More moves.
The San Francisco Giants week of nonstop transactions is marching onwards. As if to make up for lost time, Buster Posey is mashing the transaction button, though unlike the trade for Rafael Devers, Wednesday’s moves were more expected. Prior to their game against the Cleveland Guardians, the Giants announced that veteran pitcher Justin Verlander and young catcher Patrick Bailey had both been activated from the Injured List (15 and 10-day, respectively).
Neither move is even remotely surprising. The Giants announced, after closing out their series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday, that Verlander (who last pitched exactly one month ago) would be back in the rotation come Wednesday, and Bailey was open about thinking he’d be able to return as soon as he was eligible.
The Giants needed to make some offsetting moves, and so right-handed pitcher Tristan Beck and catcher Logan Porter were optioned to AAA Sacramento. Beck made six appearances and sported a 4.50 ERA and a 5.57 FIP, while striking out seven and walking six in 12 innings. Porter appeared in parts of four games and hit 1-7 with a walk and an RBI.
It was fairly obvious that Porter would be gone when Bailey returned, and that Andrew Knizner would slide from starting catcher to backup catcher. But it wasn’t clear who would leave to facilitate Verlander’s spot on the roster, with the other possibilities being to option Sean Hjelle or to designated Joey Lucchesi for assignment. Beck has pitched well in the Minors this year, and will likely be back at some point again this season.