The San Francisco Giants made a move ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Kansas City Royals, and it was a very predictable one. A few hours before their second game of the three-game series, the Giants announced that right-handed pitcher Trevor McDonald had been placed on the 15-Day Injured List with a right elbow strain. Taking his place on the roster is fellow right-handed pitcher Tristan Beck, who has been recalled from AAA Sacramento.
McDonald landing on the Injured List was a virtual guarantee.
During Monday’s walk-off loss to the Royals, the 25-year old called out the trainers while throwing warm-up pitches before the fifth inning. After a brief discussion, McDonald left the field with head athletic trainer Anthony Reyes. Shortly after, the Giants announced that McDonald had elbow discomfort.
Now we wait to see if it’s a serious injury. Anytime a pitcher has an elbow strain, there’s concern that he’ll need Tommy John surgery, which would likely sideline McDonald until the 2028 season. Not all elbow strains are that serious, though, so there’s also a chance that McDonald could be ready to return to the team when the 15 days are up.
If it’s the latter, McDonald will get to keep auditioning for a spot in next year’s rotation. The 2019 11th-round pick has made 14 starts this year, and has a 5.12 ERA and a 4.27 FIP, with 57 strikeouts and 23 walks in 70.1 innings.
In the meantime, the Giants will operate with a nine-man bullpen after bringing up Beck. The 30-year old, who is in his final option year, has made eight relief appearances in the Majors this year, and sports a 6.75 ERA and a 3.95 FIP, with five strikeouts and two walks in 10.2 innings. In 22 appearances with Sacramento this season, Beck has a 3.98 ERA, a 4.18 FIP, and 32 strikeouts against 14 walks in 31.2 innings.
Since Beck is a reliever, the Giants will need to sacrifice the nine-man bullpen and call up a starter soon, likely for Sunday’s game. That player will almost certainly be Sacramento southpaw Carson Whisenhunt, who is clearly next in line, and has made two spot starts in the Majors this year. Whisenhunt was widely expected to join the rotation in a few weeks, since the Giants will likely trade Robbie Ray and possibly Tyler Mahle at the deadline, opening up a spot or two in the rotation. Now he’ll get an early start, and my guess is that we’ll see him every fifth day for the rest of the season.
