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Mike Yastrzemski Tests Positive For Covid-19

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The Giants have informed reporters, including Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic, that Mike Yastrzemski has tested positive for Covid-19. The club doesn’t have time to bring in anyone else as a corresponding move before today’s game, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Baggarly adds that Yastrzemski had a sore throat yesterday and tested positive today, despite feeling better.

Under the league’s 2022 health-and-safety protocols, players who test positive are subject to a 10-day absence from the club, though it’s possible to be reinstated in less time if the player has gone 24 or more hours without a fever, received a pair of negative PCR tests, and been given approval from a team physician and the MLB/MLBPA joint committee (a panel of one league-appointed and one union-appointed physician).

With Yaz on the shelf, this will add to the challenges the Giants are facing in the outfield. LaMonte Wade Jr. has yet to make his 2022 debut due to a bone bruise in his left knee, although he’s not terribly far away as he did begin a rehab assignment last night. Steven Duggar was placed on the 60-day IL on Friday, meaning he won’t be an option until late June at the earliest. That means the Giants will have an outfield mix of Joc Pederson, Luis Gonzalez, Darin Ruf, Austin Slater and Mauricio Dubon, at least until Yaz and/or Wade can return.

The club will be able to make a corresponding move before their next game, which could help the outfield depth. However, the pitching staff is also a bit short-handed right now, as both Alex Cobb and Anthony DeSclafani are currently on the injured list. That means the Giants may need Yaz’s roster spot for a fresh arm instead of another outfielder.

Giants Place Anthony DeSclafani On 10-Day IL, Steven Duggar On 60-Day IL

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The Giants announced a series of roster moves today, with right-hander Anthony DeSclafani going on the 10-day injured list with right ankle inflammation. Outfielder Steven Duggar is going on the 60-day injured list with an oblique strain. Right-hander Jakob Junis has been recalled to take one of the spots on the active roster, with the other going to outfielder Luis Gonzalez. Gonzalez wasn’t on the 40-man roster, but Duggar’s placement on the 60-day IL has opened a slot for him. (Twitter links from Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle)

Duggar left yesterday’s game with the injury and his placement on the injured list isn’t surprising. Comments from president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi yesterday made it a certainty. However, there was little indication of Duggar requiring a trip to the 60-day list. “That’s an injury that usually puts a guy on the sidelines for a few weeks,” Zaidi said, prior to Duggar undergoing an MRI. The results of that MRI must have been more serious than anticipated, with Duggar now unable to return before late June.

With Duggar out for an extended stretch, the club will have to figure out a center field replacement, as Duggar started 11 of the club’s first 13 games there. Mauricio Dubon and Austin Slater each took one of the others. Both of them will surely be in the mix, but they are also both right-handed hitters. Since Gonzalez is a lefty, their may be a path for him to earn the strong side of a platoon.

Gonzalez was in the minors with the White Sox last year when he required season-ending shoulder surgery. Since injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers and the team needed a roster spot, they had the choice of either placing him on the 60-day IL or on release waivers. Since the former option would require Gonzalez earning an MLB salary and service time, the White Sox opted for the latter, hoping he would clear and quickly re-sign with the club. However, the Giants claimed him and placed him on the 60-day IL, giving him the pay and service time the White Sox wouldn’t. Although Gonzalez was non-tendered at the end of the year, he seems to have appreciated that gesture from the Giants, as he re-signed with them on a minor league deal. In 11 Triple-A games so far this year, he’s hitting .283/.389/.500, 129 wRC+.

As for DeSclafani, he went on the IL with the same ankle inflammation last year, though he only required a minimum 10-day stint before returning. The severity of the injury this time around isn’t clear, but will be a challenge for the Giants regardless. Alex Cobb was just placed on the IL two days ago, meaning the club’s rotation is now doubly short-handed. Sam Long is taking the ball tonight, though he’s been in the bullpen for the club this year. He last pitched on Tuesday, throwing 25 pitches in relief, meaning he’s unlikely to take on a traditional starter’s workload tonight. Alex Wood, Logan Webb and Carlos Rodon made up the core of the rotation for now, as they try to carry the team to off-days on April 28 and May 2, with Cobb and DeSclafani hopefully able to return after that.

Giants To Place Steven Duggar On IL, Likely To Select Luis Gonzalez

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Giants center fielder Steven Duggar left yesterday’s game against the Mets in the second inning after feeling soreness in his left oblique area. After the game, manager Gabe Kapler indicated Duggar was likely to wind up on the injured list, a sentiment echoed by president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi.

During an appearance on KNBR radio in San Francisco (h/t to KNBR’s Danny Emerman), Zaidi said Duggar was headed for an MRI today but conceded early indications are “that’s an injury that usually puts a guy on the sidelines for a few weeks.” It’s not uncommon for oblique strains to require a month or more of recovery. The team will know more about the severity of Duggar’s injury and be able to provide a more specific timetable for his return once the imaging results come back.

Duggar has been San Francisco’s primary center fielder this season, starting 11 of their first 13 games. Like many of his teammates, the 28-year-old had a quietly solid showing in 2021, when he hit .257/.330/.437 with eight homers and seven stolen bases over 297 plate appearances. That offensive production was reliant on a probably unsustainable .355 batting average on balls in play, though, with Duggar’s 29.6% strikeout rate and 73.4% contact percentage raising questions about his ability to continue producing at an above-average level.

The Giants were confident enough in his abilities not to bring in external center field help this past offseason. Duggar had gotten off to a slow start to the year, collecting just seven hits in 36 at-bats with two walks and 16 strikeouts. His efforts to work through that rough stretch will be put on hold, with the Giants looking for other options to cover the position in his absence.

The immediate replacement seems as if it’ll be Luis González, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports (on Twitter) the Giants are planning to select González onto the big league club. San Francisco claimed the 26-year-old off release waivers from the White Sox last August. González was on the minor league injured list at the time, and the Giants stashed him on the major league 60-day IL for the remainder of the season. By doing so, they added a player whom Baseball America had named a top 15 prospect in the Chicago farm system each year from 2018-21. That required paying him an MLB salary for the season’s final couple weeks, but the Giants evidently valued him enough to do so if it meant bringing him to the organization.

San Francisco non-tendered González at the start of the offseason, when teams are required to activate players from the IL and carry them on the 40-man roster. They quickly brought him back on a minor league deal, and he’s gotten off to a .283/.389/.500 start in 11 games with Triple-A Sacramento.

González only has nine games of big league experience under his belt, but he’s a .267/.346/.416 hitter in the minors. He can cover all three outfield spots and adds a left-handed bat to replace the lefty-swinging Duggar. The healthy center field options on San Francisco’s 40-man roster — Austin Slater, Luke Williams, Mauricio Dubón and prospect Heliot Ramos — all hit right-handed, and Zaidi spoke on KNBR about his desire to get another left-handed option in the mix for Kapler. The lefty-hitting LaMonte Wade Jr. is on the IL due to left knee inflammation; he’s set to begin a rehab assignment with Sacramento today, and the team won’t reinstate him earlier than anticipated in response to Duggar’s injury (via Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic).

The Giants’ baseball ops leader also downplayed the possibility of recalling Ramos, who tallied seven plate appearances over four games during his first call-up earlier this season. “It was great seeing him up earlier, but not sure we want to bring him up to be in sort of a part-time role,” Zaidi said of the 22-year-old. “I think the next time he comes up, we want him to be in a situation where he can get everyday at-bats.”

For now, it seems the Giants are content to rotate a few players through center field based on match-ups. González isn’t yet on the 40-man roster, so there’ll be another move forthcoming to accommodate his selection.

Giants To Acquire Cory Abbott, Designate Jaylin Davis

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2:35pm: The Giants have announced the trade, with Abbott being optioned to Triple-A. Outfielder Jaylin Davis has been designated for assignment to make room for Abbott on the 40-man roster. Davis came to the Giants as part of the 2019 trade that sent Sam Dyson to the Twins. Last year, injuries limited him to just 43 Triple-A games and 5 MLB games. In the minors last year, he hit .230/.317/.503, 96 wRC+. His 11 home runs in that small sample were offset by a 31.7% strikeout rate. In 10 Triple-A games so far this year, he’s hitting .295/.340/.500, 105 wRC+, with a 29.8% strikeout rate. The 27-year-old still can be optioned this year and only has 28 days of MLB service time, which could give him appeal to rebuilding teams or those with the need for some outfield depth.

1:15pm: The Cubs are trading right-handed pitcher Cory Abbott to the Giants, reports Russell Dorsey of Bally Sports. It’ll be cash considerations going the other way, per Robert Murray of FanSided.

Abbott was selected by the Cubs in the second round of the 2017 draft and was well-regarded among Chicago farmhands almost immediately. Baseball America has ranked him between #8 and #23 in the system since 2018. Primarily working as a starter, he climbed the ranks of the minors and was selected to the club’s 40-man roster in advance of the 2020 Rule 5 draft. Last year, he threw 17 1/3 innings for the big league club with a 6.75 ERA, 14.6% strikeout rate and 13.4% walk rate. He was much better in 96 Triple-A innings, however, striking out 29.8% of batters, though he still had a high walk rate of 12.2% and a 5.91 ERA.

Abbott was designated for assignment last week and will now head out to his new team on the West Coast. For the Giants, there’s almost no risk in throwing some cash to the Cubs and seeing if Abbott can find another gear to make good on the promise he showed as a prospect. He’s still only 26 years old and has options. The club recently put Alex Cobb on the injured list, which dinged their rotation slightly, though he’s not expected to be out for an extended period of time.

Giants Place Alex Cobb On Injured List

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Between the two games of last night’s doubleheader, the Giants made a roster move, announcing that right-hander Alex Cobb had been placed on the 10-day IL with a right adductor strain. Fellow righty Yunior Marte was recalled to take his place on the roster.

Cobb had started the opening match of the doubleheader, but was pulled after throwing 60 pitches over 4 1/3 innings, escorted by the club’s trainer. Cobb himself didn’t seem especially worried about the injury, as relayed by Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic and Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. That suggests that Cobb could stay on the IL for the 10-day minimum or something close to it. Signed to a two-year, $20MM deal (plus a club option) just before the lockout, the 34-year-old has made two starts on the season thus far, logging 9 1/3 innings with a 4.82 ERA, 35% strikeout rate and 5% walk rate.

Even if he isn’t out for long, the timing of the injury is a bit awkward for the club. They are in the middle of a stretch where they play 14 games in 13 days, thanks to yesterday’s twin bill. They don’t have an off day until next Thursday, April 28th. Logan Webb started the second game yesterday and is lined up to throw on regular rest on the 24th. The next three days will see Carlos Rodon, Anthony DeSclafani and Alex Wood take the hill, with a starter needed to pitch on the 23rd and likely one more start beyond that.

As for Marte, the 27-year-old made his MLB debut earlier this year and now has two scoreless innings on his big league résumé.

Tony Watson Announces Retirement

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Veteran left-handed reliever Tony Watson is retiring after 11 seasons at the Major League level, he tells Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic. Watson issued a statement thanking his teammates, peers, coaches and support staff members, as well as the four teams for which he pitched — Pirates, Dodgers, Giants, Angels — and his family and friends for their support throughout his career. Nesbitt further tweets that Watson originally hoped to continue on for at least a 12th season, but shoulder issues led him to call it a career.

As Nesbitt points out, Watson will step away from baseball as the all-time leader in holds (a statistic which has been recorded since 1999), having racked up 246 of them throughout his big league tenure. That’s a testament to the southpaw’s consistency and effectiveness. Not only did his reliability convince managers to give Watson the ball with small leads year-after-year, he frequently passed them along into the later innings by keeping runs off the board.

Watson exceeded 40 innings in ten of the the past eleven seasons, with only the shortened 2020 schedule keeping him from hitting that mark every year of his career. Only once did he post an ERA north of 4.00, and he allowed fewer than three earned runs per nine innings on four separate occasions. That included three straight excellent campaigns with the Pirates in 2013-15, during which time the University of Nebraska product tossed 224 1/3 innings of 1.97 ERA ball, stifling opposing hitters to a .212/.265/.297 slash line.

Amidst that run, Watson earned a deserved selection to the 2014 All-Star game. He struck out 26.6% of opposing hitters that year — the second-highest rate of his career — while posting a 1.63 ERA and leading the National League with 78 appearances. Watson remained eminently productive throughout his tenure in Pittsburgh, which concluded at the 2017 trade deadline when the non-contending Bucs shipped the impending free agent to the Dodgers. (That deal looks as if it’ll be a meaningful one for years to come in Pittsburgh, as now-top prospect Oneil Cruz went from L.A. in return).

As he was throughout his career, Watson proved an effective late-season addition for the Dodgers. He then signed a three-year deal with the division-rival Giants, where he remained a solid bullpen option. Between 2018-20, Watson posted a 3.20 ERA in 138 frames. He signed with the Angels in free agency last winter, but San Francisco brought him back via a deadline trade. Watson had run into some uncharacteristic struggles in Orange County, but he righted the ship for what’ll prove to be his final run in the Bay Area.

Even as he neared his 37th birthday, the Iowa native was one of the better left-handed relievers in this year’s free agent class. He reportedly drew some interest from the Mets last month, but his shoulder will prevent him from giving it another go. Nevertheless, Watson steps away from the game as one of the more quietly effective relievers of the past decade. He posted a 2.90 ERA in 648 1/3 innings across 11 major league campaigns. In addition to his aforementioned holds record, he saved 32 games and struck out 570 batters. MLBTR congratulates Watson on his long, successful run and wishes him all the best in retirement.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Giants To Sign Daniel Tillo

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The Giants have signed left-handed pitcher Daniel Tillo. Although no official announcement has come from the team, the player himself broadcasted the news on Twitter. Presumably, it’s a minor league deal, as Tillo just cleared release waivers a few days ago.

Tillo, turning 26 in June, was drafted by the Royals in the third round in 2017. He was added to the team’s 40-man roster in the 2020-2021 offseason despite having undergone Tommy John surgery in July of 2020. He eventually made his way back to the mound in 2021, throwing 5 2/3 innings in the Arizona Complex League, followed by 23 1/3 innings in Double-A. His 4.63 ERA in Double-A wasn’t especially impressive, nor was his 14.7% walk rate, though he did rack up grounders at a 53.1% mark. That’s actually a bit lower than previous seasons, where he got worm-burners around 60% of the time in most stops up the minor league ladder.

For the Giants, there’s no real risk in taking a flier on Tillo. He’s still young, has two option years remaining and less than a year of MLB service time. (He was on the MLB injured list while rehabbing from Tommy John but hasn’t made his MLB debut yet.) If he can improve his control as he gets farther away from his surgery, he could improve the club’s depth, either in the rotation or the bullpen. Tillo had worked primarily as a starter until that 2021 season where he was building up strength after the surgery. The Giants have two lefties in their big league rotation and four in the bullpen, but no other options on their 40-man roster than can be called up from the minors if a need should arise.

Giants Promote Heliot Ramos

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12:03PM: The Giants have officially announced the move.  Right-hander John Brebbia has been placed on the bereavement list to create a 40-man roster space.

8:12AM: The Giants are promoting outfield prospect Heliot Ramos to the big leagues, as initially reported by Munger English Sports Management (Ramos’ agency).  Ramos is expected to make his debut today for the Giants’ game against the Marlins.

With southpaw Trevor Rogers scheduled to start for Miami, the right-handed hitting Ramos is a logical fit for tonight’s lineup, and perhaps for throughout the season given the left-handed tilt of the Giants outfield.  Mike Yastrzemski, Joc Pederson, Steven Duggar, and the currently-injured LaMonte Wade Jr. all swing from the left side, though San Francisco also has Darin Ruf, Austin Slater, Mauricio Dubon, and Luke Williams as available right-handed bats.  Utilityman Williams might end up being the odd man out to make room for Ramos, as Williams still has three minor league options.

The 22-year-old Ramos has long been seen as one of the Giants’ best prospects, and he has been a regular on top-100 rankings since he was selected 19th overall in the 2017 draft.  His stock has somewhat dropped as a result of not playing in 2020, and then a 2021 campaign that saw Ramos hit a modest .254/.323/.417 over 495 combined plate appearances at the Double-A and Triple-A levels.  Still, The Athletic’s Keith Law rated Ramos 70th on his preseason top-100 list,  Baseball America had Ramos in the 94th spot, and Fangraphs has Ramos ranked 101st.

Ramos only just turned 22 in September, and BA’s scouting report notes that Ramos has made his way up the minor league ladder “usually as one of the younger players at every stop.”  Along the way, Ramos has shown glimpses of his potential, if there is some master-of-none aspect to his performance.  As Fangraphs’ report puts it, “while it’s easy to call him a five-tool player since he’s competent in every aspect of the game, scouts struggle to figure out what Ramos’ one carrying tool is.”

At the plate, Ramos has hit .270/.340/.448 over 1625 PA in the minors, with 47 homers and 41 steals (out of 64 attempts).  He has also struck out in 440 of those at-bats, and evaluators note that his swing lacks some loft, and that Ramos has looked a little susceptible to off-speed pitches.  Ramos is expected to eventually move to right field due to his relative lack of top-tier speed and his good throwing arm, but Ramos has mostly played as a center fielder throughout his career and has looked decent up the middle.  The Giants are probably likely to use Ramos primarily in center, though he has the flexibility to play at any of the three outfield positions based on situations.

Ramos hit well in the small sample sizes of Spring Training (10 PA) and the early stages of the Triple-A season (13 PA).  While he didn’t break camp with the team, his quick promotion means that Ramos should still clock a full year of service time should he remain on San Francisco’s active roster for the remainder of the season.  The newly-instituted Prospect Promotion Incentive could also somewhat mitigate the Giants’ service-time concerns, though Ramos may technically not qualify.  As per The Athletic’s Evan Drellich, prospects are PPI eligible if they “are included in two or more of the preseason top-100 prospect lists put out by Baseball America, MLB.com or ESPN,” and of those three specific outlets, Ramos only cracked BA’s list.

Injury Notes: Pollock, La Stella, Sanchez, Borucki, Pearson

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A.J. Pollock left today’s game with what the White Sox announced as right hamstring tightness.  Pollock had just singled, but seemed to tweak his hamstring while making the turn around first base, and had to be replaced for a pinch-runner.  While Pollock’s lengthy injury history (including a right hamstring strain that sidelined him for over two weeks last September) gives particular concern to any new issues, Pollock told The Athletic’s James Fegan and other reporters after the game that today’s injury wasn’t nearly as severe as last season’s hamstring problem.

As it happens, Pollock was already set to miss some time.  The outfielder and his wife are expecting their second child, and Pollock was scheduled to go on paternity leave tomorrow.  He’ll use the absence to rest his hamstring and hopefully avoid become the latest White Sox player to hit the injured list.  Garrett Crochet has been lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery, while the 10-day IL features Lance Lynn, Yoan Moncada, Joe Kelly, Yermin Mercedes, and Ryan Burr, plus Lucas Giolito is now also set to miss at least his next two starts.

More injury updates from around baseball…

  • There is “no set in stone timeline at this point” for when Tommy La Stella might return from the injured list, Giants manager Gabe Kapler told MLB.com’s Maria Guardado and other reporters.  La Stella underwent Achilles surgery in October and is still feeling some soreness, though he told media that doctors have said this isn’t unusual.  Despite the lack of clarity, the Giants did consider using La Stella as a DH to begin the season, so it would seem like he is relatively close to playing.  “It was just one of those things where we wanted to make sure that we weren’t sacrificing the long-term success in this process for short-term gains now and make sure I’m set up to be good to go for the rest of the season,” La Stella said.
  • Anibal Sanchez could miss his scheduled start Monday, as the Nationals right-hander has been dealing with neck soreness.  The Nats already pushed Sanchez’s start back to give him time to heal, but as MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman writes, the club now may need to turn to either the bullpen, or possibly a minor league call-up like Josh Rogers or Aaron Sanchez to take the start.  In Aaron Sanchez’s case, the Nationals would have to first clear a 40-man roster spot to select his minor league contract.
  • Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo updated reporters (including TSN’s Scott Mitchell) about sidelined pitchers Ryan Borucki and Nate Pearson.  Borucki is on the 10-day IL with a right hamstring strain, but came out of a two-inning simulated game feeling well.  Pearson is set to start light throwing after missing time due to mononucleosis, but because Pearson missed a significant portion of Spring Training, Mitchell writes that the right-hander is “essentially starting from scratch” from a preparation standpoint.  As such, it might not be until at least mid-May that Pearson is fully ramped up.

Evan Longoria Expected To Miss Six Weeks

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Giants third baseman Evan Longoria is expected to miss at least six weeks following this week’s surgery to repair a damaged ligament in his right index finger, manager Gabe Kapler told reporters this morning (Twitter link via Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com). Utilityman Wilmer Flores is expected to man third base for the Giants on Opening Day in place of Longoria.

It’s a tough blow for the Giants, as the 36-year-old Longoria enjoyed a resurgent 2021 campaign at the plate when he batted .261/.351/.482 with 13 homers and 17 doubles in 291 plate appearances. A shoulder sprain kept the former Rookie of the Year and three-time All-Star out of action for two months over the summer, however, and Longoria will now endure another absence of note thanks to this latest injury. He’ll likely be sidelined into mid-May.

Flores, 30, is no stranger to third base, having played more than 1500 innings there in his career — including 430 frames last year while Longoria was on the shelf. Depending on the health of fellow infielder Tommy La Stella, Flores could be used in either a regular role or in a platoon setting at the hot corner. While Flores’ career .263/.311/.413 slash against righties is plenty respectable, it’s not as strong as his .278/.321/.502 line against lefties. The Giants have a pair of left-handed-hitting options who could see time at third base, Tommy La Stella and Jason Vosler, but La Stella figures to receive a good bit of playing time at second base as well. Versatile infielder Thairo Estrada, another righty bat, also figures to see an uptick in playing time with Longoria out. Likewise, infielder/outfielder Mauricio Dubon has experience at both second base and third base.

Suffice it to say, Kapler will have plenty of options to mix-and-match his infield alignment depending on the day’s matchup. The loss of Longoria nevertheless subtracts a source of right-handed pop from a lineup that’s also going to be without lefty-hitting LaMonte Wade Jr. for at least the season’s first week, if not a bit longer.

Longoria is in the final guaranteed season of a six-year, $100MM contract extension he signed while still playing with his original organization, the Rays, who selected him with the No. 3 overall pick back in 2006. The Giants hold a $13MM option for the 2023 season, though their decision on Longoria will actually be a net $8MM, as he’s owed a $5MM buyout even if the option is declined.

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