The San Francisco Giants are swapping right-handed pitchers ahead of Tuesday’s home game against the San Diego Padres. A few hours before the game, the team announced that right-handed starter Trevor McDonald had been optioned to AAA Sacramento, while right-handed reliever Joel Peguero had been activated off the 15-Day Injured List.
It might seem like a surprising sequence of moves after Monday’s game, when McDonald had one of the best pitching performances of the season for the Giants, holding the Padres
to two hits and one run in seven innings, while striking out eight and walking none. But the Giants had six starters and just seven relievers, as the 25-year old McDonald had been brought up to settle the rotation following Thursday’s doubleheader. And since McDonald and Landen Roupp — the ace of the staff so far — are the only starters with options, this move always seemed most likely.
But McDonald impressed his teammates, coaching staff, and front office on Monday, and he’ll certainly be back soon, be it in the rotation or in the bullpen. After his performance in the series opener, you can bet that the Giants will feel comfortable turning to him whenever.
As for Peguero, his 30-day rehab window had expired, so he needed to either be activated or optioned to AAA, and the Giants chose the former. And what a fun time to be activated, as today is his 29th birthday! Presumably the move was decided before Monday’s game, as Alex Pavlovic reported that Peguero was with the team yesterday.
The flamethrower is still a rookie, after making his MLB debut late last year. He gives the Giants some added heat, as he makes triple digits look easy. Peguero only had a 4.82 ERA in 10 rehab appearances, but struck out 11 batters while walking just three in 9.1 innings.
