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Giants Place Brandon Belt On 10-Day Injured List

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6:49PM: Belt told The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly and other reporters that he received a cortisone shot in his knee today.  Both Belt and Giants manager Gabe Kapler feel that the first baseman won’t miss much time, perhaps even just the minimum 10 days.

3:20PM: The Giants have placed first baseman Brandon Belt on the 10-day injured list due to right knee inflammation.  Kevin Padlo was called up from Triple-A to take Belt’s spot on the active roster.

Belt is no stranger to injury problems in general, and inflammation in his right knee has led to two recent lengthy absences — a six-week stint on the IL last season, and Belt missed most of this year’s Spring Training.  There was some thought that Belt might need to start the year on the IL in order to ramp up after missing so much of camp, but Belt was on the Opening Day roster and has been playing regularly, apart from a 10-day trip to the COVID-related IL.

It’s probably safe to assume that this knee issue and the positive COVID test have contributed to a somewhat slow start for Belt, who is still producing at a 110 OPS+/115 wRC+ pace by hitting .228/.342/.386 over his first 120 PA.  By Belt’s recent high standards, however, this counts as a veritable slump, considering Belt delivered a whopping .988 OPS over 560 PA in the 2020-21 seasons.

This production led San Francisco to issue Belt (who turned 34 last month) a one-year, $18.4MM qualifying offer last fall, and Belt opted to take the one-year payday rather than test free agency.  Belt has become a staple in the Bay Area, spending his entire pro career with the Giants and earning World Series rings in both 2012 and 2014.

Belt and the Giants can hope that this bout of inflammation won’t cost the slugger another six weeks, but the club does have some depth on hand even though LaMonte Wade Jr. also just went on the 10-day IL due to his own case of knee inflammation.  Darin Ruf and Wilmer Flores figure to take the bulk of first base duty in Belt’s absence, and Tommy La Stella can provide a left-handed hitting complement to the first base picture now that he’s back from his own IL stint.

Giants Place Curt Casali On Concussion IL, Select Michael Papierski, Designate Luke Williams

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2:18pm: The Giants announced the moves, with utility player Luke Williams being designated for assignment to create space for Papierski on the 40-man roster. Acquired from the Phillies in March, Williams has played eight games and hit .250/.250/.333, 67 wRC+, though he’s hit much better in ten Triple-A games. The 25-year-old still has options and has played everywhere on the diamond except in the battery, meaning he should garner plenty of interest around the league. The Giants will have a week to trade him or put him on waivers.

2:10pm: The Giants have placed catcher Curt Casali on the seven-day concussion injured list, reports John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Fellow catcher Mike Papierski has had his contract selected and will start behind the plate in tonight’s game. Papierski was not previously on the 40-man roster, meaning a corresponding move will be required to make room for him.

Casali, 33, came out of last night’s game, with Shea relaying that the reason was because of a foul tip that he took off the mask, leading to some concussion symptoms. Manager Gabe Kapler said that Casali felt better after the game but would be re-evaluated today. It seems there must have been something lingering, as Casali will now be out of action for at least a week.

This is Casali’s second year with the Giants. Last season, playing backup to Buster Posey, Casali got into 77 games and hit .210/.313/.350 for a wRC+ of 82. In the wake of Posey’s retirement, Casali and Joey Bart have been splitting the catching time almost evenly, with Bart getting 22 starts to Casali’s 16. Bart’s 102 wRC+ indicates he’s been 2% better than league average at the plate so far this year, though that’s come about in a very uneven fashion. His four home runs and 14% walk rate are excellent, but he’s also hitting .169 and striking out 45.3% of the time. Casali, on the other hand, was off to a great start in a more straightforward manner. In 61 plate appearances so far, he’s hitting .264/.344/.472 for a wRC+ of 134. Unfortunately, that hot start has now been stalled by this unfortunate injury.

As for Papierski, he was just acquired from the Astros in last week’s Mauricio Dubon trade and will be quickly called up to make his major league debut. A ninth round selection in the 2017 draft, he has played in 29 Triple-A games this year between the two organizations. His batting line for the season is .200/.303/.260.

Injury Notes: Wade, E-Rod, Skubal, Murphy

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The Giants placed LaMonte Wade Jr. back on the injured list with continued inflammation in his left knee, per a team announcement. Outfielder Luis Gonzalez, who was optioned earlier int he week after a hot start to his Giants tenure, is back up to take his place on the roster. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports that Wade had an MRI and is slated to see a third-party doctor this coming Monday to get a second opinion. The 28-year-old already missed nearly four weeks of the season due to left knee troubles and has appeared in just 10 games with San Francisco on the year. He’s hitting .240/.375/.360 in a small sample of 32 plate appearances, which is solid thanks to five walks and a hit-by-pitch but a ways off from last year’s pace in the power department. Wade smacked 18 homers, 17 doubles and three triples in just 381 plate appearances with the Giants last season.

While there’s surely concern throughout the Giants organization regarding Wade’s knee, his return to the injured list paves the way for the 26-year-old Gonzalez to try to prove that his .349/.397/.492 start to the season (73 plate appearances) has some legitimacy. No one should expect Gonzalez to maintain a .370 average on the balls he puts into play, but his 8.2% walk rate is solid and his 13.7% strikeout rate is downright tiny by today’s standards. While there’s surely some regression in store, Gonzalez was a prospect of some note in the White Sox system before landing in San Francisco, but he only ever received 13 big league plate appearances with the South Siders.

Some more injury notes worth monitoring around the league…

  • A recent MRI performed on Tigers lefty Eduardo Rodriguez didn’t reveal any major damage to his oblique or intercostal muscles, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic writes. On the one hand, that’s good news, but on the other, it leaves some mystery as to what is ailing the southpaw. Rodriguez left his start against the Rays this week in the first inning, having allowed six of the seven batters he faced to reach base. His fastball velocity was noticeably down, sitting at just 89.8 mph after averaging a bit better than 92 mph through his first seven outings. He’s likely IL-bound, and it seems the Tigers will continue to evaluate him as they search for the root of the issue.
  • As if the Tigers’ injury woes weren’t bad enough — Rodriguez is likely IL-bound, where he’ll join Casey Mize, Matt Manning, Tyler Alexander, Michael Pineda and Spencer Turnbull — breakout starter Tarik Skubal exited tonight’s game after taking a 100.4 mph comeback liner off his leg at the end of the fifth inning. The 25-year-old Skubal blanked Cleveland over five frames prior to exiting, dropping his ERA to 2.22 through 42 2/3 frames. He’s fanned 28.4% of his opponents against just a 4.5% walk rate on the season. The Tigers announced that Skubal has been initially diagnosed with only a contusion, but MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets that he’ll undergo additional testing tomorrow. Skubal tells reporters that he’s optimistic of making his next start, but there’s enough swelling that doctors have yet to perform imaging (hence the additional evaluation tomorrow).
  • Mariners catcher Tom Murphy, out since dislocating his shoulder on a tag play at home plate back on May 6, had a setback in his recovery and isn’t expected to come off the injured list anytime soon, tweets Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Further specifics haven’t been announced by the team just yet, but it’s a notable blow given that Murphy was out to a .303/.439/.455 start to his season, albeit through a small sample of 42 plate appearances. He’s been a .240/.321/.440 hitter overall in 687 plate appearances since joining the Mariners in 2020, and his absence will leave the team reliant on young backstops Cal Raleigh and Luis Torrens, both of whom have struggled immensely at the plate this year.

Joe Panik Retires

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Former All-Star infielder Joe Panik has decided to retire, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. That concludes an eight-year MLB career for the Yonkers native.

Panik went to St. John’s University and was a first-round pick of the Giants in 2011. A contact-oriented second baseman with good strike zone awareness but limited power, Panik was seen as a solid but not top-tier prospect. He hit his way up the minor league ladder quickly, reaching the majors midway through the 2014 campaign.

The lefty-hitting Panik staked a claim to the regular second base job in San Francisco almost out of the gate. He made a brief debut in May, returned to the minors for a month, then was called up for good in late June. From that point forward, he played regularly at the keystone. Panik hit .305/.343/.368 through his first 73 games. He continued his regular role into the postseason for a San Francisco club that won its third World Series title in five years.

Panik remained the Giants second baseman for the next few seasons. He followed up his rookie showing with an excellent .312/.378/.455 campaign. Paired with sure-handed defense, he earned an All-Star nod that year. Panik’s offense took a step back in 2016 but he continued to play well on the other side of the ball, picking up the National League Gold Glove award for second basemen.

After another solid season in 2017, his offensive production dipped as he dealt with injuries (including repeated concussion issues). Panik became more of a veteran role player than a true regular from that point forward, still offering a high-contact bat but without great results on balls in play. The Giants designated him for assignment in August 2019, ending his eight-year tenure in the organization. He hooked on with the Mets for the stretch run and performed fairly well.

Panik signed successive minor league contracts with the Blue Jays heading into 2020 and ’21. He made the Opening Day roster both times, but the Jays dealt him to the Marlins last July to offset some salary in the deal that landed Adam Cimber and Corey Dickerson in Toronto. Panik finished out the season with the Fish, appearing in 53 games.

At just 31 years old, it seems likely Panik could’ve found another minor league deal had he wished to continue playing. He left the Miami organization late last season to attend the birth of his daughter, though, and Heyman writes that he’s now “enjoying family life.” Panik steps aside having appeared in 818 big league games and tallied more than 3000 trips to the plate.

All told, he was a .264/.328/.372 hitter. He only hit 42 home runs, never more than ten in a season, but he also had a minuscule 10.1% strikeout rate that’s less than half the MLB average. Panik also tallied 136 doubles, 19 triples, scored 340 runs and drove in 258. He has the aforementioned Gold Glove and All-Star selection and was a regular on a World Series winner. MLBTR congratulates Panik on an excellent career and wishes him the best in his post-playing days.

Giants Activate Tommy La Stella, Place Anthony DeSclafani On 60-Day IL

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The Giants announced a series of moves before tonight’s contest with the Rockies. Infielder Tommy La Stella has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list, with outfielder Luis González optioned to Triple-A Sacramento in a corresponding active roster move (via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). San Francisco also selected reliever Mauricio Llovera and optioned Yunior Marté. To create space on the 40-man roster for Llovera, starter Anthony DeSclafani was transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

La Stella is in tonight’s lineup as the designated hitter, setting him up to make his season debut. Signed to a three-year deal over the 2020-21 offseason, the lefty-hitting second baseman dealt with a few injuries during his first season in San Francisco. La Stella missed a few months due to a left hamstring strain and then a right hand fracture. He was then hampered by left Achilles soreness late in the season, and he was forced to undergo surgery in late October.

Recovery from that procedure lingered into the regular season and wound up costing La Stella the first five weeks of the year. Now that he’s back, he’ll likely step into a regular second base role. La Stella posted a .250/.308/.405 line in 242 plate appearances during his first season as a Giant, but he’d put up an excellent .281/.370/.449 mark in virtually the same amount of playing time during the shortened 2020 campaign. One of the game’s top contact hitters, La Stella could eventually be a top-of-the-lineup table setter for skipper Gabe Kapler. His forthcoming return no doubt played a role in the Giants’ decision to deal utilityman Mauricio Dubón to Houston over the weekend.

Llovera is back with the big league club for the second time this season. The former Phillies reliever signed a minor league deal over the winter and was selected in late April while the team was dealing with COVID-19 concerns. He appeared in four games and worked as many innings, allowing one run while striking out five without a walk. Despite the solid work, Llovera lost his 40-man roster spot as the club returned to health.

The 26-year-old’s first call-up came as a designated COVID substitute, meaning the team could return him to Sacramento without running him through waivers. That isn’t the case this time around, suggesting the Giants plan to keep him on the 40-man roster for a longer while. That’s understandable after Llovera has tossed 12 2/3 scoreless innings in the minors, fanning 17 batters against a pair of walks. Llovera does have a minor league option year remaining, so he can still bounce between San Francisco and Sacramento while maintaining a 40-man roster spot.

DeSclafani originally landed on the 10-day IL on April 22 as he battled right ankle inflammation. Today’s transfer keeps him out of MLB action for sixty days from that date, meaning he won’t return to an Oracle Park mound until at least late June. The move comes as a bit of a surprise, as the righty had progressed to mound work during his recovery last week.

Kapler stressed that DeSclafani didn’t suffer a setback (via Maria Guardado of MLB.com). Rather, it seems the club is just committed to a cautious rehab for the 32-year-old, whom they re-signed to a three-year deal over the offseason. DeSclafani tossed 167 2/3 innings of 3.17 ERA ball last season.

Astros Acquire Mauricio Dubon

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The Astros have acquired utility player Mauricio Dubon from the Giants in exchange for catcher Mike Papierski, as announced by both clubs. Additionally, the Giants have recalled infielder Donovan Walton to replace Dubon on the active roster and assigned Papierski to Triple-A Sacramento.

Dubon, 27, was originally drafted by the Red Sox in in 2013, but went to the Brewers as part of the 2016 Tyler Thornburg trade. He made it up to the big leagues for a two-game cup of coffee before being sent to the Giants as part of the 2019 deadline deal that sent Drew Pomeranz and Ray Black to the Brewers.

Since that time, Dubon has proved to be a useful bench/utility piece for the club. In 179 career games, he’s hit .258/.301/.395 while spending time at second base, third base, shortstop and center field. That batting line amounts to 88 wRC+, about 12% below league average, but his solid defense at multiple positions has still allowed him to accumulate 1.4 wins above replacement for his career, according to FanGraphs.

Those are solid contributions for a part-time player, but it seems that Dubon might have just been squeezed off a talented Giants roster. He and Thairo Estrada play similar roles on the club as right-handed hitting utility options. Tommy La Stella began the season on the injured list after undergoing achilles surgery in October but is currently rehabbing and nearing a return. The club will need to make room for him and it seems like they either preferred Estrada or got an offer on Dubon that tipped the scales in favor of this route. Since Dubon is out of options, sending him to the minors wasn’t going to be possible.

For the Astros, they’ve had disappointing results from their utility players so far this year. Aledmys Diaz is hitting .191/.257/.294 on the year for a wRC+ of 69. Niko Goodrum has been even worse, as his slash line on the year is currently .128/.171/.179, wRC+ of 4. With Jose Altuve and Jeremy Pena both dealing with minor injuries this week, the club’s middle infield mix was starting to look a little wobbly. They’re surely hoping that Dubon can help shore it up.

As for Papierski, he was a ninth round selection of the Astros in the 2017 draft. He’s since worked his way up the minor league ladder, reaching Triple-A last year. His first taste of that level went okay, as he put up a line of .246/.379/.375, 98 wRC+. However, he’s taken a dip so far this year, sitting on a line of .211/.324/.278, 59 wRC+. He’s also been spending less time behind the plate this year, with 11 games at catcher, nine at first base and six at designated hitter. Last year, it was 64 at catcher and 28 at first. If he continues that trend in his new organization, it will put more pressure on him to produce with the bat since he won’t be providing as much defensive value.

Giants, Mariners Trade Alex Blandino For Stuart Fairchild

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The Giants and Mariners have agreed to a trade that will send infielder Alex Blandino and cash considerations to the M’s, according to Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times (Twitter link).  San Francisco will acquire outfielder Stuart Fairchild, who was designated for assignment yesterday.

Fairchild is joining his third different organization in less than a month, as the Mariners obtained him from the Diamondbacks back on April 23.  A Seattle native, Fairchild’s brief tenure with his hometown team did see him play in three games and receive three plate appearances as a late-game sub.  This makes it 15 MLB appearances for Fairchild over the last two seasons, after he made his big league debut with the D’Backs in 2021.

The Reds took Fairchild in the second round in the 2017 draft, and has posted some good numbers in the minors, including a .282/.382/.536 slash line over 246 PA at the Triple-A level.  As a right-handed hitting outfielder who can play all three outfield spots, Fairchild represents an interesting depth option for the Giants, who are forever looking for more pieces to mix and match.  Since the Giants’ first-choice outfield group of Mike Yastrzemski, LaMonte Wade Jr., Joc Pederson, and Luis Gonzalez are all left-handed hitters, Fairchild joins Austin Slater and Darin Ruf as the top complements from the right side.

It could be argued that Seattle had a similar need for outfield depth with Mitch Haniger on the injured list and Jarred Kelenic optioned to Triple-A, but the M’s clearly felt Fairchild was an expendable part.  Instead, the Mariners will now add to their infield depth chart with Blandino, a veteran of 135 games with the Reds over parts of the last three seasons.  Blandino was another high draft pick for Cincinnati, selected with the 29th overall pick of the 2014 draft.

Blandino has hit only .226/.339/.291 over his 279 PA in the majors, but brings plenty of versatility.  The 29-year-old has lined up at all four infield positions, and played a handful of games as a corner outfielder at the MLB level (plus five mop-up appearances as a pitcher).  Abraham Toro and Dylan Moore are currently acting in similar super-utility capacities on the Mariners’ active roster, so Blandino provides some extra cover in the event of an injury.

Blandino was born in Palo Alto, California and played college ball at Stanford, so the trade represents a rather unusual case of two teams swapping local products.  Then again, the frequency of trades between the Giants and Mariners is an oddity unto itself — this is the fourth deal between the two clubs in less than a month.

Giants Sign Scott Alexander To Minor League Deal

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The Giants have signed left-handed reliever Scott Alexander to a minor league deal, reports Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America.

Alexander, 32, was a sixth round pick of the Royals in 2010. He made it up to the big leagues and pitched out of the Royals’ bullpen over the 2015-2017 seasons. In that time, he threw 94 innings with a 2.78 ERA. His 19.9% strikeout rate and 9.7% walk rate were both worse than league average, but his success came from an incredible 72.9% ground ball rate.

Prior to the 2018 campaign, he was acquired by the Dodgers in a three-team swap that also involved the White Sox. He performed adequately in his first season as a Dodger, similar to his time in Kansas City. He threw 66 innings that year with a 3.68 ERA, 20.9% strikeout rate, 10.1% walk rate and 70.9% ground ball rate. Unfortunately, injuries severely limited him over the subsequent three seasons. From 2019 to 2021, he was only able to log 45 total innings with a 3.20 ERA. Perhaps due to the injuries, his rate stats suffered a bit, with his strikeout rate and ground ball rates falling to 13.3% and 63.7% in that time, respectively. He last pitched in a game July 19, after which shoulder inflammation sent him to the injured list. The club could have brought him back for 2022 via arbitration but outrighted him instead.

Alexander now joins a Giants organization that could use some left-handed help in the bullpen. Jake McGee went on the injured list yesterday, leaving just Jarlin Garcia and Jose Alvarez as southpaw relief options on the big league club. Alexander will join Sam Long as left-handed depth options in Triple-A. Alexander currently has five years and 39 days of service time, meaning he needs 133 more days on a big league roster to reach the six-year plateau. There’s about 145 days left in this season, making it very unlikely Alexander will cross that threshold before season’s end, assuming he will need some time to ramp back up into game shape after such a long absence. If he does earn a roster spot and holds onto it through season’s end, the Giants would have the ability to retain him for 2023 via arbitration.

Pirates Claim Tyler Beede Off Waivers From Giants

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The Pirates have claimed right-hander Tyler Beede off waivers from the Giants, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). San Francisco had designated him for assignment last week. Pittsburgh later announced the move, designating Beau Sulser for assignment to clear space on the 40-man roster.

Beede, who turns 29 later this month, is a former first-round pick and highly-regarded prospect. The Vanderbilt product reached the big leagues in 2018 and got his first extended look in the rotation the following year. Beede allowed a 5.08 ERA over 24 appearances (including 22 starts) in 2019, posting roughly league average strikeout, walk and ground-ball numbers but struggling with the longball. The Giants no doubt hoped he’d cement himself as a long-term starting pitcher in 2020 and beyond, but that didn’t wind up being the case.

Unfortunately, Beede required Tommy John surgery in March 2020. That cost him the entire season and kept him out until the following July. Beede spent the bulk of last season with Triple-A Sacramento, struggling to a 6.66 ERA with a massive 18.4% walk rate at the minors’ top level. Much of that came while he was still rehabbing from the Tommy John procedure, and his season ended in mid-August when he landed back on the IL because of a lower back strain.

Beede exhausted his final minor league option last year, meaning the Giants had to keep him on the active roster or expose him to waivers this season. They’d transitioned him to relief but he struggled over six outings. Beede allowed five runs in 9 2/3 innings, walking six batters while striking out just four. Devoting an active roster spot to a pitcher still battling control woes proved too much for a win-now Giants team, but that’s an easier dice roll for a rebuilding Pittsburgh club. Beede is averaging nearly 96 MPH on his heater this year and won’t reach arbitration eligibility until after the season, so there’s a chance he sticks around long-term if the Bucs can help him regain his control of the strike zone.

Sulser, 28, got his first MLB call last month. He made four appearances, allowing nine runs (albeit just four earned) in 9 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. The right-hander had an excellent three-start run with Triple-A Indianapolis to earn his first call-up and still has all three minor league options remaining. It’s possible another club takes a shot on him via small trade or waivers within the next week.

Mariners Acquire Mike Ford From Giants

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The Mariners announced they’ve acquired first baseman Mike Ford from the Giants in exchange for cash considerations. It’s a reversal of the teams’ deal from two weeks ago that sent Ford from Seattle to San Francisco for cash.

Ford has pinballed between the two clubs as virtually the 41st player on both rosters. Seattle signed him to a minor league deal 0ver the offseason, then selected him to the big leagues while Luis Torrens was on the COVID-19 list. Once Torrens was healthy enough to return, the M’s designated Ford for assignment.

San Francisco jumped the waiver order by acquiring him, but the 29-year-old only appeared in one MLB game. The big left-handed hitter lost his 40-man roster spot yesterday when the Giants and M’s swung another trade, with San Francisco picking up utility infielder Donovan Walton for a pitching prospect.

The M’s now had a vacancy on the 40-man roster, and they’ll bring Ford back to the organization. The Princeton University product had acquitted himself well during his first run, hitting .317/.404/.488 through 11 games with Triple-A Tacoma. If the M’s are prepared to keep Ford on the 40-man this time around, he could serve as a left-handed bench bat for skipper Scott Servais or head back to the Rainiers as a depth player. He’s in his final minor league option year.

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