SF Giants: Aaron Sanchez to IL, Kevin Gausman Reinstated

Before Saturday’s game, the SF Giants made a roster move to reinstate a key starting pitcher but it means another pitcher hits the shelf.

SF Giants: Aaron Sanchez to IL, Kevin Gausman Reinstated

Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reported that Aaron Sanchez is being placed on the injured list with biceps tightness. The right-handed hurler has been battling the issue for the last couple of starts. In a corresponding roster move, Kevin Gausman was reinstated from the COVID-19 injured, which was due to experiencing side effects from the vaccine.

Logan Webb will remain in the rotation as the Giants continue to play musical chairs with the starting pitching.

The Giants were expecting Gausman to return to the rotation on Saturday so that he could make the start against the San Diego Padres. The Sanchez injury created a spot on the 26-man roster for that move to occur.

Sanchez had been off to a nice start as he had registered a 3.18 ERA, 3.79 FIP, 1.20 WHIP, and a 2.40 SO/W ratio across 28.1 frames in six starts. The 28-year-old is not flashing the velocity he did much earlier in his career, averaging only 89.9 MPH on his fastball in 2021.

However, he has excelled at avoiding hard contact as he has induced a ground ball in 56 percent of batted ball events. After missing the entire 2020 season to recover from shoulder surgery, the Giants have to be pleasantly surprised by Sanchez’s output so far.

The return of Gausman gives San Francisco an ace in the rotation. Gausman’s stay on the injured list was a short one and he did not miss a turn through the rotation. With the COVID-19 injured list, there is no minimum time requirement like there is with the 10-day injured list.

Gausman has thrived since joining the Giants last season. After a strong 2020 campaign, he has carried that momentum into 2021. In six starts, he has posted a 2.04 ERA, 3.21 FIP, 0.91 WHIP, and a strong 3.64 SO/W ratio. This does not include his start on Saturday, but the righty completed six innings while yielding only one run and collecting seven strikeouts.

The Giants have been bitten by the injury bug early and often this season, and Saturday’s move continues that trend. Despite this, they have continued to rack up the victories as they have notched a 19-13 overall record and they are proving to be one of the better teams in baseball.