SF Giants give an injury update on a pair of young pitchers

Injuries are starting to chip away at the SF Giants already-thin pitching depth. On Monday, the team has provided injury updates on both Tristan Beck and Sean Hjelle.

SF Giants give an injury update on a pair of young pitchers

According to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic, Beck underwent successful surgery to repair an aneurysm in his right arm. He will not be throwing for eight weeks. The Giants already placed him on the 60-day injured list, so he will miss the first two months of the season at a minimum.

More important than returning to the mound, we hope that the young pitcher returns to health after a scary injury like this. It is an unfortunate blow for Beck after he tallied a 3.92 ERA in 85 frames for the Giants last season.

He had been penciled to round out the starting rotation. However, that will be put on hold as he recovers from surgery.

On the other hand, Sean Hjelle sustained an elbow sprain, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. He will be re-evaluated in a couple of weeks, which likely puts his standing for Opening Day in jeopardy.

With the Beck injury, Hjelle emerged as one of the logical replacements given that he is on the 40-man roster. That said, Mason Black was another potential replacement and his case strengthened following the Hjelle news. Black is not on the 40-man roster, so the Giants would need to add him first.

For Hjelle, the elbow sprain is a tough break. The Giants hope that it does not lead to anything more serious, but they may not know until he is re-evaluated in a couple of weeks. They originally selected the 6-foot-11 pitcher in the second round of the 2018 draft. He moved quickly up the minor league ladder, reaching Double-A in his first full pro season.

However, the 26-year-old has stalled in Triple-A. He has struggled to the tune of a 5.51 ERA in parts of three seasons with the Sacramento River Cats. His strikeout rate and walk rate have gone in the wrong direction in Triple-A. That said, he has generally done a good job of keeping the ball on the ground due in part to the tall, downward plane in which he releases the ball.

Hjelle has appeared sporadically over the past couple of seasons with the Giants, but has struggled to a 6.17 ERA in 23 outings. The Giants entered spring training with a young and inexperienced staff. That problem has been exacerbated due to recent injuries. Before the season begins, they will need to figure out a way to patch the rotation back together.