The Giants placed starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani on the 15-day injured list on Sunday, potentially ending his 2023 season and further complicating the club’s needs at the Aug. 1 trade deadline.
According to manager Gabe Kapler, an MRI scan revealed a Grade 1 strain in DeSclafani’s throwing elbow. Alarm bells rose this week when the righty felt discomfort after throwing a bullpen session, Kapler said.
“Anthony was feeling some fullness in his forearm,” Kapler said. “That was after the last pen that he threw, which was actually a pretty good pen. That was enough for (Dave Groeschner) and our medical staff to check him out.”
DeSclafani, 33, has a 4.88 ERA in 19 games (18 starts) this season. He most recently pitched on July 23, when he allowed four earned runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings against Washington.
In a corresponding move, the Giants recalled rookie hybrid pitcher Tristan Beck from Triple-A. DeSclafani won’t throw for “several weeks,” Kapler said, and will need time to rehab beyond that.
The veteran DeSclafani hasn’t had Tommy John surgery in his career; the closest he came was in 2017 when he sprained his UCL. DeSclafani is under contract through next season, as he re-signed for a three-year, $36 million pact after the 2021 season.
When DeSclafani inked that contract, he had been dealing with an ankle injury he thought would’ve healed with rest over the offseason. Instead, it required surgery and ended his 2022 season after five starts.
Now DeSclafani has another serious injury.
The Giants have spent much of this season with a glut of veteran pitchers who have teetered between starting and relief roles. Given that redundancy, plus an influx of young pitchers capable of executing in the same role like Beck and Keaton Winn, San Francisco could use the deadline to move off a veteran starter in favor of a position player.
But DeSclafani’s injury might make the Giants’ front office less inclined to pursue such a deal. Teams likely won’t be interested in trading for DeSclafani because of the injury concerns, and his absence cuts into SF’s starting depth as a double-edged sword. Alex Wood, Ross Stripling, Sean Manaea, and Jakob Junis remain as bulk-inning options, and Kyle Harrison is still expected to pitch for the Giants this year, but SF would be dealing from a weaker position.
- Earlier this series, the Giants pinch hit Joc Pederson for rookie Marco Luciano. Kapler had a conversation with the shortstop to explain the club’s philosophy when it comes to pinch-hitting, and reiterate that getting subbed out isn’t an indictment on his talent.
Before Sunday’s game, Kapler expanded on that idea and dynamic with Luciano specifically. In doing so, he hinted at Luciano’s leash with the big-league club:
(Luciano)’s been a total pro. Most of these guys recognize that there are players on the bench with really good track records of success on any given day. MOst of these guys recognize that our best hitters, we hit for and hit with. And I think because we’ve been so consistent with this strategy now, for going on four seasons, it’s pretty familiar. And also not uncommon around the game. It’s not just the Giants. Obviously, we do it pretty aggressively, that’s no secret. But I think Marco’s ready for anything. He’s going to be ready to come off teh bench when he’s not starting a game. He’s not going to be surprised if in a game, we take the liberty to have a really good hitter come off and hit for him.
One more thing on that note I think is worth talking about: we want to see a lot of Marco. We don’t feel like we have to cram that into 15 minutes. It’s going to happen over a long period of time. So we can see Marco take big at-bats late in the game against the toughest right-handers, he can come off the bench and hit against a lefty, he can be out there at shortstop in the biggest spots, we may shift things around from time to time and he may play second base. We’re not robbing Peter to pay Paul. There’s lots of time for Marco to get these reps and learn and have all these opportunities. And the other thing that I think sometimes pops up in these situations is we’re not robbing players of confidence when we do this. Again: look around the game, there are some great players who have played for a really long time who sometimes come off the bench or get pinch-hit for. It’s the state of Major League Baseball.
- LaMonte Wade has been dealing with a number of injuries this season, and a back injury made him unavailable in Friday’s contest. He said he was ready to pinch-hit on Saturday, but the game state never called for him.
Wade hasn’t played since July 26 and isn’t starting Sunday, but will likely factor in as SF searches for matchup advantages against Boston’s opener strategy.
- Bruce Bochy’s club, the Texas Rangers, made the biggest trade deadline splash to date on Saturday, swinging a deal for Mets starter Max Scherzer.
Scherzer has had a down year, but the Mets pried Texas’ third-ranked prospect from them by offering to pay down Scherzer’s sizable contract. Perhaps New York will look to make a similar move with Justin Verlander, the three-time Cy Young winner who has a full no-trade clause. If they look to move Verlander, the Giants — who currently have two pitchers they’d be confident in starting a playoff game — should get involved.
- Michael Conforto is two plate appearances away from giving himself the ability to opt out of his contract for next year. The Giants signed him to a two-year, $36 million deal under the condition that he could opt out of the second year if he reaches 350 plate appearances. Since Conforto is starting on Sunday, he’ll likely cross that threshold against the Red Sox.
The eventual question, then will become whether Conforto would want to seek a long-term deal or take the lump $18 million in 2024. He’s been healthy this year but has been only a league-average hitter. His OPS+ of 100 is the same as it was in 2021, and his slash line of .240/.328/.401 is underwhelming for a corner outfielder.
There’s still two months left in the season for Conforto to heat up, but those numbers likely won’t earn him a massive payday.