelle’s ulnar collateral ligament is intact. A timetable for his return won’t be known until that reevaluation, however.

It’s already been known that Beck would be facing a long absence after testing late last month found the aneurysm. The Giants placed him on the 60-day injured list this week when opening a roster spot for newly signed Matt Chapman. An eight-week shutdown period would stretch from now until April 30. Beck would then need to slowly ramp up, starting with light throwing on flat ground, to pitching off a mound, to facing live hitters and eventually pitching in minor league rehab games.

That process would require more than a month, in all likelihood, putting a potential return date somewhere in June, at the earliest. Of course, that’s all contingent on avoiding any setbacks and on Beck’s body recovering as hoped. The Giants will surely have updates along the way.

The news on Hjelle likely subtracts another depth option who could’ve stepped up to help fill Beck’s spot early in the season. Hjelle, a towering 6’11” 26-year-old, posted strong numbers in Double-A back in 2021 but has since struggled both as a starter and reliever in Triple-A and in the big leagues. The former second-round pick worked primarily as a starter in Triple-A Sacramento last year, struggling to a 6.00 ERA in 19 starts (plus three relief appearances) in that ultra-hitter-friendly setting. He made another 15 relief appearances with the big league club, posting 29 innings with a similarly disheartening 6.52 earned run average.

Hjelle sports an unsightly 6.17 ERA in 54 MLB innings but his 23.2% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and huge 56% ground-ball rate all portend better results over a larger sample. He’s been plagued by a sky-high .399 average on balls in play despite yielding just an 89 mph average exit velocity. Metrics like FIP (3.89) and SIERA (3.35) feel Hjelle has been far, far better in his limited big league time than his ERA would indicate.

Giants skipper Bob Melvin had already called out Hjelle as someone who could perhaps move into a rotation role to help compensate for the injury to Beck and provide some insurance in the event that right-hander Keaton Winn’s elbow issue flares back up. (Winn was briefly shut down earlier in camp due to a nerve issue but has since resumed throwing without issue.) Instead, it appears quite likely that Hjelle will also open the season on the injured list. A two-week period without throwing will conclude with just over a week to go until Opening Day. Even if Hjelle were able to immediate pitch in games — which seems unlikely — it’s hard to imagine him ramping up to the point where he could be a viable rotation option.

At the moment, the Giants’ rotation consists of Logan Webb, top prospect Kyle Harrison, reliever-turned-starter Jordan Hicks and the aforementioned Winn. A competition for the fifth spot could include trade acquisition Ethan Small, prospect Kai-Wei Teng (already on the 40-man roster) and perhaps in-house nonroster pitchers like Carson Whisenhunt and Mason Black.

It was a perilously thin group even when all of Winn, Beck and Hjelle looked healthy. The Giants have been banking on this mix to carry them into the middle portion of the season. Alex Cobb will open on the injured list while rehabbing from October hip surgery but could be back within the first couple months of the season. Trade acquisition Robbie Ray is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and will be out until the final third of the season or so. Injuries to Beck and to Hjelle have only further called into question whether such an unproven group can steady the course until the Giants’ more veteran reinforcements arrive.

The Giants have been active in free agency late in the offseason, with signings of Chapman and Jorge Soler both completed after the beginning of spring training. Even with that pair of additions — plus their earlier pickups of Hicks and center fielder Jung Hoo Lee — reigning Cy Young winner Blake Snell is reportedly still a consideration. Fellow southpaw Jordan Montgomery is also still on the market, as are lower-tier arms like Mike Clevinger, Michael Lorenzen, Eric Lauer and others.

San Francisco currently projects for a payroll just under $182MM, per RosterResource. Their projected luxury tax ledger currently sits at $231MM — just $6MM or so shy of the first threshold. Signing Snell or Montgomery will assuredly put the team over that line, and Snell would require further forfeitures in the amateur draft and international free agency. The Giants already punted their second-highest pick and $500K of next year’s international bonus pool space to sign Chapman; Snell would require surrendering their third-round pick and an additional $500K of international spending capacity. Both players would also result in the Giants paying a 20% tax for the first $20MM by which the luxury barrier is exceeded, plus a 32% tax on the next $20MM.

It’s possible that even Lorenzen or Clevinger could push the Giants into tax territory, although there are other moves that could be made to counteract that. The signing of Chapman, for instance, could make J.D. Davis and his $6.9MM salary more expendable. If the Giants were able to move Davis and some/all of that salary, they could create as much as $13MM in breathing room between themselves and the $237MM tax line.

Giants Place Tristan Beck On 60-Day Injured List

By Darragh McDonald | March 3, 2024 at 9:10am CDT

TODAY: The Giants placed Beck on the 60-day injured list, to create 40-man roster space for the team’s acquisition of Matt Chapman.

MARCH 1: Giants right-hander Tristan Beck told reporters, including Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic, that he will undergo vascular surgery on Monday at Stanford to address the aneurysm in his upper right arm. He won’t have a timetable for his return until after going under the knife.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Beck was dealing with some discomfort in his throwing arm, which was eventually diagnosed as an aneurysm. It seems a decision has been made that surgical intervention is necessary. Although the timetable won’t be clear until next week when the procedure has been completed, this further creates uncertainty in the San Francisco rotation, which already stood out as a weak part of the roster.

Right-hander Alex Cobb underwent hip surgery last year and will begin the season on the injured list. Trade acquisition Robbie Ray is recovering from UCL/flexor tendon surgery and won’t be back until the All-Star break at the earliest.

The Giants have long known about both of those situations but nonetheless came into camp with a rotation consisting of Logan Webb and a series of unknowns. Jordan Hicks will be looking to move from a relief role to a starting role, something he has never done before. Webb and Hicks were likely to be joined by youngsters like Kyle Harrison, Keaton Winn and Beck. All three of those guys have shown promise but none of that trio has more than 85 innings in the bigs.

For a club planning to contend, that’s a lot of rotation uncertainty, which has become more questionable in recent weeks. Winn was dealing with some elbow soreness last week and although he could still be ready for Opening Day, there’s at least a bit of murkiness there. The latest developments with Beck only compound the concerns around the club’s rotation depth.

If the Giants decide they need to add to this group, there are still options available in free agency. Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery are still out there and the Giants have reportedly expressed interest in both, though a deal has clearly not come together to this point. The club has generally avoided spending on pitching, with the four-year deal for Hicks being the longest since Farhan Zaidi became president of baseball operations in November of 2018, as shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker. The $44MM guarantee for Hicks also matches Carlos Rodón’s two-year deal for the largest guarantee the club has given a pitcher in that time. If the club wants to avoid a huge deal for Snell or Montgomery, they could also pivot to someone more affordable like Michael Lorenzen, Eric Lauer or Jake Odorizzi.

If they don’t look to external additions, then the internal candidates to step up and take a rotation job would include Sean Hjelle, Kai-Wei Teng, Daulton Jefferies and Spencer Howard. Hjelle had an ERA of 6.00 in Triple-A last year and a mark of 6.52 working out of the big league bullpen. Teng has yet to make his major league debut. Jefferies has lost most of the past two years due to undergoing both thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in June of 2022 and then Tommy John surgery that September. Howard has a 7.20 ERA in his major league career and has a 5.01 ERA in the minors over the past two years.

Giants’ Tristan Beck Diagnosed With Aneurysm In Upper Arm

By Steve Adams | February 29, 2024 at 10:07am CDT

Feb. 29: The Giants announced this morning that Beck has been diagnosed with an aneurysm in his upper arm. He’s currently weighing his treatment options. The team will likely have more information in the coming days.

There’s no firm timetable on how long Beck might be sidelined, but manager Bob Melvin told reporters that he won’t be on the Opening Day roster (X link via Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle). The Giants appear to be anticipating a fairly lengthy absence, though Melvin did not rule out the possibility that Beck could pitch for them at some point this season.

Feb. 27: Giants right-hander Tristan Beck has left the team’s spring complex and is traveling back to San Francisco to undergo testing after experiencing discomfort in his right hand, the team announced to reporters (X link via Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area). The team will provide further updates in the coming days.

Beck, 27, becomes the second Giants starter to incur an injury of some sort in camp. Fellow righty Keaton Winn has been slowed by a nerve issue in his pitching elbow. He resumed throwing Sunday but is at least a week behind the rest of the group. That’s good news, but early injury troubles for the Giants’ presumptive fourth and fifth starters is nevertheless unsettling — particularly given the patchwork nature of the starting staff behind ace Logan Webb.

The Giants are relying on Winn, Beck, top prospect Kyle Harrison and reliever-turned-starter Jordan Hicks to shoulder the bulk of the workload in the rotation. In terms of proven big league starters, it’s among the thinnest rotations in the game. Veterans Alex Cobb and Robbie Ray will eventually join that group, but both will very likely open the season on the injured list. Ray will be sidelined into the season’s second half as he recovers from last May’s Tommy John surgery. Cobb is on the mend from October hip surgery. A precise return date isn’t clear, but Pavlovic suggested a couple weeks back that Cobb was hoping to be cleared to face hitters by the end of spring training. That trajectory would likely sideline him into May, at the very least.

Beck came to the Giants by way of the 2019 trade that shipped former closer Mark Melancon to Atlanta. The former fourth-round pick made his MLB debut in 2023, pitching 85 innings of 3.92 ERA ball with a below-average 19.2% strikeout rate but a strong 5.9% walk rate. Most of that work came as a multi-inning reliever, however. Beck appeared in 33 games for San Francisco but made just three starts. He completed five innings only three times all season — twice in long relief and once in a start that marked his final appearance of the year.

Another injury scare for a Giants starter will only further spark speculation about the possibility of the Giants adding to the rotation. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has downplayed the potential for any notable acquisitions following the team’s signing of Jorge Soler, but the Giants remain one of the most obvious fits for high-profile free agents like Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery — both in terms of actual roster need and from a payroll vantage point. The team’s projected $164MM Opening Day payroll (via Roster Resource) is more than $36MM south of the franchise-record $200.5MM mark set back in 2018, and the Giants are also about $24MM shy of the luxury-tax threshold.

If the Giants are strictly averse to shelling out the requisite years and dollars needed to bring in Snell or Montgomery, there are still alternatives on the free agent market. Michael Lorenzen and Mike Clevinger remain unsigned, as do rebound candidates like Eric Lauer, Jake Odorizzi and Noah Syndergaard (to name a few).

Giants Considering Trading From Group Of Young Pitchers

By Darragh McDonald | December 15, 2023 at 8:02pm CDT

The Giants are entertaining the idea of trading from their group of young and controllable pitching prospects, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. He says that signing a veteran will make it more likely but it’s a path they are already considering. As for who is in this group that Rosenthal is referring to, he lists lefties Kyle Harrison and Carson Whisenhunt as well as righties Tristan Beck, Keaton Winn, Mason Black and Hayden Birdsong.

The rotation in San Francisco doesn’t look like a strength right now. They recently had Alex Wood and Jakob Junis reach free agency, with Sean Manaea following them by opting out of his contract. The club picked up their option on Alex Cobb, but he’s going to miss at least the first month or so of the season due to hip surgery.

That leaves the club with Logan Webb and a number of questions. Anthony DeSclafani has dealt with ankle, shoulder and elbow injuries over the past two seasons, limiting him 118 2/3 innings of fairly ineffective work. Ross Stripling posted a 5.36 ERA in his 89 innings this year. Harrison debuted in 2023 but has just 34 2/3 innings of major league experience, in which he allowed eight home runs. Winn and Beck also debuted but they also have limited workloads so far and less prospect hype than Harrison.

None of Black, Whisenhunt nor Birdsong are on the 40-man roster, but Black has reached Triple-A and the latter two have made it to the Double-A level. Baseball America currently lists Whisenhunt as the club’s #5 prospect, Black at #8 and Birdsong at #12.

There is a lot of potential in that group but very few sure things. Subtracting someone from the flock would be a risk, but Rosenthal frames it as something that might need to be considered in order to add young, athletic position players.

On the whole, the club’s defense wasn’t strong in 2023. Their collective -15 Defensive Runs Saved and -17.1 grade from Ultimate Zone Rating were both in the bottom third of the league. Outs Above Average was a bit more bullish, giving them a +15, but it’s perhaps worth pointing out that Thairo Estrada alone had a +20. Brandon Crawford, now a free agent, was second on the club with +6.

President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi stated at the start of the offseason that upgrading the outfield defense was a priority. Since then, the club signed one of the youngest free agents available in 25-year-old Jung Hoo Lee. Perhaps further outfield changes could be considered, with bat-first guys like Michael Conforto and Mitch Haniger still in the mix for playing time.

Zaidi also said that Marco Luciano will have the chance to take over the shortstop position to replace Crawford, but then later said that they would still consider bringing in depth because “it makes sense for us to have some insurance.”

Generally speaking, finding young and athletic players in free agency is hard to do. Since it takes six years of service time to reach the open market, most players don’t get there until close to or after their 30th birthday. With the Giants looking to get younger and more athletic, it makes sense that they jumped at the chance to sign Lee, but he was a unique exception since he was coming over from the Korea Baseball Organization.

If the Giants are looking for another young player to help with their athleticism, free agency offers limited options. That’s particularly true of the shortstop position, where Tim Anderson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa are some of the standouts. Teams like the Reds, Twins, Rays, Cardinals and Orioles have lots of position players and could be willing to make a deal, but they would all likely be looking for young and controllable pitching in return.

As with any potential trade scenarios, the chances of something getting done will ultimately depend on the offers coming the other way. It will also depend upon the other paths the Giants pursue. They have been connected to starting pitching upgrades, including reported interest in Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Yariel Rodríguez. They have also had some interest in free agent position players like Matt Chapman and Cody Bellinger. There are still many moving pieces but it seems as though there’s a non-zero chance of them making some young and controllable pitchers available, which will surely intrigue many rival clubs around the league.

Giants Place Brandon Crawford On Injured List, Release Paul DeJong

By Steve Adams | September 21, 2023 at 12:43pm CDT

The Giants announced a slate of roster moves Thursday, most notably placing shortstop Brandon Crawford on the 10-day injured list due to a hamstring strain and requesting unconditional release waivers on fellow shortstop Paul DeJong. San Francisco has also selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Tyler Fitzgerald, recalled right-hander Tristan Beck and infielder Marco Luciano from Triple-A Sacramento, and optioned right-hander Sean Hjelle to Sacramento. Crawford will be eligible for reinstatement on the final day of the season.

Crawford, 36, exited yesterday’s contest after experiencing discomfort and acknowledged his frustration with the injury following the game (link via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). A free agent at season’s end, Crawford is perhaps playing out his final days as a Giant. That he’s eligible to return on the final game of the season could give him the opportunity to still get back in front of the home crowd for a potential sendoff. The Giants host their archrival Dodgers on Oct. 1. “It’s the most frustrating timing I’ve probably ever had with an injury,” Crawford told Slusser.

The 2023 season has been the least-productive of Crawford’s career. He’s posted a .197/.276/.319 batting line with a career-high 25% strikeout rate in 316 plate appearances. It’s a step down from last year’s output and a major departure from the 2021 season, when Crawford was a bona fide MVP candidate, placing fourth in the National League voting that year. Crawford’s .298/.373/.522 slash and world-class defense in ’21 prompted the Giants to sign him to a two-year, $32MM extension covering his age-35 and age-36 seasons, but he’s batted just .217/.295/.334 in 774 plate appearances over the life of that contract.

It’s not clear whether Crawford will continue his playing career beyond the current season. He’s spoken in the past about the possibility of spending his entire career with the Giants, which surely holds extra appeal given that he’s a Bay Area native who grew up following the team. However, Luciano has ranked among the organization’s top prospects for several years now and could be ready for a full-time audition.

It’s possible the Giants could bring in a stopgap in the event that the 22-year-old still needs more minor league seasoning, but that’d likely be an awkward role for both Crawford and the organization; it’s feasible he could shift to a bench role if and when Luciano proves ready, but it’d be hard for the Giants to carry Crawford in a part-time role if his production mirrors his 2023 output. Similarly, it’d be hard for them to move on somewhat unceremoniously midway through the ’24 campaign. The Giants faced a similar situation with Crawford’s longtime teammate Brandon Belt this past offseason and ultimately opted to let him walk. Belt signed a one-year deal with the Blue Jays and has had a highly productive but also injury-marred season.

There was no such commitment or legacy to ponder in the decision to cut ties with the veteran DeJong. San Francisco signed the former Cardinals shortstop to a Major League deal one month ago after he was released by the Blue Jays, who’d acquired him at the deadline when Bo Bichette sustained an injury.

DeJong gave the Giants 114 innings of strong defense at shortstop but hit just .184/.180/.286 in 50 plate appearances. He had a relative bounceback year at the plate with the Cardinals prior to his trade, but since leaving St. Louis he’s batted a combined .129/.128/.183 with no walks and 34 strikeouts in 94 plate appearances between Toronto and San Francisco. He’ll be a free agent once he formally clears release waivers, although at this point of the schedule, he may simply wait until the offseason to find a new club.

Fitzgerald, 26, was the Giants’ fourth-round pick in 2019 and will be making his big league debut when he first takes the field. He’s had a nice season in the minors, batting .324/.410/.588 in a small sample of 78 Double-A plate appearances before moving up to Triple-A and hitting .287/.358/.499 in 466 trips to the plate. Fitzgerald has smacked a combined 22 home runs and swiped 32 bags in 35 tries this year. His 9.7% walk rate in Triple-A is an above-average mark, while his 23.8% strikeout rate was also slightly higher than average.

San Francisco has bounced Fitzgerald all over the diamond in 2023. He’s logged time at shortstop, second base, third base and in center field this season, in addition to occasional stints at designated hitter. While he’s never been considered one of the Giants’ top prospects, Fitzgerald has been an above-average hitter at virtually every minor league stop and clearly possesses above-average speed (career 70-for-79 in stolen bases). He’ll add a versatile defensive repertoire and right-handed bat to the club’s bench mix.

Giants Release AJ Pollock

By Nick Deeds | September 5, 2023 at 4:30pm CDT

4:30pm: The Giants have now made it official, announcing Pollock’s release. His 40-man roster spot will go to right-hander John Brebbia, who has been reinstated from the 60-day IL, with righty Tristan Beck optioned to open an active roster spot for Brebbia.

7:39am: The Giants are releasing AJ Pollock, per a report by MLBNetwork’s Jon Morosi last night. The 35-year-old veteran has been on the injured list with a strained oblique for just under a month but began a rehab assignment at Triple-A last week, going 1-for-6 with a double, a walk and three strikeouts.

Pollock joined the Giants just before this year’s trade deadline in a fairly minor deal with the Mariners that also saw San Francisco acquire utility player Mark Mathias. San Francisco acquired him in hopes of improving the club’s offense against lefties, thanks to his career .836 OPS against lefties and a .286/.316/.619 slash line in 133 plate appearances when facing southpaws last year. That didn’t come to pass, however, as he ultimately suited up for the club in just five big league games, striking out two times in six at-bats without recording a hit or walk.

The brief stint in San Francisco was a continuation of what has been nothing short of a brutal year for Pollock at the plate. Since signing a one-year, $7MM deal with the Mariners this past offseason, Pollock has slashed a unsightly .165/.215/.305 in 144 trips to the plate this year. Pollock’s 22.2% strikeout rate is a career high, and while his awful .227 wOBA is much lower than his xwOBA, his rough contact quality numbers leave the expected figure at a still well-below par .267.

While Pollock began to decline somewhat with the White Sox last year, posting the first below-average offensive season of his career (aside from an injury-marred 2016 season in which he only suited up for 12 games with the Diamondbacks) since he became a full time player in 2013, his drop off in production this year has been staggering. After all, it was just two seasons ago that Pollock was posting excellent numbers with the Dodgers, slashing .297/.355/.536 with a wRC+ of 137.

As for the Giants, the club still has a pair of right-handed hitting outfielders on the roster in Mitch Haniger and Austin Slater, along with a pair of youngsters at Triple-A on the 40-man roster in Luis Matos and Heliot Ramos. San Francisco will have to put Pollock through release waivers, though he’ll surely go unclaimed between his performance, expiring and pricey contract, and the fact that he would be ineligible to participate in the postseason for the hypothetical-claiming club. Upon clearing release waivers, Pollock would become a free agent and be free to sign with any of the 30 clubs with an eye toward the 2024 campaign, though the veteran outfielder will likely have to settle for a minor league deal after this year’s performance.

NL West Notes: Kim, Padres, JDM, Smith, DeSclafani, Giants

By Mark Polishuk | July 30, 2023 at 10:43pm CDT

Ha-Seong Kim suffered what Padres manager Bob Melvin described as a “jammed shoulder” that led to an early exit from today’s game against the Rangers. Kim suffered the injury while diving to score a run in the third inning, and partially colliding with Texas catcher Sam Huff while trying to reach and touch the plate. The good news is that tests revealed no structural damage, and Kim expressed hope that he might be able to play as early as Monday when the Padres start the series in Denver with the Rockies.

Only nine players have a better fWAR than Kim’s 3.7 total, as his bat (.279/.374/.447 with 14 homers and 21 steals in 391 plate appearances, for a 130 wRC+) and excellent defense (primarily as a second baseman but also at third base and shortstop) have somewhat quietly made him one of the better overall performers in baseball this season. Even if he misses a game or two, Kim’s presence is key to a team that might still be the biggest unknowns as the trade deadline approaches. The Padres are 52-54 and are five games out of a wild card spot, with three other non-playoff teams still ahead of San Diego in the standings. The Padres are known to be at least listening to trade offers for some of their top names, but The Athletic’s Dennis Lin and Ken Rosenthal write that their “asking prices for both [Blake] Snell and [Josh] Hader…have been exorbitant.” It seems increasingly likely that San Diego might wait until almost the last minute before deciding whether to sell, buy, or (the most probable course) a combination of both tactics.

Giants Promote Keaton Winn

By Steve Adams | June 12, 2023 at 1:34pm CDT

The Giants have recalled right-hander Keaton Winn from Triple-A Sacramento and optioned fellow righty Tristan Beck to Sacramento in his place, per a team announcement. It’ll be the MLB debut for Winn whenever he takes the hill.

San Francisco has Logan Webb, Alex Cobb and Anthony DeSclafani lined up to start their respective games Monday through Wednesday this week, so there’s no immediate opening in the rotation. However, the Giants went with multiple bullpen games this past weekend, so there’s a need for some long relief in the event that one of the current rotation members has a short start or departs with an injury. Winn, who’s operated primarily as a starter in the minors, can give them just that.

The 25-year-old Winn has made a dozen appearances in Triple-A this year, all but three of them coming as a starter. The Giants have limited him on a per-outing basis, as Winn’s longest appearance of the season spanned just 4 1/3 frames and he has only 41 1/3 innings combined through those 12 outings. He’s pitched to a 4.35 ERA in that time, with a strong 27.1% strikeout rate and 50.9% ground-ball rate but an ugly 11.2% walk rate.

Baseball America ranks Winn 14th among Giants prospects, noting that he has a mid- to upper-90s heater, a newly adopted splitter and an average slider. There’s a chance for him to stick as a starter at the big league level, and perhaps even a vacancy at the moment with Sean Manaea in the ’pen and veterans Alex Wood and Ross Stripling on the injured list due to back injuries. Then again, Evan Webeck of the San Jose Mercury News tweets that Wood threw a 50-pitch session over the weekend and could be ready for activation as soon as he’s eligible, on June 16.

Winn’s role in the short-term will likely be dependent on the health of his fellow pitchers and how late into the game they’re able to pitch in the coming days. He hasn’t pitched since June 4, so the Giants will surely want to get him some work sooner than later. Winn could be optioned back in the coming days if he’s called upon for a lengthy bullpen appearance and would be unavailable for a few days anyhow, but his first call to the big leagues puts him squarely on the radar when the team needs bullpen or rotation help moving forward.

Giants Place Alex Wood On 15-Day IL

By Nick Deeds | June 4, 2023 at 12:59pm CDT

The Giants announced a pair of roster moves this afternoon, as the club placed left-hander Alex Wood on the 15-day IL with a low back strain and recalled right-hander Tristan Beck from Triple-A.

Wood joined the Giants in 2021 on a one-year, $3MM deal and posted a solid 3.83 ERA with a 3.48 FIP across 26 starts as the Giants won 107 games en route to an AL West crown. That performance earned Wood a two-year, $25MM deal to return to San Francisco during the 2021-22 offseason. That deal hasn’t gone well to this point, however. Despite much of Wood’s underlying performance staying consistent in 2022, his results took a significant tumble as he posted a 5.10 ERA, 22% below average by measure of ERA+, in 130 2/3 innings despite solid underlying metrics (3.76 FIP, 3.41 xFIP, 4.00 xERA) thanks in part to an unusually low 63.9% strand rate.

In 2023, Wood has again struggled to find his footing. He managed just ten innings across three starts before heading to the injured list with a hamstring strain in mid-April that would keep him out for nearly a month. Since returning, he’s struggled to a 6.30 ERA with a 5.14 FIP in 20 innings of work that culminated in a 4 1/3 inning, six run start where Wood allowed eight hits and three walks while striking out just four batters last week. Now, Wood heads back to the injured list where he’ll look to get healthy and hopefully get his season back on track upon his return.

Taking Wood’s spot on the roster is the right-handed Beck, who made his big league debut earlier this season out of the San Francisco bullpen, posting a 4.10 ERA and 4.62 FIP in 26 1/3 innings as a multi-inning reliever for the club. It’s unclear whether Beck will take the ball in Wood’s stead Tuesday against the Rockies, or if that start could perhaps go to Sean Manaea, who was demoted to the bullpen last month but has looked good since then, with a 0.84 ERA in 10 2/3 innings of work across four appearances.

Whoever takes the ball on Tuesday, it seems unlikely to be right-hander Ross Stripling, who Susan Sussler of the San Francisco Chronicle reports received a cortisone shot after going on the IL and has made some tweaks to his delivery while rehabbing. Sussler notes that Stripling could progress to facing live hitters soon, though that timeline still puts him a ways away from returning to the big league club.

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