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Giants To Promote Christian Arroyo, Designate Chris Marrero

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5:39pm: Struggling first baseman/outfielder Chris Marrero has been designated for assignment, Shea tweets. In the other corresponding move, veteran utilityman Aaron Hill was sent to the 10-day DL with a forearm strain.

5:24pm: The Giants will promote top infield prospect Christian Arroyo, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area (via Twitter). Also joining the MLB roster is veteran outfielder Drew Stubbs, per John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link).

Arroyo, who’s still just 21 years old, was taken 25th overall in the 2013 draft. Since, he has steadily moved up the ladder toward the majors, with the Giants facing steadily growing calls to give him a shot at the game’s highest level.

While there have been several opportunities, San Francisco has to this point kept the youngster in the pipeline. Arroyo struggled last year upon making the leap to Double-A, causing him to drop out of Baseball America’s listing of the top-100 prospects (though he remains 89th on MLB.com’s ranking) and further extending his timeline.

But that all changed with the beginning of the current season. The Giants have staggered out of the gates and will now be forced to navigate the tough NL West without ace Madison Bumgarner. Arroyo, meanwhile, has thrived in brief action at the game’s highest level. Through 69 plate appearances, he is slashing a robust .446/.478/.692. While he has drawn just a pair of walks, Arroyo has also gone down on strikes only eight times.

While he has played mostly at shortstop in the minors, Arroyo will line up at third base upon his arrival in San Francisco. Indeed, he’ll plug right into the lineup, taking the sixth spot in the batting order while starting at the hot corner tonight. Eduardo Nunez is playing in left field; presumably, he’ll see a good bit of time there while also stepping into the infield when needed.

Given that the season is only a few weeks old, Arroyo will be set up nicely to qualify for arbitration as a Super Two player down the road — assuming, at least, that he can stick in the bigs from this point forward. If he entrenches himself in San Francisco, Arroyo would reach arbitration eligibility in advance of the 2020 season but not qualify for free agency until 2024.

Reactions To Madison Bumgarner's Injury

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  • In the wake of Madison Bumgarner’s injury, Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News opines that tanking the 2017 season might not be the worst thing for the long-term future of the Giants. Baggarly notes that the front office still has several months to make this determination, but his argument stems from the fact that the rest of the NL West is getting younger and more athletic with the arrival of young talent from the minor leagues. Trading players such as Johnny Cueto and Eduardo Nunez this summer would pave the way for San Francisco’s own top young talent (Tyler Beede and Christian Arroyo) to arrive in the Majors and would also replenish the minor league ranks (as would a high pick in the 2018 draft). The Giants needn’t employ a long-term rebuild, Baggarly notes, as they could reasonably expect significant contributions out of Bumgarner and injured southpaw Will Smith next season, plus perhaps either (or both) of the aforementioned Beede and Arroyo.
  • Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron argues the opposite, meanwhile, writing that despite the injury to Bumgarner and a 6-13 start to the year, the Giants shouldn’t punt on the season. Cameron notes that the Giants are far from the only underperforming club that entered the season as a projected contender. The Mets, Cardinals and Pirates have all gotten off to poor starts and suffered significant losses, while the division-favorite Dodgers are also below .500. Cameron adds that Arroyo and Beede can both be auditioned without making trades to free up space — he suggests shifting Nunez to left field and simply plugging Beede into Bumgarner’s vacant rotation slot — and also notes that both Cueto and Nunez would come with limited trade value. Cueto, he points out, would be valued as a rental but come with the downside of potentially being stuck with the remaining four years on his contract should he incur an injury.

Bobby Evans: Madison Bumgarner's Current Contract Not A Concern

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Although the Giants have a good relationship with left-hander Madison Bumgarner, their front office isn’t going to forget his dirt bike accident if the two sides negotiate a new contract in the future, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Bumgarner is controllable via eminently affordable team options for both the 2018 and ’19 seasons, after which the three-time World Series champion should be in line to become one of the majors’ richest pitchers. In the meantime, it’s possible the Giants could look to recoup some money from Bumgarner’s current deal in the wake of the off-field shoulder injury that will keep him out for two-plus months; however, Shea notes that doing so would look terrible from a public relations standpoint and could damage the team’s relationship with Bumgarner. Unsurprisingly, general manager Bobby Evans doesn’t seem inclined to quarrel with Bumgarner over money, telling Shea that the 27-year-old ace’s contract is “the least of our concerns.” Rather, the Giants’ “focus is trying to take care of Madison and get him healthy and support him any way we can,” per Evans.

Denard Span Hopes To Miss Just A Few Games With Shoulder Injury

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  • Denard Span told CSNBayArea.com’s Alex Pavlovic and other reporters that he hopes to miss only a few days after hurting his shoulder crashing into the outfield wall last night.  Span said he suffered a similar injury in 2012 that kept him on the DL for several weeks, though his current issue doesn’t quite seem as serious, with Span noting that “the good thing is I’ve got range of motion.”  Between Span’s injury, Hunter Pence day-to-day with a knee strain and the team’s ongoing need in left field, the Giants are in need of some roster creativity to address the outfield.  Manager Bruce Bochy raised the possibility that Brandon Belt could play left (as he is today) in order to get Buster Posey at first and Nick Hundley behind the plate, as Hundley is hitting well.  Drew Stubbs could also be promoted from the minors as further outfield depth.

Giants Notes: Bumgarner, Span

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There hasn’t been any talk within the Giants organization about filing a grievance against Madison Bumgarner in the wake of the ace southpaw’s dirt bike accident earlier this week, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes (subscription required).  It isn’t known whether Bumgarner had some sort of contractual clause (as many players do) prohibiting him from engaging in potentially dangerous activities like dirt biking, though if he did, the Giants would technically be within their rights to pursue recouping some of the salary owed to Bumgarner while he is on the disabled list.  Then again, as Olney notes, such a tactic “would be incredibly shortsighted and stupid” for the Giants given Bumgarner’s importance to the franchise, not to mention the fact that Bumgarner is already an enormous bargain thanks to an early-career extension.

  • Denard Span left last night’s game in the second inning after colliding with the wall while making a catch.  The Giants outfielder suffered a mild right shoulder sprain and though Span told MLB.com’s Chris Haft and other reporters that x-rays were negative, manager Bruce Bochy said Span may be out of action for a few days.  With Hunter Pence also hampered by a knee strain, the Giants may need to make some type of roster move to fill the gaps in their outfield.

Giants Outright Tim Federowicz

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  • The Giants have outrighted catcher Tim Federowicz to Triple-A, tweets Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. The club designated Federowicz for assignment Tuesday, and he subsequently cleared waivers. San Francisco no longer had a need for Federowicz after Buster Posey returned from the seven-day concussion DL. Federowicz appeared in two games during Posey’s weeklong absence.

Bumgarner's Injury Could Mark End Of An Era For Giants

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Madison Bumgarner’s injury could mark the end of an era for the Giants, Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News writes. The short-term implications of the injury are clear — Bumgarner’s dirt bike crash will make it that much harder for the Giants to climb out of the 6-11 hole they’ve already dug. But Kawakami doesn’t suggest the injury even extinguishes the Giants’ playoff hopes. Rather, he thinks the rather silly cause of the injury upends Bumgarner’s nearly mythical status — Kawakami compares the old Bumgarner, the one who helped the Giants to three World Series wins and carried the team on his back  in 2014, to Paul Bunyan. It also suggests that the Giants as a team no longer warrant the presumption that they’ll win just because they’ve done so in the past. Here’s more from the West divisions.

Giants Place Madison Bumgarner On 10-Day DL After Dirt Bike Accident

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8:20pm: There’s internal concern that a two-month estimated absence may be on the low side, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets.

6:03pm: From the club’s perspective, there’s no real timetable at present, manager Bruce Bochy tells reporters including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link).

4:00pm: The initial expectation is that Bumgarner will be sidelined for six to eight weeks, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). It’s not clear, though, whether that figure includes the time that the lefty will presumably require to ramp up and move through a rehab assignment.

3:39pm: Giants ace Madison Bumgarner is headed to the 10-day DL after injuring himself in a dirt bike accident, the team announced. He is said to have suffered bruised ribs along with “a grade one or two left shoulder AC sprain.”

Fortunately, it seems there’s no reason to worry for Bumgarner’s long-term well-being. He has already been released from the hospital. But from an on-field perspective, the news certainly looks to be concerning.

To be sure, there’s little in the way of detail as to just how the injury will impact Bumgarner. For now, it seems he’ll rest before being reevaluated next week.

The injury is not a common one for a pitcher, but it does happen to quarterbacks with regularity. Treatment and timing will obviously depend upon the final assessment of the severity, though it seems that surgery isn’t likely to be needed for a grade one or two sprain.

Obviously, the fact that the injury occurred to Bumgarner’s throwing arm will be a significant factor. That’ll not only increase the risks of rushing back, but will presumably call for a lengthier timeline — including, perhaps, a rehab stint.

Bumgarner had been himself on the hill in the early going, continuing his outstanding track record of production. (To date, Bumgarner owns a 2.99 ERA with 8.9 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 over 1,242 2/3 career innings.) Now, he’s headed to the DL for the first time in his career.

What makes the southpaw special, though, isn’t just his effectiveness. It’s the fact that he has had a flawless record of durability. Bumgarner has made at least 31 starts and thrown at least 200 innings in each of his first six full seasons in the majors. Now, it seems those streaks are at risk.

The Giants have options on hand to fill in, with Ty Blach seemingly likely to step into the rotation and Chris Stratton coming up to provide another arm. But there’s no replacing Bumgarner, who is already a legendary figure in the organization due to his incredible postseason efforts.

Melvin Upton Undergoes Surgery For Torn Thumb Ligament

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Giants outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. has undergone surgery to repair a torn ligament in his thumb, GM Bobby Evans tells reporters including Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News (via Twitter). He is expected to miss at least eight weeks of action.

Upton, 32, came to San Francisco on a minors deal after he failed to crack the Blue Jays’ Opening Day roster. He figured to be one of several players who could ultimately have played a role in the team’s still-unsettled mix in left field.

Instead, Upton is headed for a lengthy rehab. The veteran had enjoyed something of a renaissance after moving to San Diego from the Braves, where he failed to deliver on a big free-agent contract. But he struggled late last year with Toronto after a mid-season trade, slashing just .196/.261/.318 in 165 plate appearances down the stretch.

Evans On Lack Of Left Field Options

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FanRag’s Jon Heyman tackles a number of slow-starting teams in the intro to his weekly notes columns, getting the opinions of rival scouts and executives on the slow starts from the Cardinals, Giants, Blue Jays and Rangers. Heyman spoke to Giants GM Bobby Evans on his club’s issues in left field, with Evans conceding, “We don’t have a true left fielder. We’re going to have to mix and match.” Heyman notes that veteran infielder Aaron Hill is expected to get some looks in left field. San Francisco elected to move on from Angel Pagan this offseason and entered the year with a platoon of Jarrett Parker and Chris Marrero in left field, but Parker will now miss significant time following a broken clavicle. And it appears to be too late to turn back to Pagan, who told El Vocero yesterday that he’s planning to sit out the 2017 season to spend time with his wife and children.

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