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.
Don’t get the fascination with Sabol. He plays 2 positions poorly and isn’t a good hitter.
There just seem to be certain players that the Giants insist on wasting roster space on. I keep waiting for the Great Purge but it never seems to come. We’re stuck with inconsistent players who would be on the bench of any other club. Looking forward to the Jung Ho Giants of 2025! Half joking, half hoping.
I don’t think Sabol plays either position “poorly” although clearly not Gold Glove at either one. He’s improved behind the plate and if he would hit in the .250s with his power he’d be a terrific #2 catcher and sometime OF.
Bailey and Casali aren’t good hitters either. And Casali can’t throw a guy out to save his life, so other than the fact the Giants have literally zero good offensive catchers in their system, there’s nothing wrong with this move.
And what this article doesn’t mention is that Sabol was the worst hitter in Sacramento, by measure of OPS. It doesn’t make sense that he was the hitter they called up when anyone else from Sacramento would have been a better choice (except maybe Biggio).
I’d suggest this is about the 2025 roster and Sabols opportunity to show what they see.
Look at the Giants back up catchers numbers, then Sabols. The back up position has been performing horrible, amd is more glaring with Bailey performing poorly as well.
So the Giants shore up the catching position, deficient in hitting, by bringing up a catcher who has been deficient in hitting at the AAA level?
Any chance Becks pops was THE SHOOTER??
Did any team claim Taylor Rogers after he was put on waivers last week? Haven’t seen any news about it, ever slnce.
You would have seen news if someone claimed him. I don’t think anyone wants to commit to paying his salary next year.
Thanks, Scott. I thought for sure that a contender would claim him.
The surprise is that no team picked up Estrada.