The Giants announced a number of right-handed roster moves today Anthony DeSclafani going on the 10-day injured list with a right ankle infection. outfielder Steven Dugar goes on the 60-day injured list with an oblique strain. right-handed Jacob Junes was recalled to take one of the spots on the active roster while the other becomes an outfielder Luis Gonzales. Gonzalez wasn’t on the 40-man list, but Duggar’s placement in the 60-day IL opened him up a spot. (Twitter connections by Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle)
Duggar left yesterday’s game with the injury and his placement on the injury list is not surprising. Statements by baseball operations president Farhan Zaidi yesterday made it a certainty. However, there was little evidence that Duggar needed a trip to the 60-day list. “It’s an injury that usually forces a man on the sidelines for a couple of weeks,” Zaidi said before Duggar underwent an MRI. The results of that MRI must have been more serious than expected as Duggar now won’t be able to return until the end of June.
With Duggar out for an extended period, the club will need to find a replacement in midfield as Duggar started 11 of the club’s first 13 games there. Maurizio Dubon and Austin Slater each took one of the others. Both will certainly be in the mix, but they’re both right-handed too. Since Gonzalez is left-handed, this could be a way for him to earn the strong side of a move.
Gonzalez was in the minors with the White Sox last year when he needed shoulder surgery at the end of the season. Because injured players cannot be put on full time offs and the team needed a roster spot, they had the choice of putting him on either the 60-day IL or no time off. Since Gonzalez needed to earn an MLB salary and tenure for the former option, the White Sox chose the latter in hopes that he would re-sign with the club quickly. However, the Giants challenged him and placed him on the 60-day IL, giving him pay and service time the White Sox would not have. Though Gonzalez wasn’t written out at the end of the year, he seems to have appreciated the gesture by the Giants, having signed a minor league deal with them. In 11 Triple-A games so far this year, he’s hit .283/.389/.500, 129 wRC+.
As for DeSclafani, he went to IL last year with the same ankle infection, though he only needed a minimum 10-day stay before returning. The severity of the injury this time isn’t clear, but it will still be a challenge for the Giants. Alex Cobb was placed on the IL just two days ago, meaning the club’s rotation is now doubly understaffed. Sam Lang takes the ball tonight despite being in the bullpen for the club this year. He last pitched on Tuesday and has thrown an eased 25 pitches, meaning he likely won’t take on the workload of a traditional starter tonight. Alex Wood, Logan Webb and Carlo Rodon formed the core of the rotation for now as they try to put the team on days off on April 28 and May 2, with Cobb and DeSclafani hopefully able to return after that.