Plus, Keaton Winn was transferred to the 60-Day IL.
The San Francisco Giants made a flurry of moves on Wednesday, ahead of the third game in their four-game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers, which desperately needs to see them get back on track. The moves, while notable, were mostly anticipated.
Left-handed pitcher Robbie Ray was activated, and will start tonight’s game. We’ve known for a while that Ray would start this game, after a successful rehab stint. It’s his first game with the Giants, and his first time pitching in an MLB game in nearly 16 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Welcome, Robbie!
Also getting added to the roster was right-handed hitting outfielder Derek Hill. This was another move we knew was coming after the Giants claimed the veteran off of waivers on Tuesday.
It was pretty obvious what the corresponding move would be to get Hill on the active roster, and indeed the Giants confirmed it: fellow right-handed hitting outfielder Luis Matos was optioned to AAA Sacramento. Matos had been in quite a rut lately: in the last three weeks he was just 1-20 with no walks and six strikeouts, with a handful of rough defensive plays. Whether it’s generic 22-year old speedbumps or Matos struggling to adapt to the sporadic Austin Slater role of being a rarely-used fourth outfielder/weakside platoon bat, Matos was hurting the team more than he was helping it, and now he’ll get a chance to play everyday in the Minors and get things back in working order.
How the Giants would make space for Ray was less predictable, and also more complex, as they needed to clear not just an a place on the active roster, but also a spot on the 40-man roster. They did the former by optioning right-handed reliever Randy Rodríguez to Sacramento, and they accomplished the latter by transferring right-handed pitcher Keaton Winn to the 60-Day Injured List.
Rodríguez has really impressed since coming up for his MLB debut, but hasn’t looked the sharpest the last few times out (including allowing a rally and a run last night). Still, he’s been good, and he’ll surely be back on the roster soon and play a critical role in the bullpen for years to come.
Winn’s news is a bummer but not too surprising, as it was recently announced that he had experienced elbow soreness and was being shut down indefinitely. Here’s hoping he heals up soon.
In one last bit of relevant transaction news, the Dodgers signed Nick Ahmed today. He’s starting at shortstop and batting ninth. Do with that what you will.