:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72322736/1258254991.0.jpg "San Francisco Giants roster strikes: Tristan Beck optioned; Austin Slater reactivated")
Hard breakthrough for the optional rookie.
That’s the hard part about being a newbie – you’re largely expendable. The San Francisco Giants selected right-back Tristan Beck for the return to the Triple-A Sacramento ahead of this afternoon’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Beck’s last three appearances have been exactly what the Giants needed — length from their bullpen. His line: 9 IP 2 H 1 ER, 10 K ZERO walks. It’s exactly what the Giants set their pitchers for: 95 with the fastball and a 2,500 rpm slider spin.
I thought he might start here soon, but the Giants might like what they’ve seen from Sean Manaea and Jakob Junis lately and think another long arm in the bullpen is irrelevant. He could also go down to warm up to eventually come back up and start.
Austin Slater’s return will be a welcome one. He’s one of the team’s biggest threats against lefties and with Rich Hill on the hill today it’s a good decision. He has only played 8 games this season due to injury but has hit .368/.455/.421 in 22 PA, 13 of them against lefties. This line, which is left-handed only, is .583/.615/.667.
Beck’s stock has seen some ups and downs in the first month of this season, but he had such a solid upside in May that I’m looking forward to his return. It’s just one of those things where he pitched just yesterday and the Giants needed the roster spot. In the event of an injury, he could be recalled even before the usual 10-day waiting period, and given that this is the San Francisco Giants, an injury could come very, very soon.
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