DENVER — After using nine pitchers in Sunday’s 6-4 win over the Dodgers, the Giants have added a fresh arm to an exhausted bullpen.
The newcomer is 22-year-old Kervin Castro, who is poised to make his major league debut in relief during the team’s three-game set against the Rockies at Coors Field this week. To clear a roster spot for Castro, the Giants optioned right-hander Jay Jackson to Triple-A Sacramento.
In 30 games with the Sacramento River Cats this season, Castro has posted a 2.86 ERA and struck out 60 batters over 44.0 innings. The righty had never appeared above Low-A before 2021, but impressed the Giants’ front office and coaching staff with his progress during instructional league play in Arizona in the fall of 2020 which helped Castro earn an invitation to major league spring training.
“What I think is interesting is he’s among the (Triple-A) league leaders in a number of categories if you filter by innings, but he’s a real outlier from an age standpoint,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “Most of the dudes on that list are 25, 26, 27, but Kervin is 22. So what that tells me is he’s really held his own and performed well and situations don’t seem huge for him.”
Castro could pitch in relief behind starter Kevin Gausman on Monday as several of the Giants’ top arms could use a day of rest after the club used its bullpen to cover all the final 23 innings of their series against the Dodgers. With starter Alex Wood on the COVID-19 injured list after testing positive for the coronavirus on Monday and Johnny Cueto on the 10-day injured list after being diagnosed with a right elbow strain, the Giants asked a stable of relievers to pick up the slack on Saturday and Sunday against the Dodgers.
Kapler didn’t specify which relievers he’ll attempt to rest on Monday, but Jackson, Zack Littell, José Álvarez, José Quintana all pitched on back-to-back days while Dominic Leone, Tyler Rogers and Jake McGee have each appeared in three of their last four games.
Castro was one of three pitching prospects the Giants added to their 40-man roster last offseason and is the only member of the trio who has yet to pitch in the big leagues. Fellow righties Camilo Doval and Gregory Santos each debuted for the club in April, but Doval has spent most of the season in the minors while Santos was suspended for 80 games on June 29 after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.
Doval returned to the Giants from Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday and pitched 1 1/3 innings as he helped bridge the gap from Quintana, the long reliever, to the back end of the Giants bullpen.
“I don’t think we expected Doval to be thrust into that situation,” said Kapler, who brought the rookie in with the bases loaded in the fifth inning. “We knew he might pitch an inning, but the traffic wasn’t ideal. It wasn’t ideal but he did a great job.”
Kazmir an option down the stretch
Kapler said Monday the Giants aren’t prepared to announce plans for their rotation beyond this week’s three-game series against the Rockies, but veteran left-hander Scott Kazmir is in the mix to start a game or appear out of the bullpen down the stretch.
Kazmir, 37, hadn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2016 before signing a minor league deal with the Giants in February. The lefty had his contract selected from Triple-A in May and appeared in three games for the club, but Kazmir was designated for assignment on June 5.
After clearing waivers, Kazmir chose to remain in the organization, but also left Triple-A Sacramento in the middle of the summer to pitch for Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics. Kapler said Kazmir initially struggled with command after returning to the River Cats, but he impressed with four innings of two-run ball in his last outing against the Salt Lake City Bees.
“His last outing was good,” Kapler said. “I think every step of the way he’s going to be an option assuming he keeps pitching well.”
Solano nears return
Infielder Donovan Solano returned from New York Sunday after completing a 10-day quarantine period following a positive COVID-19 test. Solano, who was fully vaccinated, experienced mild symptoms, but has recovered and could join the Giants by the weekend when San Francisco travels to Chicago for a three-game set against the Cubs.
Solano did not fly with the club to Denver and instead will work out in San Francisco with Alex Dickerson and Wilmer Flores, who were both placed on the injured list with hamstring strains in recent days. After initially saying Flores might miss “a couple of weeks,” Kapler said Monday it’s possible he’ll be available to return from the injured list close to the 10-day mark when he becomes eligible.
