SAN FRANCISCO — An exhausted Giants bullpen took an unexpected blow Friday as the club placed closer Jake McGee on the 10-day injured list retroactive to September 14 with a right oblique strain.
McGee hadn’t pitched in the last five days, but felt the initial tweak while warming up to appear in Tuesday’s game when the Giants extended their lead over the Padres from 4-1 to 6-1. The eighth-inning insurance runs allowed manager Gabe Kapler to use right-hander Jay Jackson instead of McGee, who likely won’t be ready to come off the injured list as soon as he’s eligible on September 24.
“I think we’re looking to try to get him ready before the end of the season at this point,” Kapler said.
After optioning Jackson before Thursday’s game, the Giants recalled him from Triple-A Sacramento Friday to take McGee’s place in the bullpen and also made another important transaction. Following a three-week stint on the COVID-19 injured list, Giants infielder Donovan Solano was activated ahead of the team’s series-opener against the Atlanta Braves on Friday.
Solano, who was fully vaccinated, tested positive for COVID-19 on August 26 in New York and spent 10 days in quarantine in a Manhattan hotel room before returning to the west coast and resuming baseball activities.
To clear space for Solano on the club’s 28-man roster, the Giants optioned utility man Thairo Estrada to Triple-A Sacramento. Estrada has been the more productive and more versatile player for the Giants this season, but the front office and Kapler are optimistic Solano’s contact skills and ability to hit left-handed pitching will be helpful for the club over the team’s final 15 regular season games.
The news of McGee’s injured list placement overshadowed the addition of a veteran infielder as the Giants are losing a closer who has been one of the most dependable late-inning relievers in the majors this season. The left-hander has set a career-high with 31 saves and owns a 2.72 ERA that indicates the 2021 season has been one of the best of his major league career.
With McGee out, the Giants could slide Tyler Rogers into the closer’s role, but Kapler said he will also look to use veteran lefty Tony Watson or right-hander Dominic Leone in save situations. It’s unclear how long the Giants expect McGee to miss and when exactly he first experienced the oblique issue, but the soonest he’s eligible to return from the injured list is September 24 when the club opens a three-game series at Coors Field against the Rockies.
“I don’t think we need to be super strict to those three, but they are three that are capable of covering that inning,” Kapler said. “I don’t think it’s any secret that Rogers has been one of our better relievers all year so if we needed somebody to throw the ninth, I think he’s totally capable of that.”
After winning a Silver Slugger Award in 2020, Solano’s production has dipped this season as he’s batting .275 with a .727 OPS in 319 plate appearances. Estrada also owns a .275 batting average this season, but his OPS of .814 is nearly 90 points higher than Solano’s because he’s hit for far more power in a smaller sample size.
“As good as Estrada has been for us, Solano is a very good pinch-hit at-bat and a veteran and a guy that is quite dependable in that role,” Kapler said. “On days that Solano is not in the starting lineup, it makes our bench stronger.”
The Giants acquired Estrada from the Yankees in exchange for cash consideration in April after he was designated for assignment by New York. The Venezuela native has only had 130 at-bats this season, but he’s emerged as a popular player both in the Giants’ clubhouse and with the team’s fan base for his timely contributions at the plate.
The Giants may have chosen to keep Estrada on the active roster if Solano had minor league options, but the soon-to-be-free agent can’t be sent to Triple-A without consenting to being optioned.
With Estrada heading back to Triple-A only days after Mauricio Dubón was optioned, the Giants are once again short-handed at shortstop behind starter Brandon Crawford. Solano, who mostly plays second base, will be Crawford’s primary backup while Kris Bryant is viewed by the coaching staff as someone who could play the position in an emergency.
