SF Giants surprises: Kris Bryant at second base, Johnny Cueto’s return among considerations

SAN FRANCISCO — After left-hander Alex Wood made a successful return from the injured list on Saturday against the Atlanta Braves, the Giants are hopeful Johnny Cueto could soon join him in the team’s starting rotation.

Cueto, who has been out since September 1 with a right elbow strain, played catch out to 120 feet on Saturday and is expected to throw a bullpen on Monday at Oracle Park. If there are no setbacks, Cueto could potentially make a rehab start at Triple-A Sacramento this week and rejoin the Giants during the final week of the regular season.

Giants manager Gabe Kapler said the club was initially hopeful Cueto would be healthy enough to throw his first bullpen next week, but his elbow has responded well to playing catch and the team now has optimism he could be activated prior to the postseason.

“The bullpen is a really good signal that he’s getting where he needs to be and we’ll see how he comes out tomorrow and see if he’s ready to pitch at Sac sometime soon.”

Cueto has posted a 4.09 ERA in 21 starts this season, but struggled in his last outing before being placed on the injured list as he surrendered 10 hits and six earned runs in 3 2/3 innings on August 31 against the Brewers. Cueto was dealing with multiple issues in that start as he was battling an illness and dealing with an aching elbow, so the Giants are hopeful they’ll see a much improved version of the starter following three weeks of rest.

“Obviously the healthier our regular starting pitchers are for us, the better,” Kapler said. “Johnny’s veteran leadership would be welcomed and meaningful for us.”

Wood was activated Saturday after missing more than three weeks following a bout with COVID-19 and threw three hitless innings in a 2-0 Giants victory. The left-hander was limited to 37 pitches against the Braves, but the Giants believe that he’ll be able to work deeper into the game in his next start as his conditioning improves.

Kris Bryant at second?

Kapler said Sunday the team is seriously considering using versatile slugger Kris Bryant at second base during the final weeks of the season.

Bryant has played all over the diamond this year with both the Cubs and Giants as he’s made 50 appearances at third base, 37 in right field, 34 in left field, 16 in center field, 12 at first base while also filling in as an emergency shortstop for Chicago on July 28.

The seventh-year major league veteran has never played a game at second base, but the Giants have asked him to take groundballs at the position because it would enhance the team’s ability to seek in-game matchup advantages with substitutions while keeping Bryant’s bat in the lineup.

“We have a list of second basemen and between Tommy (La Stella), (Wilmer Flores), (Donovan) Solano and (Bryant), we’ve got a lot of options,” Kapler said. “I don’t think we view Kris as a second baseman by any stretch, but we do see him as flexible and talented enough to move around the diamond successfully.”

It’s not likely the Giants will pencil Bryant into their starting lineup at second base on a regular basis, but they may look to slide him to the position for a few innings in certain games when the club wants to deploy a pinch-hitter and then keep that player in the game.

“I could see him moving to second base in-game. I could see him making a start there at some point, but again, we have a lot of options. We’ll see how our bench is looking and what the game dictates and what it needs.”

The Giants will continue to use Tommy La Stella and Donovan Solano at second base regularly, but Kapler said Bryant could see reps at the position against right-handed pitchers when they want to stack their outfield with left-handed hitters such as LaMonte Wade Jr., Mike Yastrzemski and Steven Duggar.