The Giants have placed Anthony DeSclafani and Evan Longoria on the IL, per a team announcement. Longoria is going on the COVID IL because of vaccine side effects, per Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. DeSclafani’s placement, retroactive to August 19th, is due to right ankle inflammation. The two roster spots will be taken by lefty Sammy Long and righty Jay Jackson. Additionally, Reyes Moronta was activated from his rehab assignment and optioned to Triple-A.
For Longoria, he should be able to return in a day or two, once he feels better. (The COVID IL has no minimum stay.) The loss of DeSclafani, however, is the more worrisome news for the Giants as he has been a solid member of the rotation this season. After a down year with Cincinnati in 2020, San Fran scooped him up for a one-year, $6MM deal, getting tremendous value for that outlay. Desclafani’s tally of 132 2/3 innings is second only to Kevin Gausman on the club this year. His ERA of 3.26 over that span is the 14th-best mark in all of MLB. He’s recently hit a bit of a snag, however, going on the IL for the second time this month. He endured a minimum stay starting August 4th because of shoulder fatigue and will now go back on the shelf because of this ankle inflammation.
It’s unclear how long the hurler is expected to be sidelined, but even another minimum stay will be impactful. After an off-day on Monday, the Giants will enter a stretch of playing 16 days in a row. They are also without Johnny Cueto, who recently went on the IL himself, whittling the rotation down to Gausman, Logan Webb and Alex Wood. This all comes as the Dodgers have crept up on the Giants in the standings, narrowing the gap to 1 1/2 games going into today’s action.
Sammy Long will likely slot into the rotation at some point during the next few weeks. He’s just recently been getting stretched out after his own IL stint but was able to throw five innings in his most recent Triple-A start. In eight games at the MLB level this year, four starts, he’s absorbed 28 1/3 innings with an elevated ERA of 5.72, but more a more palatable 3.84 xERA, 3.96 SIERA and 3.63 FIP.
Cueto is eligible to return at any point now, though it’s unclear if that’s expected. Without him, the club may have to turn to its depth, though that also just took a hit with Tyler Beede being placed on the 60-day IL just a few days ago. The Giant signed Matt Shoemaker to a minor league deal a few weeks back, though he’s having a nightmare season. Released by the Twins after posting an ERA north of 8.00, his time in the Giants’ org hasn’t improved things. In a small sample of three appearances with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, his ERA is 9.45.
What’s that, Longoria’s 4th trip to the IL?
2nd vaccine side effect trip. Must have gotten a booster shot.
Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.
YES and YES!
He had the J&J vaccine that was one shot and hasn’t been talked about boosting it yet publicly at least. This ones a bit of a head scratcher. Maybe he opted for the others in this scenario.
I guess my question is why did he wait until he was activated to get it? He had months on the IL when he could’ve worked his way through it.
How do you spend two months on the IL and not get vaccinated before coming back?
It was most likely a booster shot since he already had the J&J vaccination.
There’s no booster shot for J&J. Almost sounds like he decided to also get the Pfizer or Moderna shot.
Well, I got the J&J in March and just got a Pfizer shot a few weeks ago on my own, and I consider that a booster. On my own meaning I didn’t have a doctor tell me to and I didn’t tell Walgreens that I had already got the J&J.
I’ve read posts from people who are doing this. I doubt a MLB player could get away with it.
With the vaccine spot or the league? Because an mlb player could easily just lie at Walgreens and if he’s having side effects then he’s having side effects. MLB isn’t going to open that hornets nest just to stop a team from casually manipulating the dl
There’s no reason to think an mlb player can’t get a vaccine on his time off that’s approved by the league
and honestly, if he had the J&J and then got another one, it follows that he may have side effects as they interact with each other
His “side effect” could also just be a sore arm..
Yep. Although to be fair a sore arm is a reason to sit a day maybe as a 3rd basemen (you’d hope he didn’t get it in his throwing arm though!)
It’s not Longo’s fault that the league baked this situation in when they made the rule. He got hit on the hand the other day anyway and his team is in first, I’m sure he’s ok with being a pawn in farhan’s chess game for a week
harper: Well done, minion. Here’s your pellet…
Here’s the REAL reason Longo is on the COVID IL. It operates outside the 40 man roster and the Giants had to activate Moronta off the 60 day IL today (he just completed his max 30 day rehab where he wasn’t that effective). This allows the Giants to have a 41 man roster, temporarily.
Not that I care, but it’s roster manipulation and it’s allowed under the rules.
Thank you, Dave. Straight to the reason, no assumptions or irrational reactions. Respect.
Exactly. An easy rule bending while the loophole exists. Something we can all shrug at as opposed to other things technically within the rules but just barely
So, if you’re a regular joe, you have a CDC or government mandated quarantine time……..but baseball players don’t?
It’s a reaction to the vaccine. This is different than contracting the virus. It’s not even close.
Did you read above, where it states there’s no minimum stay on the Covid IL?
That’s what my comment is based on.
It’s because there is more than one reason to be on the COVID IL. If you mandate a minimum time, then guys who need a few extra days because they get sick from the vaccine will get stuck on it longer than needed. MLB has COVID protocols.
There is a minimum upon contraction of COVID
Just because there’s no general minimum, doesn’t exclude there being a minimum with an actual positive test
Pretty sure it’s 10 days. Hence why Trea turners dodgers debut was delayed
I’m extremely curious when exactly did he get the Jab?
Sounds more like a right cross. It stunned him, but he’s not out for the count.
Spike-protein implantation is no joke…
Sing it, StPete!!
Hoping Desclafani gets back in time for the next Dodgers series.
Hoping he doesn’t. And I like the guy but they should make him call in sick against the dodgers.
Is it possible it’s all a clever ruse. He got on the finger recently. No fracture but sore, sat the next game out. Still sore, but not 10 day IL sore. Needs a day or three. Covid IL is how long ?
Almost every competing team does something like this. Someone else above had a good point about the 30 day min ending
If they won’t ask about it, are you cheating?
foppert: “He got on the finger”?? Keep it clean: this is a family website!!
Gee, who ever could have predicted harmful side effects from the…”vaccine”??!
I’d like to see Matt Shoemaker turn his career around and be a solid rotation piece for someone. Truly good guy and entertaining player.
This is precisely why I was surprise Farhan didn’t go out and get a RELIABLE (#3 or #4) starting pitcher before the deadline. Neither Shoemacker nor Chatwood fill that description. The starting rotation was always susceptible to this, including regression from Gausman, DeSclafani & Wood. Thank goodness Webb is coming into his own.
If there’s an Achilles heel to the Giants’ post-season chances, this is it. They needed to get one more starter added to the inventory to protect against this happening. It’s hard to criticize Zaidi and Harris for anything right now, given how well they’ve fired on all their chances this season. But they needed to make one more move beyond Bryant and Watson, and no, that doesn’t mean Scherzer, which was never going to happen here.
This has nothing to do with this post other than one player but how likely do you guys think it is that DeSclafani returns in free agency?
I think it’s quite likely given the remarkable improvement he’s made from journeyman pitcher to a reliable #3. under the Giants tutelage. Of course, that’s predicated on two things: (1) he doesn’t completely fall part the rest of the way and (2) he doesn’t ask for more than 3 years.
The Giants have only one returning rotation arm next year: Logan Webb, so they’ll likely want to continue finding value where they can. I could see them splurging on Kevin Gausman a bit, but ultimately, unless DeSclafani is looking for a 2 year deal or less, I don’t know if he’d return.