SF Giants must DFA struggling veteran to make room for Blake Snell

The SF Giants have a decision to make with Blake Snell's return from the IL. It seems like it is time for the team to move on from the struggling veteran reliever Luke Jackson which is a move that may be long overdue.

SF Giants must DFA struggling veteran to make room for Blake Snell

The Giants are finally starting to get their starting pitchers back. Kyle Harrison made his return in yesterday's contest against the Guardians, and it looks like Blake Snell may be activated from the IL shortly.

Even though Snell has struggled mightily this season, the Giants are going to need him to start eating up some innings for them reliably. He has never been an innings eater in his career, but they are going to need him to at least start going 5 or 6 innings with regularity to take some pressure off the team's overworked bullpen.

When Snell returns, the Giants are going to have to make a corresponding roster move. The Giants have already had to let go of Spencer Howard (DFA'd then traded to the Guardians) and demote Spencer Bivens to make room for other players and they are going to have to make another decision shortly.

There may be a temptation for the front office to simply demote rookie pitcher Randy Rodriguez. He is a young pitcher with options who has been uneven at times this season, but has shown a lot of promise and features a high-velocity fastball.

Demoting Rodriguez would be a mistake. Instead, the Giants must finally designate relief pitcher Luke Jackson for assignment. The veteran has struggled mightily this season to the tune of a 6.11 ERA in 28 innings. The Giants may feel like they have to stick with him because of the sizable 2-year $11.5 million they signed him to prior to last season. Jackson has just not lived up to that deal and it would be better for the Giants to cut their losses at this point.

Manager Bob Melvin clearly does not have trust in Jackson as he will not bring him into the game in high leverage situations unless all of his other relievers are truly spent. And it seems like whenver he does come into close games in high leverage spots he is just not capable of getting outs reliably.

Rodriguez is a pitcher who has a lot more promise and has a much better chance of being the future of the Giants' bullpen than Jackson does. The Giants need to rip off the band-aid and move on from Luke Jackson when Blake Snell returns from the IL.